Fairing screw head stripped...

[Groo]

Ok, so this past weekend, I was doing some timely maintenance work on the bike... including changing the pumpkin and engine oil. Got the pumpkin taken care of, but when I went to loosen the fairing up near the oil drain, the screw with the inset hex head near the shift lever stipped... crap. Without taking that off, getting the oil filter off and replaced would be a mess....

So let's see... maybe I can grind a slot in the screw head and turn it with a screwdriver. Got half a slot, but can't cut the other side without cutting into the fairing using the wheel on my Dremel.... crap.

Guess I'll go to the hardware store on Monday and get a screw extractor. Did that today at lunch... drilled a 7/64" pilot hole, got the screw extractor in there... a couple hits of the hammer to get it to bite... No problem. Start to turn it... won't move... a bit more force, and PING! the frickin screw extractor SNAPS OFF!!! SON-OF-A-BEEOTCH!

Anybody got any bright ideas at this point? I figure I can take it somewhere that has welding capabilities, and they can maybe weld some bar stock to the bolt head... don't know who or how, but I guess that's an option if nothing else presents itself...

 

[Karmak]

Ok, so this past weekend, I was doing some timely maintenance work on the bike... including changing the pumpkin and engine oil. Got the pumpkin taken care of, but when I went to loosen the fairing up near the oil drain, the screw with the inset hex head near the shift lever stipped... crap. Without taking that off, getting the oil filter off and replaced would be a mess....
So let's see... maybe I can grind a slot in the screw head and turn it with a screwdriver. Got half a slot, but can't cut the other side without cutting into the fairing using the wheel on my Dremel.... crap.

Guess I'll go to the hardware store on Monday and get a screw extractor. Did that today at lunch... drilled a 7/64" pilot hole, got the screw extractor in there... a couple hits of the hammer to get it to bite... No problem. Start to turn it... won't move... a bit more force, and PING! the frickin screw extractor SNAPS OFF!!! SON-OF-A-BEEOTCH!

Anybody got any bright ideas at this point? I figure I can take it somewhere that has welding capabilities, and they can maybe weld some bar stock to the bolt head... don't know who or how, but I guess that's an option if nothing else presents itself...

I had to laugh when you described the extractor snapping-that has happened to me on more than one occasion. If the Dremel is still an option-I run the cutting wheel on concrete or something (anything tough) until it becomes much smaller in diameter which allows you to go deeper with the cut. Otherwise, I have had to drill the broken extractor out-always touchy and a p-i-t-a.

 

[noob]

Doesn't Sears have a kind of tool that has a hex head bit (maybe have to use an oversized now) and then you take a hammer and whack the back of the thing and it drives it in and turns it counter clockwise?

what is that thing called, I forget. Might work.

Regards,

 

[twowheelnut]

Ick... I'd work on drilling out the extractor tip and starting over there. Use some penetrating oil on the bolt, too.

 

[Warchild]

Sell it.

 

[Groo]

Sell it.

How much do you think I could get for a stripped screw? Probably not worth all that much...

 

[Rickster]

You may be able to drill 2 holes in the shoulder of the fastener head, and use a security flat head (i.e. a spanner) to remove it. Soak it in liquid wrench or your favorite penetrating oil, and tap it repeatedly but lightly before trying to use the spanner.

a bit like this:

 

[DonRed7]

Ok, so this past weekend, I was doing some timely maintenance work on the bike... including changing the pumpkin and engine oil. Got the pumpkin taken care of, but when I went to loosen the fairing up near the oil drain, the screw with the inset hex head near the shift lever stipped... crap. Without taking that off, getting the oil filter off and replaced would be a mess....
So let's see... maybe I can grind a slot in the screw head and turn it with a screwdriver. Got half a slot, but can't cut the other side without cutting into the fairing using the wheel on my Dremel.... crap.

Guess I'll go to the hardware store on Monday and get a screw extractor. Did that today at lunch... drilled a 7/64" pilot hole, got the screw extractor in there... a couple hits of the hammer to get it to bite... No problem. Start to turn it... won't move... a bit more force, and PING! the frickin screw extractor SNAPS OFF!!! SON-OF-A-BEEOTCH!

Anybody got any bright ideas at this point? I figure I can take it somewhere that has welding capabilities, and they can maybe weld some bar stock to the bolt head... don't know who or how, but I guess that's an option if nothing else presents itself...

I had to laugh when you described the extractor snapping-that has happened to me on more than one occasion. If the Dremel is still an option-I run the cutting wheel on concrete or something (anything tough) until it becomes much smaller in diameter which allows you to go deeper with the cut. Otherwise, I have had to drill the broken extractor out-always touchy and a p-i-t-a.

Ummmmm,..good luck in thinking you can drill out a screw extractor. If it's of reasonable quality then it's harder than any drill bit you can find. You might have more luck tapping it with a small punch to loosen it's grip and find a way of backing it out even if there's only a bit above the hole.

Wish i was there to help Groo

-Don

 

[FJRPierre]

You can often work the broken extractor tip out by hitting it with an icepick, nail punch etc. The extractor bit is VERY difficult to drill out.

 

[DonRed7]

Then again,.. if it's the piece of fairing i'm thinking of and you can actually get the extractor out you'd be best off to drill the Head off the bolt and then pull the plastic over/back from the remaining bolt. Then get a good pair of vise grips on what's left sticking out. Patientce...........

-Don

 

[Groo]

Then again,.. if it's the piece of fairing i'm thinking of and you can actually get the extractor out you'd be best off to drill the Head off the bolt and then pull the plastic over/back from the remaining bolt. Then get a good pair of vise grips on what's left sticking out. Patientce...........
-Don

That's kind of the direction I'm leaning towards... I just need a harder drill bit with a flatter head ... Have tried various ways to get the extractor tip out... it broke off flush with the top of the pilot hole, so there's abso-frickin-lutely nothing to grab, and no voids to get a pick or punch or awl into...

 

[Groo]

Well, there's one major asspain behind me (heh... get it... behind me... never mind).

Here's the bolt when it looks fairly normal...

And here it is after one is forced to go primeval on it after stripping the hex center, breaking off a screw extractor inside the center, and not wanting to damage the fairing around it too much...

If you look closely in the center of this picture, you can just make out the remains of the screw extractor... it's kind of a differently colored bump in the middle...

I ended up drilling into the bolt head, down close to the shaft... then taking a smaller drill, punched through in a circlular pattern just outside the bolt shaft.. dremel cut the outside ring remainder off at one location, and then vice grips could grab the ring on the outside and break it off. After taking off about 1/2 of the outside ring, I was able to get the fairing and grommet off over the remaining screw head. At that point I grabbed what was left with a pair of vice grips, and it could be turned and came out easily enough.

Picked up a couple spares and a few grommets at the local Yammy shop this afternoon... got the oil/filter change done, and buttoned it all back up, good as new. God I hope I don't have to go through that again any time soon.

 

[twowheelnut]

Groo: Dr. Destructo!

:lol: