so me and my dad are swapping engines in my 98 xj, and two of the bellhoudin bolts are an inverted torx, we got on out and we cant get the other off because its too messed up, theirs not alot of room to get in there, and we want to avoid taking out tranny and all, we just want the engine out, any ideas?

 

If you want to replace them with regular hex bolts and you have an extra socket just a little.smaller.the the head, bang the socket on, and use a ratchet to take it out. I don't remember the size, I just know that the correct socket for those bolts is an E12.

Jerry

 

okay thanks, but weve tried that and cant get it off, we were thinking a dye grinder or the special sockets with spines that curve to suck on the the bolt/stud as you turn.

 

Those sockets work great. I would go that route and replace those damn bolts when you get the new engine in. If you haven't already you can drop your cross member and lower the trans to get at it better. Might as well replace your transmission mount while you're in there.

 

I had a hell of a time getting those two bolts out when I did the engine swap in my '98. What I finally did that helped a ton was to remove the center console. unbolts the shift lever brackets, then remove the trans tunnel cover/adapter. This allowed me to get a much more straight shot (also loosened and dropped the t-case cross member a couple of inches, supported by a floor jack) at those bolts with an e12 socket and a pneumatic impact wrench. They came right out! Wish I hadn't dicked around for 3 hours trying to get at them from underneath with extensions and wobbles. Another tip is to reinstall a lower bolt on each side of the bellhousing, which will take some of the strain off the top two bolts, remove the top two bolts, and then remove the lower bolts.

Replace them with regular grade 5 hex bolts upon reinstallation.

To get the console out:

Under the driver's side, just forward of the rear wheel, you'll see a threaded rod adjustment for the e-brake. Loosen this up a lot so that the nut is only about an inch form the end of the threaded rod. this will allow you to pull the e-brake handle up all the way until it hits the stop built into the the handle bracket.

Next, remove the shift lever handle. On the AW4 auto, it just pulls straight off, albeit with a lot of force. Just give it a good yank it should let go. It will just pop back on later. Now you can remove the gear indicator bezel and remove all the screws holding in the console so that you can lift it off the shift lever and e-brake lever.

 

The trick is, and I know it's too late for the OP, to remove those bolts FIRST.