I am in the process of pulling my head, and ended up stripping out the allen plugs that are removed to access the timing chain tensioner. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to remove these?

 

OMG Noooooo. One thing you could try is and easy out at home depot. You would have to drill a hole in the bolt then you put the easy out in and carfully try turning the bolt. Do not break the easy out because then your f*****. The torx bolt on me rotors stripped like your bolt so I drilled it out and snaped the heads of the bolts. then about a year later I tried the easy out and snap. Fd. So Ibroke the rest of the easy out so the tip wouldn't hit the wheel bearing. On second thought. Do you really need to remove that, bc if you drill it you are commited to getting that bolt out. Try putting a bigger allen key in. If not Seek a profresional. Dont mess the block up!

 

I do need to remove them. They are blocking access to the upper bolts on the timing chain tensioner, which I need to remove to pull the head. I was thinking of trying and hammering in a large torx socket.

 

and tap it to rotate it at the edge of the plug. This is a time to not go gonzo. Also you could cut a slot in them with a dremel or something. Did you use the wrong size allen? This shouldn't have happened.

Matt

 

Nope, it was a perfect fit allen. They both stripped out like butter. Very strange.

 

and if I remember right, they have an o-ring too. But anyway, slot them or use a chisle to tap them to start them rotating. Also, order a couple more so you don't get hung up when you put it all together.

Matt

 

Yea I was going head into my local dealer and have them order me a couple. together it should be under $20. I will try your technique. Do you think heating it up with a blow torch would help at all?

Absolute worst case scenario I have to drill out the middle (slowly with grease and something to block the shavings from falling into the chain area) and use some sort of extractor bit but I would rather not do that.

 

Another method -- drill and tap two holes, maybe .5 inch apart along a center line straddling the center; partially thread in some bolts and then use channel-lock type pliers across the bolt shanks to unscrew the plug. You're going to have to replace the plug anyway.

GL with it. Don't forget the gruesome pics...

 

there's always vice grips!

No matter how you slice it, it's gonna be a pain...

Matt

 

I'm with the Dr. on this one - I'd try using a chisel on the edge - should work. I'd be afraid of drilling them at all... where do the shavings end up on the inside? I'd rather not find out. Even though it's soft aluminum, I'd really prefer not to drop that crap down the timing chain side of the engine...

Heat will probably not help - will expand the plugs and make them tighter.

Warming up the engine (running it) and then chilling the plugs with ice or an upside-down can of compressed air might contract them enough to loosen them a bit. But that would mean putting things back together... no fun.

I'd try tapping with chisel and hammer first - "unwind" them from the holes.

 

Don't feel bad: these plugs seize pretty often, and you do have to get medieval on them to get them out. DO NOT DRILL into them. You don't want to punch bits-o-aluminum into the oil pump/sump area. The most effective way to get them out is to use an air chisel: get a bite into the edge and rotate it counter clockwise. Second best is a chisel and hammer. The trick is to first cut a notch into the edge, and then start to try to rotate it. Get a floor jack under the motor to lift it slightly for better access.

 

Before you get the chisels out try the Torx bit route.The plug will be soft enough to allow a decent bite and if you bang on the plug a bit before you drive the bit in it should help to loosen it. If that fails then find an air chisel.If air tools are not in the picture find a big chisel that isn't real sharp[You may need to start a notch with a sharper chisel] and a big hammer.The idea is to shock the plug loose and a quick heavy blow is what is needed.Smack on the outer edge but try not to ding the head.

 

How thick are these plugs near the allen wrench socket? My assumption earlier was that the holes could be drilled into that thick part without penetrating...

 

We'll I tried the chisel idea with no success. Then I tried my torx idea and it worked! The key was to hit it like an impact gun rather than a full sweep.



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In the process of pulling the head, I forgot to disconnect the hoses going into the intake tube. So there I was balancing the head in one arm and trying to figure out how out the tubes with the other hand. Oil dripping everywhere and trying not to hit the valves or mating surface, I decided to bust the red piece off (this was before I knew that you simply hold it down while pulling out the tube ). Does Mini sell the red pieces separate?