fairly rusty door bolts

hi, i bought replacement screws for all my hinges, and some of the old ones won't come out. the bonnet screws went on nicely and i'm glad i did it as some of the old screws broke as i was unscrewing them! i know others have posted the same question, and the obvious answer is to drill, but my situation might be a bit different in that i can get excellent grip on the screw heads, i just can't apply enough force to turn them. any tips on how to get more turning force? the screw-driver has a bolt-type of end that i could put a socket on and then work with the wrench, but i can't figure out a way of keeping enough inward pressure to keep the screwdriver in the screw head.

some of the door screws are painted over and some are rusty. i tried tapping the end of the screwdriver with a hammer to loosen up the screw but it didn't seem to do any good. also gave it plenty of WD40 but it's not getting anywhere near the threads so i guess that might also be a dead end. i have titanium coated drill bits which i'm sure can handle the job but i bet it takes ages to drill through a whole screw, and i have lots of them to do :)

thanks in advance. tim

Reply to
Tim_Mac
Loading thread data ...

Tim_Mac uttered summat worrerz funny about:

Impact driver... like a screw driver, you whack it with a ammer and it turns at the same time as applying downwards force on the screw. Just the ticket for this sort of stuff. Be prepared to have to fit new captive nuts they hook on to the door pillar on a thin strip of metal that will probably bugger up as you take out the screw.

Lee D

Reply to
Lee_D

hi lee. thanks for the advice, never heard of an impact driver but i'm sure my local tool shop will have some. the new set of screws came with replacement captive nuts which is great, although i lost the first one down the hole behind the hinge where they slot in. i looked all around the frame and it looks like it is completely closed, i might be able to get it out with a magnet and a piece of string...

thanks again tim

Reply to
Tim_Mac

As Lee says, try an impact driver. Never had much luck with them myself, I just drill the head off the screw, you don't need to drill it all out! Don't worry if it falls down, you can retrieve it from the bottom.

Regards

William MacLeod

Reply to
willie

I've always managed to get them out through the bottom hinge cut out bit with a screwdriver :-)

Regards

William MacLeod

Reply to
willie

They're a bit strange to use at first. When you press the end in, it turns a little, depending on which way you set the mechanism. Put the biggest bit that fits in, turn it as far as you can in the direction you want to turn it, then whack it with a hammer. The idea is that it turns the screw a little to un-sieze it. Whacking it repeatedly doesn't make it keep turning through 360 degrees, not on the ones I've used.

Sorry if this seems like noddy instructions, but I don't think they're particularly intuitive tools if you've not used one before.

Reply to
Ian Rawlings

Thats a very good bit of info Ian as you say they come without instructions and isn't not at all obvious what to do aside from hitting the blunt end. One other thing wear a leather glove ( industrial ) the buggers do tend to jump a bit when you shock them usually the hand grippy surface is very rough and will ot do your manicure any favours Derek ( Smug git with air impact driver )

Reply to
Derek

It's amazing how crap my instructions seem on a second read though..

Much of the time I've used them, the additional diameter and more chunky bits mean that I can twist it harder anyway so I've not needed to whack it much, just used it as a better normal screwdriver.

Reply to
Ian Rawlings

You're right that extra grip does help the only really badly seized screws that needed the ID and a huge thunder stick were the silly brake drum retainers ( remember those) but the air gun is so much more - sort of "Dirty Harry" needs the proper bits tho or it just turns off the ribs " go ahead screw make my day!" Derek fuelled by Carlsberg

Reply to
Derek

Drill them - if they are stiff to turn then the captive nuts will possibly bend/rip out the bit of metal between the scew hole and the big square one above it - then you have real problems. The screws are pretty soft metal - any only drill bit will do (though sharp is obviously a good idea), just select one that will give approximately the right angles so you don't damage the hinge.

Richard

Reply to
beamendsltd

hi all, many thanks for the advice. in reference to william's suggestion that i wouldn't need to drill out the entire screw... is this assuming that i have a screw extractor reverse drill bit? otherwise i can't see how you get any grip to unscrew the shaft after i've drilled the head off the screw. thanks tim

Reply to
Tim_Mac

On or around Wed, 12 Apr 2006 08:29:10 +0100, beamendsltd enlightened us thusly:

if you drill the head with a drill the size of the thread (5/16", I expect) then you won't touch the hinges, but you will dislodge the head.

however...

If you're just trying to get the door off, unbolt it from the hinge and leave the hinge on the pillar (there are nuts on the inside of the door). If you're trying to replace the pillar, then I suggest buying new bolts and hinges and captive nuts, if the old ones won't come apart.

Reply to
Austin Shackles

You don't need any fancy screw extractor bits Tim, once you have the head off the screw (and the door off) you should be able to bend the captive hinge out with the shaft still stuck in it and retrieve it out the rectangular hole (it might fall to the bottom, in which case you can either leave it or fish it out the bottom hole!) Then throw the rusty captive nut and shaft which are still stuck together into the pile for the metal recycler :-)

Regards

William MacLeod

Reply to
willie

When you drill the head(s) off the hinge can be removed, leaving the shank of the screw sticking out. The cage of the captive nut can then be got off it with a screwdriver/pliers.

Richard

Reply to
beamendsltd

Yup. I agree they are really sneaky, what happens alot is they crack off nicely undo for about a turn then go tight and rip the captive nut off this is due to the exsposed theads getting really corroded. If you are replacing the hinges you could cut through the hinge and bolts with an angle grinder.

Good luck

Icky

Reply to
icky

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.