Removal of stripped screw?

Question

I am trying to take apart a plastic pump housing on an electric motor. I was able to remove all but one phillips head screw. the screw was rusted and stripped when I tried to remove it. I have tried to tap it with no luck and remove it with an easy-out drill bit which just stripped it further. I need to salvage the plastic housing so I can not damage it removing the last screw. Note: the srew it going onto a metal female recepter thats glued into the platic housing. Any Thoughts would be appreciated THANK YOU

Answer 1

Spray WD-40 around it

Get a hand-held impact screwdriver because it will come in handy another time and they are inexpensive.
http://www.cvfsupplycompany.com/imdrhaheimdr3.html

1- use a hacksaw and cut one single cut across the center of the top of the screw and attempt to dislodge with the handheld impact driver.
FAILURE OR HEAD IS RECESSED, GO TO 2

2- Drill the top of the screw head off, lift of motor housing and use vise grips to try and spin it out. Make sure the operable edge of the grips is toward the direction you want to spin.
http://www.irwin.com/irwin/consumer/jhtml/index.jhtml?_requestid=372278
FAILURE GO TO 3

3- Use a drill bit a little smaller than the outside diameter (OD) of the threads of the screw, or a little smaller thatn the female threads (see if it fits loose into a hole already vacated of the screw) and use an easy out.
http://www.toolprice.com/product/1225D
FAILURE GO TO 4

4- Use a drill bit almost exactly the same size as the OD and follow with a starting tap the same size and thread count as the screw http://www.jamestowndistributors.com/userportal/show_product.do?pid=509&PTECH, then finish with a bottom tap http://www.jamestowndistributors.com/userportal/search.do?freeText=bottoming%20tap&page=GRID&history=.

TOO MESSED UP GO TO 5
5-Drill it out and insert a heli coil.
http://www.emhart.com/products/helicoil.asp

REALLY MESSED UP

6-Buy a new motor because the time to now probably paid for it. :-)
http://www.emotorstore.com/

Answer 2

"easy-out" is a misnomer if ever there was one.

How big is the head of the screw? If it's large enough (and there's enough left of it), take a really small chisel and a hammer and tap the screw head off-center in the direction you want it to turn. A multitude of small taps later you'll have it out. That works because the hammer blows help loosen it. If you haven't already, hose it down really good with WD-40, Liquid Wrench, or PB Blaster (those penetrate into the threads and help loosen the screw).

If all this fails, it's drilling time.

Get a drillbit that is the size of the screw minus the width of the threads. You want to drill out just the body of the screw, doing as little damage as possible to the threads of what it's screwed into, preferably just far enough that you can remove the housing (and hopefully have a stub of a screw left sticking out that you can turn with a pair of pliers or vice grips). Ideally you could drill just the head off, but I don't know how the assembly comes apart... if this needs to lift away or slide off or what.

Good luck. If the only way you can get it apart results in breaking it, JB Weld is a fantastic epoxy that is strong enough to actually be tapped for a new screw.

Answer 3

At that size, you'll never be able to get a left-handed tap wrench small enough to remove the screw. Your best bet might be just to file the head off flush and use some kind of alternative mounting.

Answer 4

i'm sure you have used WD-40 or rustoleum rust cleaner or a similar product. I am suprised that it didn't come out when you tapped it. Another idea, and you would have to be really careful, is to apply a little heat to it. Don't torch it, just give it acouple of passes with a lighter. Give that a try after dousing it with WD or a similar product. That should expand the hole a little bit, enough to pull it out. Good luck.

Answer 5

Have you tried spraying the screw with a rust dissolver like Naval Jelly? It may make getting it out with pliers a bit easier by loosening up the frozen connection.

Answer 6

got acess to a drill press?
put a sharp drill bit in to the drill press, the next size bigger than the screw head.
care fully drill away the head of the screw.
seperate the two halves of the housing.
tale a pair of good vise gripps, and care fully turn out the remains of the screws shaft.

Answer 7

use a drill bit slightly smaller than the screw that is stripped. drill the top off the screw. lift off housing then use plyers to remove the rest of the screw.

Answer 8

In this situation you will need to drill a small tiny hole with a drill bit (pref carbide/tungsten) and drill a next larger hole until the screw colapses....

Answer 9

Buy a tool called an easy out

Answer 10

Try using a pair of pliers. Grip it around the edge, and use the pliers like a wrench to turn the screw, if possible.