Frozen torx bolt on seat

[KlimFord]

91 Eddie Bauer. While replacing front seats I am stumped by torx head bolt at rear inner attachment that will not budge. Fearing breakage of 3/8" drive breaker bar if I put a pipe on it for more leverage. It is a standard right hand thread, yes? Unscrews counter clockwise? I cannot move it at all. Any tips?

 

[Dan Whitaker]

You need to crawl under neath and see if you can spot the bolt in the floor pan or transmission tunnel and hose the hell out of it with some PB blaster. The bolts for the seats are exposed to the elements.

A 19 year old Colorado vehicle is going to be pretty rusted.

 

[Joe Dirt]

Are you talking about the seat belt receiver bolt? They're a PITA if they rust up. Like Dan said- climb under there, spray som ePB blaster for a few days, and get back to it later. I've been carrying a 1/2" drive dedicated breaker bar and T50 Torx bit for it to remove them at the junkyards up here in Michigan...

 

[KlimFord]

Yeah, the seat belt bolt. Would WD40 be better than nothing? Don't have ePB Blaster and only go to town once a week. How about heating the bolt from beneath (taking care to not ignite the carpet, of course)? I could forge a 2-foot breaker bar but I'd hate to strip the torx head or bust the bit. What's T50, special hardness?

 

[Joe Dirt]

No, the T50 is the size of the torx bit used to remove the bolt. WD40 would be better than nothing, but the threads are probablt rusted through. If you get completely desperate, you can remove the seat from the frame, it is just 4 bolts holding it on, and leave the seat frame in the truck and bolt your new seats back to it. I don't think heat will help much, it's the corrosion that's holding it in.

It will be black bolts like these, through the 4 corners of the silver rails.

 

[KlimFord]

I just crawled under and the bolts actually don't look that rusted, threads still have good definition. I'll soak 'em with WD40 daily till the weekend and try again with my toy 3/8" drive. I'm putting in seats from a '98 Eddie Bauer (one good thing from CashForClunkers: 2 leather seats like new for $65 each) and I though I'd have to get the old frames out and cut and weld the new frames to the old in order to make them fit. But I'll check out how the '98 seats bolt to the frames and maybe I can leave the old frames in place - that would be sweet.

 

[Joe Dirt]

Check one thing- what did they charge you for the frames? The framed with the power motors on them cost more than the seats at the yards by me. I pull the seats, then leave the frames. Take just the cushions and up (not the silver frame), and they only nick me $15 per seat...

The frames should be the same IIRC... The air pumps for the seats if you have them will be tucked inside the seat, not on the frame. You will also need the harnesses, they are completely different if you are replacing old power seats, since the EB seat has more functions, and also the memory seat function.

I would wire brush the threads too- once you crack them loose you should be ok.

I use this:

 

[BrooklynBay]

One time my torx bit cracked off inside the head of the bolt. I hammered on an impact socket over the pan head bolt, then used a 1/2" breaker bar to remove it. All of the other methods that were used failed.

 

[KlimFord]

Frames and motors were included in the $65. My original seats are EB too. I only got the pigtail that comes through the floor for one of the new seats (the yard lost the other one). Figured I could just strip the wires and tape 'em together on that seat. I'll compare the seat to frame bolt spacing on new and old this morning and if they match the frozen Torx will not matter.

 

[KlimFord]

With seats that aren't in a vehicle, the passenger seat moves manually on the rails so I can get at the rear bolts that secure the seat to the frame. But how do I slide the driver's power seat on the rails to get at the rear bolts?

 

[glfredrick]

Some times you can get a pair of vice grips or a pipe wrench over the torx bolts that Ford uses.

Otherwise, PB lube, Snap On torx bits, and a good breaker bar are almost all required for the job. (I've twisted off every other type of torx besides Snap On, hence my recommendation -- they WORK.)

Heat works also if you can actually heat that spot without burning down the vehicle -- sort of iffy with all the carpet and seat upholstery in that area -- but Ford uses loctite and about 200 degrees will break the bond allowing you to loosen the bolt easier.

You could also go the other route and try a piece of dry ice on the bolt. That might shrink it a bit and let it free up, but you have to go to town in any case, so just get the PB. It is a miracle cure for most stuff like that. Spray and tap, spray and tap. About 3 times and your bolt comes out.

 

[Joe Dirt]

Klim- a little junkyard secret is to take a cordless drill battery with you. 2 leads of wire, and some tape.

Tape the leads to each pole of the battery, and hook the other ends to the harness of the seat power harness that plugs to the one coming through the carpet. That will allow you to move the seat with the power button on the side just like normal. The poles don't really matter, the worst is that the button will work in reverse if the wires are backwards.

 

[KlimFord]

Nice!

 

[BrooklynBay]

Could you get somebody to heat the bolt from underneath the vehicle while you turn it inside of the vehicle?

 

[RaveDigger]

I snapped two T50 Torx bits getting mine out. ####ing rust in MA.

 

[Joe Dirt]

I agree Rave- I split 2 of the bits that Sears sells in singles, not sure of the brand but they're black and in a red and white package. The more expensive Craftsman bits haven't snapped yet. The Cobalt ones like to bend the vanes on the bit, so nix those too.

 

[Maniak]

I snapped a "Snap On' t50 taking out one bolt on the seats on an Arizona vehicle. The other 7 came out easily (took both front seats out). I was using an impact wrench but I didn't expect anything to be that tight.

I ended up breaking the factory welds and then the bolt/welded nut started to spin. I then just used a sledge and an air chissle to get the old stuff out. I then used a nut/bolt to bolt in the new seats and just tacked the nut to the bottom of the body.

~Mark

 

[TedJ]

I've mangled at least 3 torx bits on those damn bolts. A china one, one from a Husky set, and a Lisle one. I did get my money back on the Husky and the Lisle ones, but only because I saved the reciepts.

My biggest fear is what happened to maniak, where the welded nut snaps off the body. Haven't done that yet, I guess I've been lucky. Once you do it the first time, its not so bad. I put anti-seize on them so they won't get stuck again.

I think the most important things are keeping the socket fully seated in the bolt and using shock force to break it free. Having one person put their foot on or otherwise hold the socket in while the other hits the breaker bar with a big rubber mallet had worked for me the best. I don't think breaking off the bolt is a concern here, they seem to be extremely tough.

 

[smegun]

can be observed just past the muffler underneath on both sides of a hump about an inch out one has a little flap of liner covering it but can be moved temporaineously out of the way pb blast and get a little on the carpet on the top side with the bolt

black oxide parts on seat rails also make rust stains unlucky for these few parts in the interior

 

[mr cribb]

I figured that rust was my issue. Electric impact wrench, and breaker bar proved useless.

Needs to wait for a warm day.