Phillips screws

[sgrprincees]

During the simple process of draining my coolant, I have rounded off the heads of 2 phillips head screws.  I have also noticed that one of the phillips screws that holds on the cover to the master cylinder has had a slot cut in it.  I am wondering if anyone has tried to replace most of the phillips screws on their Vision, and how hard it would be.  Is there some device for measuring the exact specifications of screws?

[Lucky]

Since I rebuild carbs I deal with this a lot. there are 3 or 4 good methods of removing philips (or any bold or screw for that matter.)
First, get yourself an impact screwdriver. they come with interchangable tips for both slotted and a few sizes of philips.  what you do is hold the spring loaded handle in the direction you want to turn the screw and wack the end of the handle with a hammer. (it is designed for this) the simultanious action of turning pressure & downward force on the threads is usually enough to crack the screw free.

another way is to grab the exposed head of the screw with a good set of vice grips (nice serrated jaws) and crack the screw loose

also, heating the screw with a small torch sometimes works, if you won't be destroying anything else in the process, you can cut a slot in a screw head (good for recesed screws like the master cyl cover) with a dremil tool, and turn the screw off with a flat screwdriver.

any screw that you have to maim to remove should be replaced with a new one (I like stainless steel) and the threads coated with 'never seize'

typicly the screws on the Vision are replaceable with common metric hardware.  if it is an allen bolt though, you should use one with at least an "8" hardness rating, 12 for starter clutch screws.  it will be stamped somewhere on the bolt.

--Lucky

[Cdnlouie]

The screws are quite easy and readily available.  They are 6mm threads so you just need to get the right length.  Take one out and take it with you to a local Home Depot or automotive store.  I do believe that even the USA has moved into the modern world of the metric system.

If you are talking brake master cylinder they may be a bit harder to find.  I think they are 4mm screws with the beveled head which will give you a bit of a challenge.

Good searching,

Louie

[Rick G]

I use  standard round head phillips head , I salvaged them from an old set of carbs  ( accellerator pump uses them )    ACE hard ware has a very good selection  of metric hardware, SS too.

[bikehandle]

  Sears sells a set of damaged screw extractors, when push comes to shove and all else fails, these work! ;D

[Lucky]

we may not be talking about the same thing, but my experience with "easy outs" is that they are anything but, and more trouble then their worth.

I'm refering to the ones that are eiter reverse threaded, or fluted. your supposed to drill down the center of the frozen screw, thread this thing in (lefty) and work the bolt out.  more often than not they snap off and you are left with a hardened steel piece in the center of the bolt.  forget drilling that out unless you have a nice sharp cobalt drill bit.  I Gave my set away.

Another thing that I forgot to mention: PBlaster sold at Pep Boys, this stuff is absoultly incredible.  it is a penetrating oil that actually works wonders.  I have used this stuff to remove exhaust bolts that were so rusted away that most of the head of the bolt (or nut) was gone.  a soak with this stuff over night and a good set of vice grips will usually do the trick, if not, a little heat added to the situation will do it.

A Tip:  if you have trouble getting out an allen head screw because the hex key is worn & rounded off, grind the tip of the hex key 'till you have a nice flat surface all the way around. the key will be slightly shorter, but at least you will get that stuborn bolt out.  I had to do this yesterday on one of the intake bolts.

--Lucky

[RobTx]

I've had pretty good luck with screw extractors.  Another thing to do is to completely drill the head of the screw off with the right size drill bit, leaving only the shaft of the screw.  Then when it's disassembled you can just unscrew the screw it pliers or vice grips.
Rob

[Silver_Bullet]

Found replacement phillips screws for both brake reservoir and access plate on left engine case at Lowe's.  To minimize problems in future, use anti-seize compound.  Now, if I can ever finish tracking down my electrical problems!
Mark

[Blake]

It may just be me, but im quite partial to allen bolts.  Whenever possible (when my screws are stripped..and i finally get them out) i try to use allen bolts when necessary.  I've already switched out all of the screws on the carbs that hold the top on with bolts (had to use actual bolts there. allen woulnt fit in such a tight space), and using allen bolts holding the fuel pump on.  It's a lot easier for me to get the carbs apart with an allen wrench and crecent wrench, then to strip out screws and have to deal with those..




my two cents..


Blake

[RobTx]

A little history.  Phillips head screws were originally developed too allow (primitive) automated machinery to install fasteners without making them to tight.  The phillips design doesn't allow alot of torque before the tip twists out of the slot.  Unfortunately it doesn't allow much torque when removing screws either.  That's why stripping phillips head screws is so common.  Impact drivers help by forcing the tip of the blade hard into the slot at the same time turning force is applied.  I'm with Blake, whenever possible I replace with hex head or allen bolts.  Since phillips screws are used in low torque applications, be careful not to over tighten when replacing them with hex or allen bolts.  Interesting article here: http://www.justbrits.com/pozi/pozidriv.html
Rob