hey I have a 2000 jaguar xjr and was trying to do a transmission gasket change, I removed 4 of the bolts but the other two got stripped , has anyone had this problem before, would like a good idea on what I should use to remove them, thx

 

Hi mott, and welcome to the forum. I have an '02 XJR and have had the pan off a couple of times. I haven't had any stripped bolt problems but have broken a bit trying to get the drain plug out. I used a pair of vise grips when the pan was off to get that thing out. The first thing that I would try is the vise grips clamped on the bolt head length-wise and pull down as you twist to see if the bolt will grab any threads. Then go from there.

Good luck !!!

 

#1 cause of stripping bolt/screw heads is using the wrong size wrench. Like 10mm instead of 3/8. Both seem to fit but only one fits snugly.
Or the wrong size torx. People seem to blame the torx head saying they're junk. Realty is there's nothing better.

As was said, try using a vice grip.

Only 6 bolts holding the tranny pan on?

 

yea I used the wrong size hex socket on the first two and had the right side hex t27 on the last 4 they came off easy I'll try some vice grips If I can fit them

 

All 6 pan holding bolts should be T30.

 

vice grips

 

The right tool for the job wins every time. If you don't have the right tool. Go buy the damn thing! He with the most tools Wins! LOL!

Jack

 

When I posted my reply I was thinking the threads were stripped, not the head. Now that we're talking bolt heads, be careful of the tool that's used. There are a few places where a RIBE head bolt is used. These look like torx heads but the flutes are rounded. A torx tool used in a ribe head may work but there's a good chance of stripping the flutes. I've seen this head type on the cam sprocket bolts and a few in the valve body in the MB transmission on our XJRs. There are also some 12-point torx bolts used depending on the model year. My 98 XJR had those on the cam sprocket bolts. The tools are inexpensive, like less than $30 for a set that will fit all the bolts on our cars. Just Google "ribe socket" and a bunch of choices will pop-up. These tools are kind of like having a drill press; not used very much but there when you need it.

Like Jack said above ...

 

I believe that what you refer to as "rounded" are Torx Plus drives, not Ribe. Ribe drive is much like a splined shaft, very "square" (I have an M8 Ribe bit, shown on the pic below) and quite rarely used on cars.

My Ribe M8 bit:


Torx and Torx Plus:

 

polydrive (produced by ribe) is only used on new head bolts

easily avoided by just buying the felpros with the 13mm head

 

Can never have too many tools. I've got at least $10,000 just in hand tools. Some specialty stuff that gets used once and put away. Only thing worse than having so much $$$ tied up in tools that don't get used as much anymore is not having what you need when you need it.

 

M. Stojanovic - Maybe, probably; sometimes my single-lens bifocals distort things depending on what angle I can get to focus on what I need to look at. I didn't even know that ribe existed until I buggered-up the heads on my exhaust cam sprocket bolts using a 10mm ball-head hex as referenced in the workshop manual. I took a closer look at the bolt head and it was an interesting shape. Did some Googling and found both the ribe and torx plus tools; got both sets. The ribe 10mm fit and the bolts came out. Replaced them with ARP 2561001 bolts. Those are much easier with a 12 point 18mm socket.

Anyway, the point was what 89 Jacobra said; get the right tool. If I had the ribe or torx plus to begin with, I wouldn't have had to spend $25 a piece for the ARP bolts (did all four). But, they do look good when the cam cover comes off.