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BMW 3-Series (E90 E92) Forum > BMW E90/E92/E93 3-series General Forums > Regional Forums > UK > UK Technical Forum > HELP! Shredded seat belt Torx screw



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      06-10-2018, 12:03 PM   #1
whizzkid11
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HELP! Shredded seat belt Torx screw

On a nice lovely weekend, I decide to upgrade my interior - removing the rear seats from an E91.

I removed the rear base, and then had to remove the seat belt from folding rear seat. At the base of the rear seat back there is a single screw (Fillister Head screw)

So I undid the one of the left in pic shown - anti clockwise unscrewed fine.

The second one shown on the right hand side, I started unscrewing anti clockwise, turned about half turn, very tight - after which the torx head started turning, without realising, assuming it was too stiff, it sheared away the torx. Have tried larger torx head - its just not budging.

Now I am stuck with the tight torx screw that its no longer a torx head.

I am really stuck, any ideas or help with how to remove this will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance





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      06-10-2018, 02:03 PM   #2
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You could try getting a flat head screw driver in there, it'd need to be slightly oversized give it a tap with a hammer to drive it in and give it a turn, righty tighty, lefty loosey, give it a soak with plenty of penetrating oil first. You could also try some different heads other than a torx to see if you can get a bite, again slightly oversized and given a tap with a hammer. All the above has worked for me a few times.
Good luck
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      06-10-2018, 02:14 PM   #3
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File off the sides to make it a hexagon? Then see what size socket fits over it?

Disclaimer: I have never done it myself or heard of anyone doing it. It's just an idea that popped into my head. I take no responsibilities here
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      06-10-2018, 02:20 PM   #4
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hammer and chisel. The shock/vibration from the hammer usually makes bolts undo easier then once started it'll probably come out by finger or a flat blade screwdriver.
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      06-10-2018, 03:32 PM   #5
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I think these are almost always cross threaded from the factory. I fought to get those loose on my wife's car yesterday and once I got them out I ran a tap through to clean up the threads. I would recommend a pair of vice grips and just manhandle it out.
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      06-10-2018, 03:42 PM   #6
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Second the vice grips option.
Though if you find clearances too tight to get in there then you can hacksaw a line through the top of the head (effectively turning it into a flat head screwdriver slot) or use a Dremel to make a cut and then unwind using large flat head screwdriver.

Penetrating oil should help a bit too. Other alternative could be (though last resort imo) if it's a parallel thread rather than tapered then drilling the head off (sometimes can remove the rest using reverse drill bit if it was only the head binding) or drilling the entire lot put and rethreading.

Vice grips or pump pliers of the right size definitely the first attempt though in my opinion.
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      06-11-2018, 06:06 AM   #7
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Vice grips, or use a screw extractor set, £4 for a set from Screwfix, the biggest one in the set I looked at was 10mm which should be more than enough.
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      06-11-2018, 08:00 AM   #8
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Slot the top of it as others have said, either a dremel or angle grinder with a slitting disc (protect the interior from sparks, but it will only take ~ 2 seconds with a grinder). Then use an impact screwdriver which you hit on the end with a hammer, each time you hit it, it turns a couple of degrees. They are only about £15 and they come in handy for lots of tight bolts/screws.
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      06-11-2018, 10:30 AM   #9
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UPDATE: Its out!

Thank you all, each and every one who responded - I tried bits of everyone advice.

Here is what I did:

1. Tried mole grips - could not get a grip due to limited space and angle of the seat back frame.

2. Tried larger Torx head/and hexangonal heads, could not hammer them in.

3. Pulled out my brand new multipurpose Bosch tool (purchased in on Black Friday 2016) - I knew I bought it for a reason!

So I cut and groove across the head, popped in a screwdriver to turn it, was just too tight and not budging, resulted in slipping out of the groove.

4. I then took the multipurpose tool and cut two straight edges - though I would get a spanner in there and be able to turn - no luck, just too tight.

5. Tried to use a tool extractor but the bolt was just too tight to resort to this fully at this stage - so thought would try the next option first.

5. In the end after many hours of stressing over it - I ordered a gator socket from Amazon, (£6.99) - came wouldn't go on straight.

Bosch tool out to create another straight edge - got enough to be able to hammer the gater socket on and then slowly turn it out using a 3/8 ratchet.

I just needed an excuse to buy one those, and they do work! although only £6.99 - its pretty good quality and took a good beating today.



THANK YOU ALL for your help and advise!
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      06-11-2018, 11:52 AM   #10
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Well done. Satisfying when you finally get them out !
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      06-11-2018, 02:03 PM   #11
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these can be tricky to get out always use an extender bar on your socket and apply some penetrating oil first.

Top tip for anyone upgrading seats is ask the seller of the upgrade seats to include the centre seat belt clip from their car (the bit that the rear central seat belt clips into).

For some reason BMW use different size seatbelt buckles and when it is different sized clip to your own car the only way to fix it is take the larger sized rear seat back, with the reclining belt inside, to a seatbelt specialist to undo and re-stitch your old clip on.

Luckily I found classic car seatbelt specialist near me or it would have been a very difficult fix. Trust BMW to mix and match fittings across E90's to make swapping bits more complex that it should be.
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      06-11-2018, 06:17 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by surrey130i View Post
these can be tricky to get out always use an extender bar on your socket and apply some penetrating oil first.

Top tip for anyone upgrading seats is ask the seller of the upgrade seats to include the centre seat belt clip from their car (the bit that the rear central seat belt clips into).

For some reason BMW use different size seatbelt buckles and when it is different sized clip to your own car the only way to fix it is take the larger sized rear seat back, with the reclining belt inside, to a seatbelt specialist to undo and re-stitch your old clip on.

Luckily I found classic car seatbelt specialist near me or it would have been a very difficult fix. Trust BMW to mix and match fittings across E90's to make swapping bits more complex that it should be.
Thanks for the tip - I didn't realise the seat belt buckle size - will head out to the car now to check it....
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      06-11-2018, 06:24 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by whizzkid11 View Post
Thanks for the tip - I didn't realise the seat belt buckle size - will head out to the car now to check it....
Uh Oh - the leather interior has the smaller seat belt buckle whereas the clip has a larger hole.

The old interior had Centre written on the buckle and clip - whereas the leather interior from a pre-LCI is blank.

Time to source a new seat belt holder I guess...
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      06-12-2018, 12:35 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by whizzkid11 View Post
Uh Oh - the leather interior has the smaller seat belt buckle whereas the clip has a larger hole.

The old interior had Centre written on the buckle and clip - whereas the leather interior from a pre-LCI is blank.

Time to source a new seat belt holder I guess...
Thanks to Surrey130i - I checked and noticed that the centre seatbelts were diffident in the LCI which just received a leather interior from a pre-LCI.

Having done some research last night, I found a seat belt specialist in Stanmore, about 7 miles from me. Called them up in the morning and explained the situation.

We went through the options - the one chosen was to take the old (LCI) backseat and the replacement (Pre-LCI) back seat to them and they would swap over the Tongs.

So, popped over to them at lunchtime, dropped both seats, and 40 mins later picked them up.

They unstitched the belts, took out the tongs/brackets etc and then swapped both over and stitched both belts back up - all like new.

Very friendly service, I will definitely go to them again and recommend them to everyone.

Oh and they only charged £10 - )

Unfortunately, not such a nice story at BMW - they got the wrong bolt ordered in - so will be there again tomorrow.
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      06-12-2018, 03:12 PM   #15
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Glad you got that sorted, its really annoying when you put it all back together THEN find out the middle seat buckle is wrong.

When I have done this I just cut the old belt off with scissors to get the clip off (as they are going to the scrap anyway) and take the new seat back along with the old buckle to the seat belt trimmer.

If anyone has to do this job in Surrey/Middlesex/West London I can recommend a super place for seat belt stitching in West Byfleet. They don't charge much at all ( I had to force them to take £10!) and nice people.
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