suggestion on stripped Torx, p80 driver airbag

[scot850]

Have you tried a hex/allan key to see if it can jam itself in? Being an allan key head I would thing an easy out might have enough depth to grip and turn it out. Caution would be that due to the bolts being tight, it might break the head off the easy out.

Good luck!

You can I believe still get the bolts for the steering wheel. It has been a couple of years now, but I bought some new ones from Volvo as I had a damaged bolt head that sis come out, but I did not want to test trying to get it out a 2nd time.

https://www.volvocarstorontoparts.ca/p/ ... 85000.html

Neil.

[Grantkat]

alan wrench gave me a single moment of hope, but alas it too failed. the Pervious Owner must have really done a job on that screw.
ok I snagged an airbag at my local pick and pull as a back up in case I somehow damage the one on my vehicle. Looking at it I can see that there is a cylinder as I described, and then there as a tab at a right angle and this is where the threads exist and where the screw pulls the airbag backing up against the tab I may be able to cut the cylinder closer to the airbag as I do not believe the screw head goes all the way down. still assessing it...how ever I am getting close to know where and how to cut

[wizechatmgr]

Do you have a stick/mig welder handy? Jam the allen wrench into the electrode holder and hook the ground to the side of the steel tube. It's ugly as frick but it may give you what you need. Obviously disconnect airbag special orange wire first, unless you wish to punish yourself.

[Grantkat]

GR-70581_4.png (220.94 KiB) Viewed 1136 times

wizechatmgr - Great Idea - unfortunately I do not have access to one. However I remember years ago I had a stripped 12 point (what engineer puts a 12 point bolt with high toque specs in a design) I welded a socket extension on the end of it to get it out.

There may be light at the end of the tunnel and not a train at that.. I grabbing the airbag from the pick and pull I was able to to see the way its assembled and what type of bolt it is.
.the thick part is not a shaft its actually a pillar bolt reference picture above. I have access to the pillar part of it. I may be able to grab it and break it free and unscrew from the side..

[Sveedy]

If you now have access to it from the side, you can drill a small hole in it and then insert an Allen key or screw driver etc, and turn it that way.

[abscate]

Hope these measurements might be useful….I have tipped the camera to correct for parallax to get the distances correct +- 1/16 inch or so.

Caveat - I think those Torx are captive in that metal plate, so you may have to cut them to the rear (REAR is rear of car) of the plate to release the airbag. Thats going to make a mess. I would circle hole cut through the airbag and grind off the screws from the rear of the steering wheel, I think - then use my replacement

[Grantkat]

SUCCESS!!!!


after ending up cutting away the side of the steering wheel cover to reveal the side of the bolt. I tried to grab it a few times with my Knipex and got semi-decent grip but it wasnt enough and there is very little clearance to turn. There is a metal brace right above the bolt shaft which gives you little to no room.
I had my hole saw out and was preparing for the nuclear option, but decided i would go one last attempt before the nuclear option suggested by abscate. I drilled a 3/16' hole in the side of the bolt shaft and put a 4 inch long round pin in the hole and pulled sideways, the first attempt bent the pin slightly, I turned the pin 180 degrees and tried again and viola it broke loose!! then i put an allen wrench in the end and worked it out..

post mortem - this steering wheel had been removed before. when it was reinstalled he used thread lock and torqued everything way way to much. luckily I was able to gently break the other bolt which still had a decent torx head on it. The bolt which gave me the problems was mangled clockwise, so when I went to turn the bolt out, there was nothing to grip. the allen wrench gripped slightly but would spin with light pressure so not enough to break the bolt free.

[abscate]

Well done, that man!

Let us know if you need a new [ used] air bag.

1999 SIPS fires differently that 1992-8, but I think the driver air bags are the same.

[Grantkat]

thanks abscate! I actually have a spare now. I was able to save the installed airbag and re installed it with the replacement wheel. When I was pulling parts off a donor at the yard i snagged the airbag as well in case I have to destroy mine to get it out. So I now have a spare as well.