I stripped two and was able to get the one out but how do I get the bottom one by the door hinge?

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86 SE Convertible 3800sc 4t65e HD(2002), Gen V, 3.3 pulley, SD headers

Stripped the heads? You can slice the plastic off of the top of the head with a razor blade or utility knife and clean the plastic out of the recess to make things easier.

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1986 SE Aero coupe.

3.4 DOHC swap is complete and running, now just have to finish the rest of the car...

I used a small dremel to cut a tin straight line, then used a flat screw driver and it worked.

Yup, just cut away the plastic head and then use locking pliers to remove bolt.

depends on whats stripped out....the head or the threads...?

Yeah the head of the bolt is stripped. It's the one at the bottom inside of the door under the hinge. I have cut the plastic and tried the dremel and there's not enough room. I tried the locking plyers on one of the outside ones and it kept slipping off so I cut a slot in it with a cut off wheel and used a flat blade

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86 SE Convertible 3800sc 4t65e HD(2002), Gen V, 3.3 pulley, SD headers

[This message has been edited by Tweeder (edited 01-23-2015).]

I sprayed a little PB blaster around one I was having trouble with, let it creep in behind the plastic head for an hour or so, and then it twisted off with locking pliers fairly easily (after cutting off the plastic with a razor as described above). The ones in by the door hinges are a pain to get to. Good thing the Fiero store sells new ones since they pretty much get destroyed in the removal process.

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My Fiero: 1986 Pontiac Fiero GT, V6, 4-speed manual

quote Originally posted by FieroCat: Good thing the Fiero store sells new ones since they pretty much get destroyed in the removal process.

That's good to know but is there something else to replace these ones that aren't such a pain?

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86 SE Convertible 3800sc 4t65e HD(2002), Gen V, 3.3 pulley, SD headers

I was able to get it out but I had to go and buy an oscillating tool and a metal blade to get in there to cut a slot in the head

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86 SE Convertible 3800sc 4t65e HD(2002), Gen V, 3.3 pulley, SD headers

I haven't had too much difficulty removing the newly replaced ones with the proper star bit size. Mostly just the old ones that haven't been touched for 20-something years, but I agree it would be nice to be able to use a more grippable bolt without the soft plastic head.

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My Fiero: 1986 Pontiac Fiero GT, V6, 4-speed manual

Use a small drill bit that fits within the torx pattern and use it to remove the excess plastic from the bottom of the torx bit hole. With the excess plastic gone, the torx bit can go in deeper and grab more of the supporting metal.

My latest Fiero, an 84 has phillips screws holding the skins unlike my 87 which had torqs. I stripped a few over tightened ones. I heated up a phillips screw driver and melted my way deeper into the screw. Then I used a hand held iimpact driver to break them loose. I got them all out and the remelted plastic covered screws look good enough to reuse. A little grease will make them easier to take out next time.

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woodys 427