so im in the process of swapping my smog pump. one of the large torx bolts got stripped and it is now delaying my progress. i know this sounds stupid but i cant seem to get anything to work

I had a similar issue with a few of those torx bolts. what i ended up doing was taking the next size up torx bit i think its a t-50 and hammering it into the stripped bolt, basically making new grooves for the larger torx. i was able to get them out that way, and then i replaced them with standard bolts.

grind it off, quicker less painful, ended up doing this on my intake

drill and ease-out, or vise-grips

i used vice grips on my torx bolts, you may have to take a file and file the sides down a little bit so the vice grips will get a good bite, or what we sometimes do at freightliner for the little buggers is take a cold chisel and cut in to the side in the direction that it would turn and beat it around loose untill we can turn it by hand. torx bits and allen heads do not belong on important stuff but i do believe that allen heads are tougher than torx.