removing a stripped screw

[losichris]

Im struggling to remove a stripped screw on the bottom on my SX3.
The screw is completely rounded off and no way any driver will work.
The screw is very countersunk into the chassis, so dremelling will require a very fine and small blade, and im not sure where to purchase
Any ideas?

[john333]

One other way to do it is to get a fine centre punch and small hammer and tap it out. Make a punch mark near the outside of the head and then gently tap it anticlockwise with the punch at an angle.

Not that easy and you might need someone to help you hold the chassis

[Collegeboy]

Depending on the original hole size, get either a T8 or T9 (Torx) driver. You can either put some pressure on the driver or gently tap it in the nackered hole. The torx will hopefully bite into the srew head and you will be able to remove it. I have had success with this method over the years, and not just on toy cars

[losichris]

Originally Posted by Collegeboy

Depending on the original hole size, get either a T8 or T9 (Torx) driver. You can either put some pressure on the driver or gently tap it in the nackered hole. The torx will hopefully bite into the srew head and you will be able to remove it. I have had success with this method over the years, and not just on toy cars

The original screw is a 1.5mm hex i think. But its not going to me more like a 2mm , could you link me to a driver thats suitable?
Cheers
Chris

[mtbd500]

Techniques I have used many times (eBay cars) is ...
An imperial driver such as 1/16 will sometimes fit a knackered metric hole
Torx driver 9 or 10 I think?
Cutting a slot in the screw and removing with flat head, will leave 2 small marks in chassis but at least car can be repaired
Have you checked that you cannot remove all surrounding screws and twist the part it is threaded into, ie bulkhead screw
There is an old tale about using solder to go hard in the screw and using that to remove but I have never tried it.
You may need to heat up screw if it is heavily thread locked
Twisting the affixed part is easiest of all choices if possible.

[RogerM]

I tend to drill off the head of the screw.

If you know the screw is an M3 try a 5mm drill bit, if an M4 try a 6mm drill bit etc.. Go nice and slowly and you will get to the point where there isn't enough material left to hold the joint tight and the head will fall of with a gentle wiggle.

The stub that is left is likely to be undone with a pair of pliars or small mole wrench.

If the stud feels tight and is into a metal part use a good soldering iron to put some heat into the joint as this will break down any (sensible) threadlock used and make it much easier to get out.

You can also buy screw extactors which have a reverse spiral thread at one end and conical milling cutter at the other end.
You use the milling cutter end in your power drill to form a particular shaped cone in the rounded head of the screw. Flip the extactor over and run the drill backwards with some solid downwards pressure and it will cut into the new cone form and wind the screw out!!

These aren't cheap but compared to the price of a new chassis they make a god investment.

[Robby]

Originally Posted by losichris

Im struggling to remove a stripped screw on the bottom on my SX3.
The screw is completely rounded off and no way any driver will work.
The screw is very countersunk into the chassis, so dremelling will require a very fine and small blade, and im not sure where to purchase
Any ideas?

I've done the dremel method a few times, using a fine/thin sandstone cutoff disc (a number of which are included with any dremel) - and then I later repair the two small knotches/grooves I've cut into the plate with JBWeld or similar metal-repairing type of epoxy. Works like a charm.

[losichris]

Cheers guys, lots of good methods.
Tryed a few things so far

1. Dremelling a notch to try a flathead screwdriver out ( couldnt get the notch deep enough) was making the screw worse.

2. Tryed to flatten 2 sides of the screw and using a gripper, loosen the screw.
( couldnt get a good enough grip on it)

At this point, the screw is completely mashed,
Problem with all this is, i dont really have the equipment or the technical skills to get the screw off.

[Rich D]

Are you going to Worksop ?

I use the slot method ( not that there's anything wrong with drilling but to me that's the last option ) never failed yet. Thread lock is a nightmare on small fixings. I use the tiniest dab of the tamiya blue stuff but only where absolutely necessary !

You need to make the cutting disc quite small to avoid slotting the chassis too much.

[losichris]

Originally Posted by Rich D

Are you going to Worksop ?

I use the slot method ( not that there's anything wrong with drilling but to me that's the last option ) never failed yet. Thread lock is a nightmare on small fixings. I use the tiniest dab of the tamiya blue stuff but only where absolutely necessary !

You need to make the cutting disc quite small to avoid slotting the chassis too much.

I wont be at Worksop unfortunatly.
The the screw is attached to the motor mount, which comes away from the chassis, so no risk damaging that. Just cant get the slot cut well enough to get a screw driver to turn it

[mtbd500]

If the screw is in the motor mount why don't you do what I said and remove the rest of the motor mount screws and unscrew/ twist the actual mount not the screw?