Im really mad at myself right now, i went to install Mance's LW PS pulley and i think it was a 6mm Alan. so i try to loosen them up, pulley just spins then the fan shroud will block me and then the bolt will break free, i only have one bolt loose and the other 2 stripped, when the pulley turned and the fan shroud angled my Alan that must have stripped it. im totally stuck i do no know what to do or how to remove these bolts??

<img src="http://www.irwin.com/irwin/consumer/images/small/boltgrip_sm.jpg">

A stripped hex bolt is essentially round just like the outside of an allen. I don't see the difference.

All I know is that <u>the best</u> way to remove a stripped allen bolt is with bolt outs. I'm sorry you've been doing it the hard way for so long.

Who knows, it may not even need to be tapped on with a hammer, just push it on there really good.

no sense in two chefs stirring such a small pot.

he knows where to find me.

So i finally got all the bolts out, had to dremel cut them and use a flat head to get them out. Now thats all done i have to go and remove my serpentine belt. I have the updated routing so i tried to used the Allan wrench in the hole and turn Clockwise but she was not budging at all even with a huge pry bar it was starting to move my whole engine. Im stuck at this point so if anyone has tips that would be great, this tensioner is not budging and i don't want to pry the belt off in fear of breaking it and or some other important component.

My car had the same thing when I bought it...I just replaced it with the updated kit since I had the old one.

Maybe you can take it apart and lubricate it...not sure if the housing comes apart.

almost ALWAYS more than one way to skin any cat. Try spraying some kind of dry lubricant around the tensioner base where it pivots between it's fixed mounting points and it's pivoting arm. I have several around but my favorite is "Blaster TDL Dry Lube" and available at Lowes. There's several, if not many others available at any/all local FLAPS. These type sprays usually go on wet but the dry-film carrier/dispersal fluid evaporates out VERY rapidly and leaves a dry film of teflon, graphite or other lubricating particulates that remain behind and act as a dry lubricating film. Avoid the the penetrating or other aerosol oils as they'll attract dust, dirt, grit and debris like a magnet and very likely contributing to or aggrivating the current tensioner seizure.

Worst case you "may" have to remove the tensioner arm and soak it in oil then "de-oil" it with an aerosol brake cleaner or similar before treating with a dry film lubricant and reinstalling. One thing's for sure... if that tensioner is seized and not pivoting then it can't do it's job of absorbing serpentine belt shock loads or "lash" (slack) in the belt and needs to be fixed regardless of the pulley swap task!

I've had reasonable luck alternating spraying them with a dry lube and rocking them back &amp; forth with the allen wrench (or socket on the upgraded/later style).

Sorry you're having about every conceivable problem someone could possibly encounter swapping pulleys.

Might be a good idea if everyone attempted a pulley-swap "dry run" of at least trying to loosen then re-tighten their pulley bolts "before" attempting the swap and then try to move their tensioner before attempting the "wet run" pulley swap.

Just make sure to clean out those pulley allen cap screw heads before attempting to get an allen wrench in them as they are prone to loading up with dirt, dust, water, debris as it comes thru the radiator. That's well over 10 years of sedimentary build-up in those screw heads for most of these cars!

Ok im done with this, this tensioner is cursed. i found a nice 10mm allan socket to fit in there and really cranked on it, and it started to move!! but my belt was still tight? STRIPPED!@! i know this is probably my fault but i did clean the bolt i did everything i could to prevent this, but probably too much force and just one bad angle did it in. so now the tensioner bolt is stripped i have no idea how to fix that, so i proceed to try to remove the whole tensioner, no being able to find the right star socket trying to fit a 4mm allan in there and dropping it in between the radiator fans and the radiator DOH! Im totally stuck now. my next step is to bring it to a shop and ask them to replace my serpentine belt and they will be able to get there allan in there because its not 100% stripped and when they try to pry on it they will realized they stripped it and ill act all surprised. hahah cheer me up or help me out guys.