Topic: Cutting off screw heads in tight areas?

[dummkauf]

Ok, I want to have the engine pulled out of the frame tomorrow, however I have one small issue.  One of the exhaust pipes on the right side of the bike is still attached and I can not remove it due to the fact that the former owner stripped the screw head.  I tried my trusty bolt extractor which failed(couldn't get in there squarely), so now I have a stripped screw worn down in the middle thanks to the bolt extractor.  Normally I would just grind the head off with an angle grinder however I do not want to destroy the fins on the motor, and I would like to be able to preserve the exhaust if at all possible.  Does anyone have any suggestions for getting this out?  I have seen some posts in here about using a dremel for cutting metal, would I be able to dremel the screw head off and remove the exhaust(obviously I would have to get the rest of the screw out later, but that could wait until I had the engine out and have plenty of room to work, or could be a job for the machine shop, we'll see)

Note my girlfriend has a $15 black & decker rotary tool however even with the appropriate bit this doesn't seem like it would have the power to cut metal.  Would a more powerful Dremel, or Roto-Zip be able to do this, or some other tool.  I have a feeling I'm going to have to buy a new tool(twist my arm  there) but I'd like to know what would work before buying anything

Any suggestions would be great

[dustyc]

Dremels are pretty powerful.  Don't know about the Black and Decker.  What bit in the rotary tool?  What screw?  Why not drill the head off?  I think we might need a pic or more info.

[rhinoracer]

Before you do more damage to the bolt head try hitting it with an impact driver. A few solid blows usually gets those bolts loose.

[frappy]

If you do choose to use a Dremel tool, I've been able to use the small cutting wheel attachement to carefully cut a slot in the screw head and then use a flat head screwdriver to remove the screw.  Don't go too deep, or you'll weaken the head too much and it'll break with the sideways movement of the screwdriver. Don't forget the Liquid Wrench!

[dummkauf]

Not sure if the impact driver option will work, I did attempt a bolt extractor with my drill  and it dug into the head a bit leaving the top shaped like a bowl(impact driver did sucessfully remove all the other screws attachin the exhaust to the engine though).  I'll try dremeling a slit through what's left and see if I can get it out with a screw driver, however  I think I'm going to have to take the rest of the head off the screw, once the exhaust is off my screw removers should get the rest out. 

[Hope]

here's what I did for a similar situation:

Thanks to everyone who helped with my broken bolt.  After I got about 2 hrs of sleep, I started fresh and combined all of your theories.  Here's how I got the bolt out:

1.  Sprayed lubricant on bolt last night
2.  Sprayed lubricant on bolt this morning
3.  Started out with 1 little pin hole size bit in the dremel, concentrating on hitting that broken bolt DEAD CENTER (this was key)
4.  To keep down the heat, sprayed more lubricant
5.  Waited for bolt to cool down, calculated which dremel bit would be best for next drill in bolt
6.  Fumbled around with the bits a bit
7.  Found the next small bit, drilled with dremel
8.  Sprayed with lubricant
9.  Fiddled with bits.  Decided on the etching bit, drilled with etching bit
10. Smacked a star shaped tool in there that is usually used for ignition and headlight screws on my mom's old Dodge Spirit (I figured because of the shape I would be able to get a grip in there)
11. Didn't turn, sprayed a little more lubricant, drilled a little more with etching bit...
12. Sprayed a little more lubricant
13. Smacked the star shaped screw driver with a hammer into the bolt
14. Turn counter clockwise
15. Bolt came out

Whew!  Thanks SOOOOOOOOOOOOO much to everyone who contributed.  This could have gone really bad, but after I combined all of your information with a little patience and ingenuity, it came out really good.  Thanks again guys - couldn't have done it without you.  Off to Honda for the replacement bolt.

Love you guys!

[eurban]

Can you use a drill bit to drill the head off of the screw?

[dustyc]

Can you use a drill bit to drill the head off of the screw?

That was what I was thinking if the impact driver didn't do it.  I thought maybe it was some other screw other than the spigot that had him stuck.  Going at it with a dremel is like digging post holes with a spoon. -Why struggle?

[dummkauf]

Drilling might be an option although the thing I like about the dremel is that I think I'd be a lot less likely to take off too much and damage the engine where as drilling I may go all the way through and then some.

I like the idea of dremeling it out a bit and then ramming a screw driver(or impact driver) into it and try to grab it that way.

going to give that a shot when I got home tonight.   Also what kind of lubricant were you talking about?

[dustyc]

For drilling, use a light oil.  For breaking stuck bolts, Liquid Wrench is the best penetrating oil I've used.  I spray with LW, take a propane torch and heat , then spray again and it takes maybe 1/4 of the force I was trying without success before to break the bolt. 

[strangedaze39]

Dremels are my friend I use them at least once a day it seems. If your good with one and no when to not go 2 far with them and end up ruining something they are very handy for cutting nuts off from behind. For screws I use a #2 then #3 "Grabbit" bit, these are also insanely good if used right.

[jtb]

Dremels are my friend I use them at least once a day it seems. If your good with one and no when to not go 2 far with them and end up ruining something they are very handy for cutting nuts off from behind. For screws I use a #2 then #3 "Grabbit" bit, these are also insanely good if used right.

If I see Martha coming at me with a dremel, I'm leavin'

 

[dustyc]

I love my dremel and rotozip too, but I'd rather use a drill in this instance.  Drilling off a screw head shouldn't need that much finesse.

[dummkauf]

Got it!!!   Used the rotozip to carve a slot through the screw head and pounded my impact driver into it with a flathead bit.  Took a little pounding and I rounded out the srew even more but I got it out :-)

Thanks for all the suggestions, now I just have to figure out how to get the chain off and pull the motor out.