ECU Cover Bolt stripped.

[drewusmaximus]

Hi all, 1995 525i 5 spd. 210k miles

I'm trying to pull off the cover that protects the ecu on the pass side in engine bay I loosened three bolts but the one closest to the firewall I stripped because it was too tight. How can I pull that cover off so I can access the ecu? Or do I have to break the plastic cover in that corner?
Thanks in advance!

[Smoky540i]

If it's by chance the same as the E36 ECU cover I have a spare you can have

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[95525ibob]

Dremel the head off the bolt. Once the plastic cover is off you should be able to vice grip the shaft or use a small extractor tool

[ross1]

Not uncommon for this to happen. Those screws tend to corrode a bit, that combined with someone using too small a screw driver at some point and damaging the screw are things I've seen quite a few times.
If you can turn the screw keep doing so and you'll eventually ream out the nut insert sunk into the bottom half and be able to lift it off. At that point you can remove the screw and discard the nut insert, three are plenty to hold the lid on.
If the screw head is what is stripped I'd suggest drilling it out, at least you'll have a nice center point. Use a bit just larger than the screw which I believe is 6mm. Once through the head you can leave the remains of the screw in place stuck in the bottom half, again three is plenty.
Have fun

[drewusmaximus]

Thanks for the advice. Not sure how I can get a dremmel or even a power drill down there since it's a very tight space.

[demetk]

Extended drill bit might work.

[Layne]

If the screw head is what is stripped I'd suggest drilling it out, at least you'll have a nice center point. Use a bit just larger than the screw which I believe is 6mm.


Extended drill bit might work.

This is the ticket. It's a common problem, just like the M60 manifold bolts. The factory puts insane torque on them, the screws are very soft metal, and the #3 phillips size is often wrecked by someone with a #2 driver.