maddzz1 Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 Anyone know of an easy way or a cheap tool to remove rusted out screws. I need to get the dist cap off and the screws are rusted thru. I also have a busted headlight bezel with some screws snapped off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wildman Posted April 1, 2009 Share Posted April 1, 2009 Yup......done the dist cap screws :shake: The thing I've done, is grind the broke off screw flat, and drill it out and re-tap it......and installed a SS machine screw in place of the steel screw. I think it was a 10-32 screw I used. The rotted out header panel screws.........Cherokee and I played with this last year, found if you took a small drill bit, like a 3/64th, and drill like 3 holes around the busted screw, and punch out the rotted out screw, that worked the best, I used some Bondo to fill in the hole, and re-drill a pilot hole, and used SS screws in place of the old ones. I don't remember what Cherokee used to fill the holes, hope he jumps in here and reminds me :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maddzz1 Posted April 1, 2009 Author Share Posted April 1, 2009 Thanks Bob. Has anyone tried something like that grabbit thing to remove stripped screws. Does it work? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Akula69 Posted April 1, 2009 Share Posted April 1, 2009 Thanks Bob. Has anyone tried something like that grabbit thing to remove stripped screws. Does it work? Yeah, I did. The model I had required a small pilot hole to be drilled, and then a special bit is inserted into the hole. Upon reversing the drill it is supposed to back it out, but the plastic of the grill was so brittle that it snapped under the stress. In retrospect I believe it would have worked if the material would have been stronger. I suppose I also could have tried a lube (Breakfree or PB Blaster) before attempting it...hindsight's 20-20 :roll: I handled the next corroded screw that stripped by taking a small die grinder with a 1/4 bit and flattening the head, then drilled the screw's shaft out and used a slightly larger SS screw in it's place. Good Luck ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TNT Posted April 1, 2009 Share Posted April 1, 2009 I take a nut thats about the right size and put it over the broken screw and weld it on. I had to remove 6 broken fiberglass header screws like this and have done a bunch of other screws and bolts this way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cherokee Posted April 1, 2009 Share Posted April 1, 2009 I don't remember what Cherokee used to fill the holes, hope he jumps in here and reminds me :D That por-patch stuff. Seems to be working pretty good, I've had the header panel assembled a couple times now. TNT, do you weld through the center of the nut? The fiberglass doesn't deform from the heat does it? Either way, I'm gonna have to remember this trick. Might save time compared to the drill around and refill method. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaekl Posted April 1, 2009 Share Posted April 1, 2009 That new "As seen on TV" tool really only works for screws that lost their heads. It's not going to do much for a bolt where you ruined the head because it was a seized bolt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TNT Posted April 1, 2009 Share Posted April 1, 2009 I don't remember what Cherokee used to fill the holes, hope he jumps in here and reminds me :D That por-patch stuff. Seems to be working pretty good, I've had the header panel assembled a couple times now. TNT, do you weld through the center of the nut? The fiberglass doesn't deform from the heat does it? Either way, I'm gonna have to remember this trick. Might save time compared to the drill around and refill method. Exactly. It worked great and didn't hurt the fiberglass at all. I did have to try a couple or times on a few screws because I missed hitting the screw first before the nut, the nut just came off. There isn't much room in a #10 nut with .030 mig wire, your aim must be perfect. It took about 10 minutes to do 6 broken screws Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maddzz1 Posted April 1, 2009 Author Share Posted April 1, 2009 I take a nut thats about the right size and put it over the broken screw and weld it on. I had to remove 6 broken fiberglass header screws like this and have done a bunch of other screws and bolts this way. Do you think some JB Weld would work? I have borrowed a welder to learn to weld so I def don't trust myself to go that route yet. I would probally end up melting the distributor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TNT Posted April 1, 2009 Share Posted April 1, 2009 I take a nut thats about the right size and put it over the broken screw and weld it on. I had to remove 6 broken fiberglass header screws like this and have done a bunch of other screws and bolts this way. Do you think some JB Weld would work? I have borrowed a welder to learn to weld so I def don't trust myself to go that route yet. I would probally end up melting the distributor. It's basicly like doing a few tack welds when it's a small screw. It's simple to do, just try it a few times. Do the header screws first. Do the dist screws stick out the bottom. You could alway screw them out the bottom. There isn't a ton of heat made from a few good tacks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maddzz1 Posted April 1, 2009 Author Share Posted April 1, 2009 I didnt think of checking the bottom. I will look at that option when i get home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
64 Cheyenne Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 Check this out, just repaired my bezel last week.look near the bottom of the page. viewtopic.php?f=7&t=13953 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brdhntr Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 i would start by pulling the distributor. make sure you make the location of the distributor so it can go back in right where it was. then you can work on it better. you're going to put a new cap and rotor on anyway i assume. i'd just break up the old cap to leave the 2 screws sticking up. that will give you a little more screw to work with. try a vise grip on it. you can use a propane or butane torch to heat the screw up some. that should do the trick. if it still doesn't come out, weld a nut to the top. with the cap removed, you won't have to worry about the heat as much. the screws they use are very cheap metal. they are not a solid steel screw, they are cheap steel mixed screws usually. that's why the stick so easily and strip out without much effort. so it doesn't take much heat to get a spot weld on it and get the nut attached. use the largest nut you can that will still weld to the screw. that gives you more room to do the welds. don't worry about how experienced you are, it doesn't need to look pretty. if you don't get a good weld, the nut will just pop off. that means you need to give it a little more heat. i wouldn't worry too much about heating the distributor itself. last option, in my opinion, would be to break off the screw or grind it down. then you can use a drill to drill it out. this means you'll need to re-tap it. it's all pretty easy to do, but i think that takes the most work and takes the longest. just some ideas from a guy that's worked on enough old jeeps and cars for a long time. that means i have tried about anything to get rusted screws and bolts out. i hate rust. :shake: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wildman Posted April 3, 2009 Share Posted April 3, 2009 Check this out, just repaired my bezel last week.look near the bottom of the page.http://comancheclub.com/forums/viewtopi ... =7&t=13953 That what I was talking about......drilling out around the broken off screw :D What did you use to fill in the hole???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
64 Cheyenne Posted April 3, 2009 Share Posted April 3, 2009 JB Weld,then drilled a 1/8" pilot before I installed the sheet metal screw. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wildman Posted April 3, 2009 Share Posted April 3, 2009 :thumbsup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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