I have a philips head screw that won't come out.

[CaptainJoe]

I' have to agree with Micarl on this one get the engine hot.

Dingy also has a point as if Red loctite was used the ONLY way of loostening it without breaking it off is with heat.

 

So to kill all the birds with one stone/try:

 

Spray bolt with PKblaster

 

Heat the bolt

 

Then take an ice cube and touch head of bolt. alum case will still be hot but bolt will be cooler. this also hardnens bolt head so you don't so you don't round it off.

 

Then take a properly fitting phillips head screwdriver (one with a hardnened tip) and give it a couple sharp blows with a ball peen hammer... This will cause the screwdriver to seat itself into the screw properly as well as sendnig a vibration into the screw thereby loostening it.

Next the impotant part...turn screw clockwise, just a tad as "you said it started to move"

 

take turns clockwise /counterclockwise/pkblaster till you get it out

 

or run engine till hot apply ice cube yada yada yada....

 

Bongobobby is on right track also... Im a slo typer,,,

[Bob Myers]

With all the good wrenches we have here I am quite surprised that no one has made mention that the Philips screwdriver you buy at the hardware or Sears or even Snap-On are not 100% compatible with the screw heads found on Japanese bikes.

The philips head is wrong angle on the tapered sections. You know how lots of the Philips head screws deform and "raise up" around the slots when a lot of torque is needed? That is proof in the pudding that the wrong tool is being used. So, you may ask smarty just what is the right tool? JIS compliant screwdriver is the ticket. It is the same angle as the Japanese standard Philips head. I bought a set from McMaster Carr upon the recommendation of one of my customers( a Japanese Gentleman) while working on his bike. Dang big difference when the right tool is used. No more deforming the screw heads, no more rasied edges of slots and best of all most screws that a standard #2 or #3 would walk out of can be twisted easily with the JIS screwdrivers. Your results may vary.

Yea, I know, I'd never heard such BS either, figured it would make no difference, until I actually put one in my hands and saw it work

[Guest PlaneCrazy]

Lot of good suggestions in this thread. As a mechanic who deals every day with large aircraft that have millions of Philips screws on them, I follow the same routine always.

 

1. HIGH QUALITY TOOLS. Spend the extra money for the proper tool. Some tools you can get away with economy junk, but you're just asking for grief using budget screw drivers.

 

2. Use a speed handle if the fastener seems overly tight. If it still wants to spin... STOP! - and get the valve grinding paste and try that before you round the end out any further. 90% of the screws that give me grief will usually come out with the friction from valve grinding compound. I've been using the same jar of it for 12 years

 

3. Buy a good set of screw extractors. I tried most brands and the Snap On ones work the best, IMO.

 

4. As for the impact driver... For engine blocks and those huge screws and bolts that seize because of dissimilar metal corrosion - I agree, they help a lot. But for smaller fasteners and in a lot of areas on a bike or auto, I don't recommend them unless you know exactly what you are doing, They can cause damage very easily.

 

As for the heating trick... you can heat the area up around the fastener then flash cool the fastener itself with a water soacked sponge or squirt of cold oil, etc. That may break the fastener free enough to turn. I've seen this technique used very effectively on seized brake bleeding nipples.

[RandyR]

jis and phillips

[1rooster]

With all the good wrenches we have here I am quite surprised that no one has made mention that the Philips screwdriver you buy at the hardware or Sears or even Snap-On are not 100% compatible with the screw heads found on Japanese bikes.

The philips head is wrong angle on the tapered sections. You know how lots of the Philips head screws deform and "raise up" around the slots when a lot of torque is needed? That is proof in the pudding that the wrong tool is being used. So, you may ask smarty just what is the right tool? JIS compliant screwdriver is the ticket. It is the same angle as the Japanese standard Philips head. I bought a set from McMaster Carr upon the recommendation of one of my customers( a Japanese Gentleman) while working on his bike. Dang big difference when the right tool is used. No more deforming the screw heads, no more rasied edges of slots and best of all most screws that a standard #2 or #3 would walk out of can be twisted easily with the JIS screwdrivers. Your results may vary.

Yea, I know, I'd never heard such BS either, figured it would make no difference, until I actually put one in my hands and saw it work

 

I agree on using the JIS.Best money I spent in a while.If the head is already stripped I use a torx head screwdriver.Couple taps with a hammer will seat the torx in the head of the screw.I have never run into one that I cannot remove with a torx.

[Saddle_Bag]

Ok, went to the garage, got a good seat , took the snap-on impact tool and gave the screw two good pops. I used the impact tool like a screw driver. The screw started to turn out, I thought. The darn thing broke off. It looks like about an 1/8 of an inch down in the hole. I did by a screw extractor. A craftsman tool. I just could not catch up with the snap-on guy. Tomorrow I'll try the extractor. The bite is on one end and the extractor screw is on the other end. Maybe I'm not thinking positive enough.......................I'm afraid to take one of the other ones out to see how long it is. It can't be that long. An inch or so???? And there can't be that much in there. joe

[Saddle_Bag]

Forgot, the phillips head that came with the impact tool fit the screw head perfectly. I had a concern about that as well. Two pops with the hammer and the screw head fit tight. That is until the screw broke. joe

[Saddle_Bag]

Ok Sports Fans, I need a way to reattach the plate to keep pressure on that rubber plug. I have 50 miles to get to my favorite shop. Silicon? RTV Blue? RTV Black? Bubble gum? I tried drilling out the screw, and tried an extractor. The drill bite didn't cut very well. I tried a regular bite, and the extractor threads didn't dig in and rounded themselves. Scratch the craftsman tool off the list. I think I look for my snap-on guy. I'm really open for suggestions. joe

[MiCarl]

The rubber plug is a friction fit into its bore. No plate required to hold it in.

[Saddle_Bag]

So the plate is merely decorative. .............................. Not a thing to worry about if it isn't there??