2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo Tensioner Stuck

Hi guys,

This is on the 6 cylinder. Tensioner pulley seized up while my daughter was driving and fried the serpentine belt. When I went to remove the existing tensioner/pulley assembly the bolt felt very tight, and so I applied plenty of penetrating oil and tried to work the bolt back and forth very carefully. I have to admit I was not very optimistic since this fastener is the T35 Torx variety, not a hex bolt. Despite my best efforts at trying to be careful and go slowly, the end of the Torx socket broke off in the head of the bolt. What is my best option at this point? Just grind off the head and then grind two flat sides into the threaded shaft? My concern with that plan is I end up snapping the threaded shaft off into the hole in the block and then I’ve really got a problem…

Any ideas? Thanks, Pop

Hey Pop, good to see you here.
The Torx you used was a tamper proof Torx, with a hole in the center of the shaft. They break pretty easily if you aren't using it on a tamper proof Torx fastener.
I would try again with a solid, quality Torx like a Snap-On. Also, looking at the way the points are jammed up, I would try to tap the next size up Torx bit into that bolt. Looks like maybe a t35 is a tad small.
You wouldn't lose any points in my book for grinding flat spot on the fastener and trying to remove it with vice grips. I doubt the shank of the bolt will break in the motor.
A little bit of heat from a map gas torch (read A LOT of heat) is surprisingly effective.
Good luck!

If all else fails...try to turn it out with a hammer and chisel.

Thank you Noah! It’s good to be back! These are great ideas.

I did some further research on this job, and that shows there is a real risk of the tensioner studs getting broken off in the block (classic dissimilar metals problem), having to remove and possible replace the bracket, etc. and I can’t risk any more time to this job going further south. So, writing this one off under “discretion is the better part of valor”, I am going to ship this one over to my buddy’s shop and pay them to handle it.

I’ll probably holler again soon as I have to fix the parking brake on my ‘01 Taurus next… Thabks again!