While trying to replace the stock windshield hinges with black powder hinges, the torx screws stripped.

Am I screwed (litarlly)?

those things are really idiotic.

first, liquid wrench. second, go to your hardware store and get a drill bit that will remove the remaining torx screw. there is such a thing. i stripped them on the door hinges for new side mirrors.

did new torx screws come with the hinges?

Yep! Left-handed drill bits.. Small for first hole and getting larger.. The backwards bits will eventually grab hold and back the bolt out of the nut threads.
Lesson for torx screws... ALWAYS clean the torx bolt of all paint and debris before attempting to take one out. ONLY use the exact size and ONLY use a high quality tool!
Big Jim <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/pfft.gif" alt="" />

Excellent advise, I'd say put it in the FAQ's but nobody asks until it's too late! Do what BJ says and the screw/bolt will break before the torx head strips (just as much fun!). <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cheers.gif" alt="" />

Yeah, thats what I always say. Clean out the heads or the bit will not go in full depth. Then you end up stripping the head because the bit was only half way in.

Oh well, I got the stripped Torx screws out but the problems never seem to end. On the lower windshield hinge, drivers side, the nuts on the back of the torx screws broke free and now they just turn.

It seems that I will have to remove the dash to reach up there to put a 1/2 wrench on the nut.

I should have just left well enough alone.

It's possible to get those off if you have the right tools and work carefully, as long as the Torx was loosened a little and you can see a little of the shank of the screw.

Get a Dremel tool and put a cutoff wheel on it. The larger, fiberglass reinforced wheels work best for this type of job because they don't break as easily.

Have a friend grip the end of the Torx screw with Vise Grips while you carefully cut through the shaft of the screw with the Dremel tool. When it's cutoff, push in on it and it will fall in, landing on the floor.

If the Torx screw isn't backed out at all, you're going to have to hold onto the nut with a wrench or Vise Grips. It may be possible for you to reach up under the dash and get a wrench on the nut. In order to get more room, depending on your dash, it may be easier for you to remove the glove box, rather than the entire dash, if the loose nut is on the passenger side.

After you get it out, use a NutSert or ThreadSert to provide a fixed, threaded hole in the spot. Naturally, put Anti-Seize on all bolt threads when you reinstall it, in order to prevent this from happening next time.

When I replaced my w/s hinge on the driver's side, I had to get WAY up in the "behind the dash area that mopar would rather you not know about" and chip away at some goo and use a funky wrench I had in the bottom of my tool box that my dad used on a 44 Ford many years ago to get a grip on the back side. Yep, it's no easy thing, I created some new words I'd rather my daughter not hear and wound up drunk shortly after that and wound up doing the job the next day. It really is no easy task and if all else fails, consider pulling the dash off and getting a good look inside for the heck of it while you can get a better look/feel for what you are doing.

I am an emmesely underskilled amatuer, but regard the torx screw in construxtion of a car as ample evidence that Chrysler /Jeep was due for a buyout. Have spent endless hours on bolts and ultimately lifetimes on the welded in nut breaking loose. Worst constuction method seen in motorcars. If the screw has not already broken the welded nut loose, and before you try to drill it out and use Easy Out techniques ( a 25% success rate in my life) buy a new vice grip style plier with BIG SHARP teeth. If you can get on the head and move it at all, you are home free. Soak it with penetrant for as long as you can resist the impulse to proceed. If the nut has broken loose, take a long weekend off, then patiently approach the horror of getting to the busted out site. Consider another model next time, Jeeps appear truly designed for obsolescence or asexual lifestyles.

This seems like a very odd statement. I don't even want to know how you relate the Jeep's design to an asexual lifestyle but the basic design is the longest running production vehicle ever, as far as I know. It's not a chrysler thing, AMC jeeps used Torx fasteners and many other manufacturers do also. The torx head was developed to enable automatic drivers to achive consistant torque values while avoiding wear and tear on driving tools. They serve their purpose. it's the flat and phillips heads that are obsolete, not torx. Expect to see more of them on new models.