HEEEEELP!! Stripped Head Bolt!!

[Furgonzo]

Hi,
I am in the middle of pulling my head (1.7 KY engine) to replace the gasket and, upon loosening the head bolts, found one with ZERO traction. The star bit just spins freely. Any sage fixer out there with a solution? The rest of the bolts were barely tight (jackass mechanics!!), so I am hoping it won't take that much juice to get it loose. I imagine these are hardened steel, so beating it with a cold chisel seems futile - I tried briefly and it just bounced off.
Anyway...any thoughts would be huge.
Thanks!

[jamesc76]

i take it you mean the torx bit fits well and the bolt just spins, or do you mean the splines in the head of the bolt are goosed?

[Furgonzo]

Sorry...it's the splines on the head that are toast.

[jamesc76]

Can you get any grips on it ??? Or do you have a mig welder???

[nevill3]

Can you get any grips on it ??? Or do you have a mig welder???

Aaah the Mig Welder the answer to all of life's little problems, where would we be without one.

[jamesc76]

Can you get any grips on it ??? Or do you have a mig welder???

Aaah the Mig Welder the answer to all of life's little problems, where would we be without one.

Im my scrap bin there are often broken studs etc with new nuts welded to um of locking wheel nuts welded to old sockets !

[Furgonzo]

Thanks for the suggestions...no MIG welder and not really even a power source nearby. I'm off to find me the biggest, meanest set of vice-grips there are to see if I can't get a grip. I'll post what happens...
Thanks.

[ewenmaclean]

Hello,

probably not possible with a head bolt, but hammering in a 12 point bit one size up might just work - it works on CV joint bolts, but they are much softer......

[Furgonzo]

Thanks for all the suggestions. In the end it was a 10mm hex key bashed into the bolt head and gently coaxed from its den. Head is off and getting some love indoors! Thanks again.