fezoctavio

yo,
as i was doing a valve cover gasket job on my 1997 es300 i stripped/rounded the bolt on the back of the intake manifold.(the one that holds some ground wires)

my question is this,
Can i just cut the wire to remove the intake manifold? if so can i attach it back to any random piece of metal or tape it back to the manifold?

If not hopefully this wire can give me some wiggle room to just lightly lift the manifold out of the way so i can get to the back valve cover.
thanks in advance.

Oro

Why not:

a) remove the rounded bolt
b) repair the ground wire (if damaged in bolt removal)
c) Re-assemble correctly?

I don't see why this isn't the best answer. It may require you know how to deal with a stubborn bolt (google it; easier than me repeating it), or perhaps solder a new spade or fork connector on, but you're there, so just do it right.

fezoctavio

I am there and I do want to do it right. But nothing I try gets this bolt off. I've tried the regular 10mm socket and it stripped it. Then I tried both pliers and vice grips and it still won't budge. Before I strip it some more I might try some wd-40 and let it sit overnight. Tapping it every so often to let the lubricant seep in.

But if that falls I could use those bolt extractor sockets. Hopefully I have enough room to get back there

Oro