Topic: @#%$!!! You use the right tool for the job...

[putnaja1]

And you STILL get fooked!

Attempting to change my front tire, the one time I get a few hours of time to do this job.  I realize in advance that the speedo cable drive bolt is problematic for some folks, so I grab my impact driver (for those that don't know, a 3/8" deal with phillips head socket on one end, hit the other end with a hammer to get out stuck screws) in advance- which has NEVER let me down before, and saved my arse on many occasion.

TAP!  TAP!!  TAP!!!  Huh, that's funny, it usually will break free screws like this by now..  Hmm- I'll be darn, it boogered the phillips head on the screw!!

CCCCCCCRRRRAAAAAPPPPP!!!!!!!

Well, I just cleaned up and left the garage for now.  I'm so freakin pissed I can't even think straight.  Not sure what to do now..  I guess when I have cooled off, I'll take off the wheel after detaching the cable from the speedo, and attempt to coax that darn screw outta there.  Here's a new one-- it also boogered the phillips head socket on my impact driver! 

Has anyone else experienced this wonderful experience?  How did you extract the screw if so?

Jason

[Daves_76_SS]

I just changed my front tire and I disconected the speedo from the guage and changed the tire with the cable still attached.

[Bob Wessner]

Has anyone else experienced this wonderful experience?  How did you extract the screw if so?

 

Mine had become mangled also. I used an Easyout to remove what was left and then ordered a new screw from Servicehonda (along with several other parts).

[DiscoEd]

I just changed my front tire and I disconected the speedo from the guage and changed the tire with the cable still attached.

Ditto!

[putnaja1]

Do you guys remember:  Is this the screw part number:
SCREW, OVAL (5X16) 93700-05016-0A

[Tim.]

They're saying that you remove the front wheel with the speedo cable still attached to the drive - unscrew it from your speedo itself to facilitate this.

Then, I believe the speedo drive itself is easily removed from the front wheel, with the cable still attached to the drive.

This will allow you to change your tire, and perhaps give you a more advantageous position from which to extract the screw.  Worst case scenario take it to a machine shop, or if your speedo cable isn't in bad shape, just keep on running with it like it is and worry about it when you need to replace the cable if ever.

[burmashave]

And you STILL get fooked!
Has anyone else experienced this wonderful experience?  How did you extract the screw if so?
Jason

I haven't used an easy-out since I broke one off in a screw.  Easy outs are made of very hard steel and are a nightmare to drill out if you break one.

I've used two other methods for removing broken screws.  The easiest is to take a cold chisel and give it a quick sharpening on a grinding wheel if you have one.  Then, set a corner of the chisel on the outside of the screw head and angle it a bit toward the direction you want the head to go.  Tap lightly, and it should loosen.

The other way is to simply drill it.  Use a drill bit just a smaller than the head of the screw.  The idea is to start with a bit just a bit smaller than the screw diameter and go up until the head comes off.  Once the head is off, the screw may loosen, and if not, you can twist it out with vice grips.

This page has good info:  How to Extract Stuck Screws

I came across these pearls of wisdom because my impact driver was a piece of crap.  I tried several, including a Craftsman, before I spent a few bucs on a Snap On.  It was worth it.

[bryanj]

GENTLE use of hammer with a centre punch on outside edge at an angle. BE CAREFULL its not unusual to snap the end off the speedo drive!

[Bob Wessner]

BE CAREFULL its not unusual to snap the end off the speedo drive!

I second that. The screw on mine was messed up years ago by the PO. I changed my tires with the drive and cable still attached as mentioned earlier. Replacing the screw was one of my to-do items. Because the speedo hub is aluminum and seemed somewhat unsupported at that point, I didn't even want to try an impact driver.

[putnaja1]

Great info all around guys!!

I think I will approach this by:

1)removing front wheel
2)spraying PB Blaster in the hole at the rear of the threads
3)attempt the punch/hammer method suggested above
4)if #3 doesn't work, attempt EZ out solution (hope it won't break!)

[jgary]

Another vote for disconnecting the speedo cable at the gauge. 

J.

[putnaja1]

Another vote for disconnecting the speedo cable at the gauge. 

J.

Yeah- that's what I ended up doing.  I have some new screws on order, just in case I get adventurous- probably during the winter I'll attempt to extract that broken screw.

Anyhow, the over analytical side of me is wondering if it is possible I damaged anything beating on the impact driver on the screw of the speedo drive?  The speedo drive doesn't visually look broken or cracked, and it works (speedo works)..  I am wondering if there is any other parts that I may have damaged beating on the impact driver?  Like the bearing retainer or the speedo drive plate? 

Everything looks OK, but I'm curious- if one beats on the side of the speedo drive on the cable screw, where would the impact be transferred to?  Does the speedo drive box fit so tight to the axle that any sideways force would be applied to the axle as the speedo drive tried to angle with the blows, therefore probably doing zero damage?  Or is all force transferred into the bearing retainer?

Jason

[Bob Wessner]

I wondered all the same things. Given its location, it seemed to me that that part of the assembly is unsupported directly opposite the point of impact.. if you will. So I opted for extracting it instead.

[Jerry Rxman Griffin aka MuthaF'er]

I used my dremel to cut a slot across the head and used a flat blade screw driver bit in the same impact driver to finally loosen it.

[wardmoto]

I gave up on my 350F project and drilled that bastard the hell out...re tapped and all is good.

[Dennis]

I came across these pearls of wisdom because my impact driver was a piece of crap.  I tried several, including a Craftsman, before I spent a few bucs on a Snap On.  It was worth it.

 

Interesting .....

I have used CHEAP impact drivers and I have used good quality impact drivers. They all seemed to work well.

[SohcCBs]

My '76 SuperSport came with an allen head and nut behind....didn't even know it wasn't stock.  Sure is easy to get loose, but a tad difficult to get the nut on during assembly.  Not very though.

[bill440cars]

     
               Anybody ever heard of "Left-Handed" drill bits? In the States, you can get them from Snap-On and Matco Tools for sure, and maybe others.  If it comes down to drilling a bolt (or screw) out, I grab my left-handed bits along with a reversible drill, put the drill in reverse (with the proper size bit installed) and drill it out (sometimes, the screw will loosen, during the process, and back out on it's own)
Last resort for me but, it always worked (So Far!) Later on, Bill

[SohcCBs]

Yes, I've used them to remove broken off bolts in various places.  It's very important to punch the center first.  A click or spring loaded snap punch works best....otherwise use a good hardend punch.  Not to be confussed with a nail set.

Got the bit at....sorry, don''t remember where I got it, but it was an autoparts or homedepot, not a hard thing to find.

Typically called a "reverse drill bit".  Hey but you already knew that Bill!!

[burmashave]

I came across these pearls of wisdom because my impact driver was a piece of crap.  I tried several, including a Craftsman, before I spent a few bucs on a Snap On.  It was worth it.

Interesting .....
I have used CHEAP impact drivers and I have used good quality impact drivers. They all seemed to work well.

   
I got my first impact driver from JC Whitney.  It had a tendency to fall apart in use.  My second was a Craftsman, and I stripped a bunch of heads with it while replacing my cover screws with allens (even after spraying the screws with WD40 the night before).  I'm picky about tools, but the impact driver is the only Snap On I own.  I like it, and it is extremely well made; however, the difference may be the bits.  My other two drivers didn't have a bit that fit the standard phillips head well.  The Snap On has two -- a long and a short bit in that size.

[putnaja1]

Anyhow, the over analytical side of me is wondering if it is possible I damaged anything beating on the impact driver on the screw of the speedo drive?  The speedo drive doesn't visually look broken or cracked, and it works (speedo works)..  I am wondering if there is any other parts that I may have damaged beating on the impact driver?  Like the bearing retainer or the speedo drive plate? 

Everything looks OK, but I'm curious- if one beats on the side of the speedo drive on the cable screw, where would the impact be transferred to?  Does the speedo drive box fit so tight to the axle that any sideways force would be applied to the axle as the speedo drive tried to angle with the blows, therefore probably doing zero damage?  Or is all force transferred into the bearing retainer?

I've been thinking about this some more, and although I have not yet taken apart the front wheel, I have a theory- I'm wondering if someone here that has been through these parts will be able to confirm my thinking as correct or not correct (or somewhere in-between)

My theory is that, since the bearings have retainers that are threaded into the hub, they would have kept the impact (of me using an impact driver on the speedo cable screw) from damaging the bearings.  The only other place some of that force could have gone would have been as the speedo gearbox was trying to angle down due to the location of the speedo screw, and the fact that the axle runs through the speedo drive.  I'm thinking that since the axle must be of a very hard metal, the aluminum speedo drive would have either broken (it didn't) or nothing happened to the axle.  The only other piece left is the speedo drive plate (called COVER in the parts microfiche, as listed at this LINK).  My guess is that this piece is pretty flat (hopefully not prone to damage) and since the speedo still works fine, it ain't broke..

For those that have been through the front wheel bearings and had your hands/eyeballs on these parts, does this sound about right?  What about the spacer (part #7, called a COLLAR at that same LINK) that goes between the two wheel bearings, and appears to have knobs on it that possibly interfaces with the speedo drive plate?

Just trying to see how possible anything could have gotten boogered, so I can decide whether to take it apart and inspect, or just ride.  If it was any other part than the front wheel, it wouldn't make me so nervous!

   

Jason

[malcolmgb]

     
               Anybody ever heard of "Left-Handed" drill bits? In the States, you can get them from Snap-On and Matco Tools for sure, and maybe others.  If it comes down to drilling a bolt (or screw) out, I grab my left-handed bits along with a reversible drill, put the drill in reverse (with the proper size bit installed) and drill it out (sometimes, the screw will loosen, during the process, and back out on it's own)
Last resort for me but, it always worked (So Far!) Later on, Bill

Just got back from the USA, while there I got these from Sears, http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?BV_UseBVCookie=Yes&vertical=TOOL&cat=Hand+Tools%2C+General+Purpose&subcat=Bolt-Out%2C+Taps+%26+Dies&pid=00952154000 I think they are what you talk of, they were on offer at $9.99, wow! I was like a kid in a sweet shop, nothing like this place in the UK.

[DiscoEd]

I was like a kid in a sweet shop, nothing like this place in the UK.

Hmmm, Sears    ...I guess we've come along way since 1776.

[malcolmgb]

I was like a kid in a sweet shop, nothing like this place in the UK.

Hmmm, Sears    ...I guess we've come along way since 1776.

I see you like our comedy though

[Dave Wyatt]

I've had a screwed up screw head for some time now.  I just pulled the axle out and left the thing dangle from the cable when the wheel was off.  I never disconnected it from the speedometer.

Recently when the cable broke and I had to replace it, I drilled out the screw head with a bit slightly smaller than the threads.  As soon as the bit got to the actual screw, the threaded portion just spun out the back side.  A quick trip to my local Lowes Hiome Improvement (good metric selction) and $.72 later, I had two new screws.  They came two to a package.

I now have anew cable and housing held in by a new screw with the correct head.  It should come apart easily next time, but if it doesn't, I've got a spare.