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stripped screws....ahhhhhhh!!!

11K views 31 replies 15 participants last post by  AlexBernard 
#1 ·
does anyone know a nice trick to remove stripped screws???
I am trying to relocate my mirrors so i can have them on with my doors off, but those screws are stripped pretty good.
am i gonna have to take it to a shop??
 
#2 ·
Drill and retap??
 
#4 ·
will a left handed bit work with a torx head, or something like that?
 
#5 ·
Yes. What you are doing is as you drill the center out the drill is actually drilling in the direction to loosen the bolt or screw. So uasually as you drill through it, it takes the pressure off and will bite and unscrew it. If that does not work then you have just drilled the hole for the tap. Have had good luck here but then again we don't salt our roads out here. (often) So I don't know how your corrosion is.
 
#6 ·
Have had good luck here but then again we don't salt our roads out here. (often) So I don't know how your corrosion is.
idk i guess we will find out.
it stripped the very first time i tried to unscrew it and that was 2yrs(?) ago. so im sure it might be corroded pretty bad.
but thanks for the info. also does it matter what size bit i use? smaller or larger than the hole?
 
#7 ·
Don't go larger than the hole for sure man get a bit that fits in the torx hole maybe a little smaller You want to re use the stock holes
 
#8 ·
Believe it or not masonary drill bits work pretty well. Used it on my winshield hinges as I was installing a cargo rack. Drilled the center out and then used an EZ Out bit to pull the remainder of the torx crap out.
 
#9 ·
actually the screws for the hinges AND the mirror screws are both stripped.
the goal here is not to spend alot of money, if any at all.
the pops has a pretty good stash of drill bits so hopefully we have a left hand one somewhere.

obviously its not a big deal since i waited this long to post the question, but it will be good to get it taken care of.
 
#11 ·
if the head is sticking up far enough try and clamp some vice grips on it and twist it out or go to a hardware store or any place that sells tools and see if they have a screw driver that you hit the back with a hammer and as you hit it it twists not sure what they call it but we use em on aircraft
 
#13 ·
Anytime you try to remove those screws make sure you take an exacto blade and cut the seam between the nut and body where they painted over. It will make life much easier. If you do strip them drilling them out it is super easy. Use a bit the same size at the threads and it will pop as soon as you break through the torx head leaving you an easy threaded stud to remove with vice grips. Good luck.
 
#14 ·
thanks guys for all of the options.
it seems like the manufacturer puts the screws on so you cannot take them off on purpose. or paints over the threads so it gets stripped easily. :flipoff:
 
#16 ·
ok, thanks to sentenced with his PB blaster idea, i have got 3 outta the four torx bolts out. the last one is still stuck pretty good, but i am soaking it with more PB and i also bought these,

just waiting for a high speed drill to test them out!
 
#19 ·
its a steel threded insert.used all the time in the auto industry.
TIMESERT.COM THREADED INSERTS, threaded insert, Screw thread inserts, threaded inserts, inserts threaded, helicoil's, helicoil, inserts threaded, drain pan repair, stripped threads,stripped plug
 
#20 ·
oh ok, i see what you are talking bout.
once i get this last bolt off i will inspect the thread damage and see if i need to do something like you are talking about.
i dont think the thread is the problem, its mainly the screw heads stripping.
 
#22 ·
aight, well ill post back in a couple days, that is when ill get a power drill, and hopefully i can get this stubborn thing out.
 
#24 ·
yeah well i was looking for some left handed drill bits at Lowes, but did not see any and found the Grabit thinking it is the same principle. i hope it works too.
 
#25 ·
if its a button head you can try some vice grips

ive also found that if you try tightening just a hair and then try loosening that will sometimes do the trick.

im a Air Force Crew Chief so dealing with stuck screws is a daily problem...if the above dont work then you prolly have to go with drilling them out as mentioned above
 
#26 ·
guys............I GOT IT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


omg that bolt was pissing me off....and i finally got it. i thought i was gonna have to take the whole jeep apart to get that stinkin bolt outta there, but no need.
after a broken Grabit bolt, and 2 battery charges for my drill, and ALOT of worn drill bits, and half a can of PB blaster....i finally got it.

that is all
 
#27 ·
Another stripped torx question:

So I have a somewhat similar question. I completely stripped the torx screw on the hood of my jeep (I was going to install the hood mount for the hi-lift jack). I bought a screw extractor and tried extracting the screw by hand. It gripped well, but the tip of the extractor snapped off, so now I have a round hole in the screw with a high carbon steel extractor tip stuck in the middle. I don't have a welder and a titanium drill bit didn't seem to work very well (there's only a small hole on the top of the extractor where it snapped off). With the screw on so tight, I think my best bet is to drill through, but I don't know what type of bit can drill through high carbon steel with a handheld drill. Any recommendations?
 
#28 ·
thats what happened to me too. if you take a power drill with a bit the size of the hole and try to drill in to the broken extractor it might loosen it and then you can grab some pliers and pluck it outta there.

thats what i did, so it would not hurt to try.
 
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