I was changing the timing belt in my '97 850 t5 and low and behold I stripped the T45 bolt that holds the tensioner pulley. Stripped bolts on say a thermostat unit are not so bad because you can take a drill to it; This bolt is at the wrong angle however. Any tips on how to get this bolt out?

 

ugh. See if you can find a bolt extractor kit (HarborFreight/Autozone/Sears etc may have something). You may need to hammer in a hex or similar that is slightly larger than the T45 - which may require removing parts to make some working room.. Did you try and prep the bolt with PB Blaster or heat to crack it?

 

Those are terrible. I suppose an "easy" solution would be to weld a nut on there.

Those things are so hard to get to with the perfect tool that fits perfectly, I shudder to think what it would be like to get one out with the wrong tool.

 

 

That is probably what I'd do. You can easily patch up the inner fender or find a rubber plug to close up until the next time - lol, Volvo should have done that to start with!