This page is pretty much why we exist. Thousands of people WorldWide have come to us for information about how to get out their stock torx screws because they stripped them or broke a head off.
Stripped Torx Bolts
Weld. Get ready to weld. If you can't weld, find someone who can weld. This has proven to be the fastest and easiest method to remove those pesky torx bolts. There are other methods, but they can prove rather time consuming and only produce results half the time. One method we have used is cutting a notch in the bolt head and then using a flathead screw drive or chisel to "tap hammer" it lose. However, this usually just results in more damage to the bolt head. It most often produces the same result with a screw/bolt extractor. The concept behind a bolt extractor is they basically "thread in" and then when you try to go counter clockwise they are supposed to grab the bolt and loosen it. They rarely work in our experience. The best method is welding. When we do this in the shop we weld a nut to the surface of the bolt and then use a socket wrench to pop the bolt right out. If you do not know how to weld, simply call some local smaller mechanic shops and you can probably pay a tech there $20 to take out 4-5 bolts.
Rusted On HInges
Almost every hardware store on Earth sells some sort of rust remover these days. We just drown the hinge in any of these products and it usually does the trick. For super rusted on ones we use some sort of spray oil and drown it in that right behind the rust remover. Make sure you look for a GEL if you are going to use the rust remover spray method. It usually prevents the rust remover from just running right off so that it can do its job. Next you might need a flathead screwdrives or even butter knife to pop the hinge off. This can be tricky because you want to avoid denting the metal around the hinge. We have no recommendations for this as we are usually willing to dent the metal here to get the hinge off.
We hope you found this short section informative and it gave you some ideas to help with two of the more irritating matters when it comes to these issues.
**If you have come to this section it most likely means that you have stripped some bolts or have a hinge stuck on. First thing's first - the Legal Disclaimer. The recommendations in the below links are intended strictly for educational purposes. By using this section, or information from any other part of our site, you agree that you do so at your own risk and will not hold JeepBolts LLC responsible for any outcome that should occur as the result of using our site. We have some seen some pretty weird stuff. One guy tried to cut his gas inlet retaining screws out with a cutting torch, and most people know what happened.**
