Help! Seat Swap Trouble.

[Userdaveyman]

I have a set of Bucket Seats and a Center Console sitting in my basement waiting to be put in my truck. The problem is that the bolts that require a Torx extension for both the driver side and passenger side seats are stripped and my wrenches won't get a tight hold of the bolt. Am I stuck with the ugly 60/40 bench that is busted (the previous owner swapped out buckets and messed up on the install) or is there another way to get the bolts out and get new ones and not spend a fortune at some body shop machining the bolts out? Please help.

Dave

[i0kepa]

you might try getting a screw extractor. Drill a hole into the head of the stripped bolt, put the extractor in and see if that might work.

[oweezy9]

In the past, I used a dremel to cut a slot in the top of the stripped bolt and treated it as a flathead... You might try something similar in some way.

[chuddly]

Y is everyone always so negative about body shops?? anyway i run a body shop so and have had this problem many times...first try to use a pair a visegrips and get it out that way...second...go underneith the truck and heat up the nut like part of the bolt in question (this expands the threads but becasue the bolt is dencer it wont expand as fast) oh when i say heat up i mean put a torch on it and get it red or almost red. then try to losen it again. if that doesnt work then cut a slot in it and try makeing it a flat head then try heating with the flat head version of your bolt....if all that fails then drill the sucker out...but thats a pain in the butt and you will burn up a couple bits doing it...99 % of the time you can do it with either just visegrips or visegrips and heat. and once you get those suckers out...put in a 15mm metric bolt and throw those stupid stock ones away!!!

[Sam]

Parts and Body labor are just expensive. That's why most people avoid it if possible. It's usually one of those "elective" types of work unless you have a major wreck, and most regular people don't care to fix minor body damage unless they wreck it bad enough to where they can't drive it.

[chuddly]

yeah i understand that...but people think guys like me are just rollin in money cause im rippin um off big. man my insurance is out freakin ragious were talkin like a grand a month...then i got a building to heat ...tools are expencive as all of you know and we break alot because we use alot. then ya got materials...paint has doubled in the last 5 yrs....people have come into my life (friends) and thought i made a killing then they came to my shop and tryed to do it and make side money and they realized that the cost is so high on stuff that you really dont make near as much as people think

[Userdaveyman]

I am not ripping on any shop owners here. I was just looking for any tips that I can avoid taking a trip to a shop when it is something I can do in my own garage. Thanks for all the advice, I'll let you all know how it goes.

[chuddly]

i wasnt saying you were ripping on me or shop owners...but it kinda seems to me that in alot of threads talking about mods or fixing somthing there is like a bad little comment or connotation toward body shops or mech. shops...hell were not all bad...i like comming on here and helpin you guys out when i can...but i know there are some shady shops out there too.