Dremel it into a flat head screw and get those suckers out of there!

Thanks everyone. It just so happens that I have a Menard's, Home Depot, Lowe's, AND Sears Hardware all next to each other. I'm going to pick up a dremmel, screw out, AND bolt out, and a new impact driver.

Can never have enough tools, right?

"Honey, I had to get all this $hite. The torx was stripped, this is what the guys said I needed."

I am sure she will understand! If you here the sound of metal clicking, just run in a zig zag pattern!

Pelican Parts has the replacement studs. $3.00 per stud (there are 22). $10 for shipping.

Ouch!

Thanks to everyone, again. Really good answers. I'll let y'all know how it works out.

These screws are tighten lighly, I'd use a big vise-grip type plier. I did this method when I stripped even a tighter torx screw when replacing the CCV (the one in the back of intake manifold), w/o any problem.
GL.

why do you guys strip so many bolts lol? Be more careful and make sure you are using the right tool.

Its not that we want to strip them, lol. Sometimes these bolts are in tight places and you just can't get the torx bit to seat properly. With torx, the inset is so shallow, having a grain of sand within it can throw it off and "slip" there goes that torx. I know taking the throttle body assembly off, the bottom torx that is in the middle is tight since it is between those aluminum water tubes and water temp sensor sits directly infront of the torx. You cant get a small screw driver in there and forget a 3/8" wrench fitted with a 6mm socket and a torx. They only way I found to get that out is to use a 1/4" wrench with a shallow 6mm socket and then the torx. You could pull the intake up about an inch, but that wiring harness really doesn't have much play. What I did after one of mine stripped in a tight place was not even to put a torx in there but to just use a bolt out, so I have good tension on the whole bolt and yank that sucker out that way.
2001 X5 4.4i

If you haven't stripped a bolt that means you haven't worked enough on your car:rofl:

Why did I strip so many? Probably because of the cheap Chinese tools I use!

;)

I don't know. I was working under the car, without jacking it up, and it was a bit of a reach for the two that stripped. Maybe I didn't have the bit perfectly perpendicular to the head of the bolt.

It very well could have been carelessness or inexperience on my part. Whatever, what's done is done. I'm just glad I have a good message board with knowledgeable, experienced people to help me out.

Of course, I wouldn't even have attempted to change the tranny filter without this board!