HELP! Shredded seat belt Torx screw

whizzkid11 · 06-10-2018, 12:03 PM

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

Chappers 71 · 06-10-2018, 02:03 PM

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

tadaska · 06-10-2018, 02:14 PM

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

nomiS330d · 06-10-2018, 02:20 PM

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.

david in germany · 06-10-2018, 03:32 PM

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.

Mastermixlee · 06-10-2018, 03:42 PM

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.

bishbosh · 06-11-2018, 06:06 AM

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.

lloydie · 06-11-2018, 08:00 AM

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.

whizzkid11 · 06-11-2018, 10:30 AM

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!

Dormermike · 06-11-2018, 11:52 AM

Well done. Satisfying when you finally get them out !

surrey130i · 06-11-2018, 02:03 PM

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.

whizzkid11 · 06-11-2018, 06:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by surrey130i

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....

whizzkid11 · 06-11-2018, 06:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by whizzkid11

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...

whizzkid11 · 06-12-2018, 12:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by whizzkid11

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.

surrey130i · 06-12-2018, 03:12 PM

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.

06-10-2018, 12:03 PM	#1
whizzkid11 Private First Class 9 Rep 172 Posts Drives: E91 320D LCI Touring Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Watford iTrader: (0)	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
Chappers 71 Major General 5975 Rep 5,723 Posts Drives: Beige G31 540ix m sport Join Date: Feb 2016 Location: Kent, The Garden of England iTrader: (0) Garage List 2018 G31 xdrive 40i ... [7.40] 2006 E92 335i SE [9.50]	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 __________________ G31 40ix M Sport E92 335i. E36 328is coupe E39 540i V8 6SP manual E34 3.6 M5. E34 525i sport. VW Jetta Mk2 GTI 16v. 1679cc 1967 resto-cal beetle
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06-10-2018, 02:14 PM	#3
tadaska Major 123 Rep 987 Posts Drives: 2006 E90 320D ES Join Date: May 2016 Location: Eastbourne iTrader: (0)	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
nomiS330d Lieutenant 79 Rep 538 Posts Drives: E92 330d Join Date: Jul 2017 Location: Doncaster iTrader: (0)	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.
	Appreciate 0 Quote

06-10-2018, 03:32 PM	#5
david in germany Lieutenant Colonel 732 Rep 1,819 Posts Drives: 118i, 335i and 328i Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Mannheim Germany iTrader: (2)	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. __________________ 2009 118i Monaco Blue "Maximillion" 2009 335i Saphire Black M Sport "Leopold" Cobb stage 2 aggressive tune, Mishimoto FMIC, Cobb charge pipe, Cobb catted down pipes, Forge diverter valves, BMS inlets and DCI, Cyba scoops and M Individual Audio retrofit and M3 gauge cluster retrofit. 2011 328i Titan Silver M Sport "Franzel" <--Wife's car
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06-10-2018, 03:42 PM	#6
Mastermixlee Second Lieutenant 10 Rep 203 Posts Drives: 335i e92 Join Date: May 2011 Location: London iTrader: (0)	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.
	Appreciate 0 Quote

06-11-2018, 06:06 AM	#7
bishbosh Colonel 982 Rep 2,164 Posts Drives: F30 335d Join Date: Oct 2013 Location: Sheffield iTrader: (1) Garage List 2014 BMW 335d [0.00]	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. __________________ if I've helped - an Appreciate would be, er, very appreciated!
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06-11-2018, 08:00 AM	#8
lloydie Private 12 Rep 49 Posts Drives: E92 335D Join Date: Oct 2016 Location: UK iTrader: (0)	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.
	Appreciate 1 Makeuwunder61.00 Quote

06-11-2018, 10:30 AM	#9
whizzkid11 Private First Class 9 Rep 172 Posts Drives: E91 320D LCI Touring Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Watford iTrader: (0)	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
Dormermike Captain 104 Rep 679 Posts Drives: Bmw f10 Join Date: Dec 2015 Location: Uk iTrader: (0)	Well done. Satisfying when you finally get them out !
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06-11-2018, 02:03 PM	#11
surrey130i Private 7 Rep 92 Posts Drives: 130i convertible Join Date: Jul 2017 Location: uk south iTrader: (0)	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.
	Appreciate 0 Quote

06-12-2018, 03:12 PM	#15
surrey130i Private 7 Rep 92 Posts Drives: 130i convertible Join Date: Jul 2017 Location: uk south iTrader: (0)	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.
	Appreciate 0 Quote