When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Does anyone know how many of those stupid internal torx bolts are used to hold the aluminum bely pan on as I want to change them to regular flange bolts and am trying to figure out how many I need to get?
BTW, the only reason these Torx type E bolts are used is because they are held in a tool better. I would not use female Torx type cap screws instead because if they get stuck, you can't get vice grips around the head to get them out.
M8-1.25 Class 10.9 JIS Hex Flange Screws Bolts Zinc Clear (Pick Length & Qty)
I got these in zinc like the originals 25 mm. $10.99 for QTY 10 from Ebay. You pay a little more from Amazon.
BTW if you use a 2 point lift, remove the 4 bolts near the lift points before lifting vehicle, otherwise a real PIA to do so with lift pads in the way.
I can tell you this crock of ****. LOL Last year when I had the transmission serviced the tech found that my pass axel and trans pan was leaking. Dealer told me there was an updated pan and they would order. Thought it was interesting that in Mar of 2023 GM had an updated pan for a 2023 car lol. Well This was all on their dime so I was not concerned. I come back to pick up car and advisor says "because your car is lowered 5 of these screws were ground down and the tech had to extract them". No scratches on the pan or otherwise and bolts were gone. $191.95 later I had 5 $4 bolts replaced. If I knew that crap I would of pulled the pan myself and dropped off the car. LOL The way I looked at it was I got a full transmission flush with new fluids on their dime. Its always something
Yes, I looked at these as well but was concerned about the serrated head digging into the soft aluminum pan each time the bolts were installed. I could not find any non- serrated head SS bolts. John
I am sure there is Neal but I just snugged them down. I mean its a belly pan. Don't go crazy and snap one with an impact but you could hit them with a small drill as I did and then followed back with a racket.
I would be wary of using SS. This is a shear plate and SS bolts do not have the shear strength of hardened carbon steel. I did mine with hardened carbon steel bolts, with lock washers and I lubed the threads up with never-seize. I noticed that a couple of the original bolts I removed were already starting to seize. They also appear to be very hard carbon steel.
BTW, the only reason these Torx type E bolts are used is because they are held in a tool better. I would not use female Torx type cap screws instead because if they get stuck, you can't get vice grips around the head to get them out.
If by held in a tool better you mean they slip off the Torx socket easily then you nailed it, otherwise that's false info. I only removed six of them to install air deflectors and that was a chore.
If by held in a tool better you mean they slip off the Torx socket easily then you nailed it, otherwise that's false info. I only removed six of them to install air deflectors and that was a chore.
If by held in a tool better you mean they slip off the Torx socket easily then you nailed it, otherwise that's false info. I only removed six of them to install air deflectors and that was a chore.
The bolt heads are external low profile Torx Plus. You need a low profile Torx Plus socket to get a good grip on the head. Low profile Torx Plus sockets are expensive for some reason but you can grind down the chamfer on standard Torx Plus socket. Some standard Torx Plus sockets have less chamfer and require little grinding (if any) to get a good grip on the bolt heads.
Just a suggestion. Use the side of a bench grinder wheel to remove all of the chamfer from your EP16 EP14 socket. Use a small 3/8" drive extension in the EP16 EP14 socket to hold the chamfered end against the side of a bench grinder wheel. Slowly turn the extension to get an even grind on the socket's surface. Take short breaks to allow the socket to cool. The goal is to remove all of the chamfer to maximize the contact surface with the fastener's spline. Remove the small outer lip on the socket when you are done. Leave the small inner lip that traces the torx profile alone because it can help grip the low profile head.
You may feel some slop when rotating the socket by hand on the bolt head. This is normal. When you loosen or tighten the fastener, take up the slop first with light torque then apply your desired torque. Here is a picture of what the top of your EP16 EP14 socket should look like.
Just a suggestion. Use the side of a bench grinder wheel to remove all of the chamfer from your EP16 socket. Use a small 3/8" drive extension in the EP16 socket to hold the chamfered end against the side of a bench grinder wheel. Slowly turn the extension to get an even grind on the socket's surface. Take short breaks to allow the socket to cool. The goal is to remove all of the chamfer to maximize the contact surface with the fastener's spline. Remove the small outer lip on the socket when you are done. Leave the small inner lip that traces the torx profile alone because it can help grip the low profile head.
You may feel some slop when rotating the socket by hand on the bolt head. This is normal. When you loosen or tighten the fastener, take up the slop first with light torque then apply your desired torque. Here is a picture of what the top of your EP16 socket should look like.
You could also save some labor and just use the correct EP-14 socket.
belly pan bolts
