Stripped E10 Torx Bolts trying to Remove Seats

[IMAMEX]

Hi there,

I'm not sure if this is being posted to the right section so my apologies in advance.

The seats in my 08 3-door are filthy so I wanted to take them out to spot clean them and vacuum under, etc.

I saw on here that I needed an e10 socket so I went ahead and got that and managed to remove 3 bolts on the passenger side and stripped the 4th. I moved on to the driver side and stripped the first one so I stopped.

In retrospect, I should have stopped at the passenger side but here we are. I have 2 questions:

How can I remove the stripped bolts?

Can I replace the torx bolts with regular bolts after I manage to take the seats off and want to put them back on? If so, which ones?


Thanks!

[07dirtyaris]

When I took my seats out I did the same thing.
I had a couple stuck.
One i ground off and backed it out with a LH drill bit.
The others I was able to lightly hammer on a socket, I think it was a 6 or 7mm

I've got several extras laying around you if you want me to ship you a couple.
I forget what thread pattern they are but take them to the store and you can find out and get another, I'd try to stay with stock though so you have less tools to get them out next time.
A little anti seize will help you out next time you decide to clean your seats!

[IMAMEX]

When I took my seats out I did the same thing.
I had a couple stuck.
One i ground off and backed it out with a LH drill bit.
The others I was able to lightly hammer on a socket, I think it was a 6 or 7mm

I've got several extras laying around you if you want me to ship you a couple.
I forget what thread pattern they are but take them to the store and you can find out and get another, I'd try to stay with stock though so you have less tools to get them out next time.
A little anti seize will help you out next time you decide to clean your seats!

I didn't know about LH bits so I'm going to try that after I try a hacksaw & a slotted bit with an impact driver. Thanks for the advice mate. I guess it's time to check Amazon!

[B.B._07]

The seat anchor bolts are regular metric bolts just with the oddball E-torx head so you can easily swap them out for a normal metric hex head bolt. I believe the bolts are M10 so you can go to an hardware or autoparts place to match them up or swing by a junkyard and get some bolts off an late 90's or 00's Corolla (which are very plentiful).

As for getting the stripped bolt off your best bet is to hammer on a slightly too small socket and give it a go. You need to use a socket that is too small and hammer it on well for it to not slip when you try to turn it.

[UberSilver]

That sucks, mine came out easy, but I bought the correct socket from the start.

[CrankyOldMan]

Just going to add my 2 cents here: I bought a set of Sunex 1/2" drive impact E-torx sockets from Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000R6XXXS/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1). They worked like a charm on a rusty old 08 xD. The only complication was that the slider rails for the front seats were too narrow to get a good grip on the rear bolts. I ended up using a 12 point 8mm offset box wrench to break them loose and backed them out with the socket once they were up high enough.

I'm getting a 3/8" drive socket to be able to torque the bolts inside the rails properly, and will probably use a reducer when removing the next set.