Well, my 3mm headgasket finally went. I was in the process of removing the timing gear, and the bolt that holds it got stripped. It is not completely rounded off, as I backed off and haven't touched it since, but it is definitely starting to strip. Given that it is in such a sensitive place (or so I assume), I kindly ask for your imput. What's the best way to get it out, out of many options? Thanks



Picture taken before damage.

 

tap and use a reverse drill bit to get it out i suppose.

how did it strip? were you using the incorrect size allen? correct allen is a metric 8 allen.

ur definately gonna want to get a new one

 

yes, I had an 8mm allen socket. It was very tight, so I put an extension bar on the ratchet, and that's when it stripped. I supposed I had to use a quick jerk motion as opposed to a gradual torque increase

 

yea a quick snap is what u want to do.

at this point i mean your probably gonna have to buy a new bolt and get that bolt extracted so you might as well give it a go one more time with a quick snap to break the bolt free

unless someone else can chime in with another solution. last time i stripped an allen head i had to extract it with a drill

 

Get an Easy out from the parts store. It will bite really well in an allen bolt.

 

easy out is probably the best way to remove it.

i have an extra bolt when you get that far.

 

Had this happen to a rusted allen screw on BMW rear breaks. We grabbed a inch allen key and pounded it in and cracked it loose. But the closest that you'll find to a 8mm is 3/8; might be too big.

Then again it might be a sensitive location, I'm not sure if I would be pounding anything on to a cylinder head.