You guys up to drill some screws out for me? I’m trying to do a front brake job on my car but I’m stuck at the rotors. I can’t get the stupid little rotor screws out. I’ve managed to drill one of the 4 out but am getting sick of waiting for the drills batteries to charge haha. I wasn’t having any luck with the Impact driver either. I was wondering if I could drop it off with you guys to just get the remaining 3 bolts out by any means necessary lol? There’s one on the passenger side and the 2 on the drivers side remaining. I just want to be able finish my brake job without frustrations haha. Here’s the screws I’m talking about:
You do realize that is exactly what he is using in the picture right??? And even if that’s just a generic picture, he said he tried one in the post…lol
Not my picture but tried the impact driver method with liquid wrench to no avail. Mine are much rustier than those pictured too. NE winters are not kind to steel components haha.
use a small torch to heat up the screw. then just use the impact driver on it again. it will come out. unless of course you didnt already mess up the head of the screw trying to drill it out. then you just have to finish drilling it out lol
^This. Heat it until it is cherry red then let it cool for just a few seconds (so you don’t strip the head). Then make sure you have the correct size phillips head and impact it off. Or you can heat it up cherry red then drill it. Heating it and letting it cool slowly will soften the metal and make it easier to drill. But make sure to use cutting oil when drilling, and drill slowly so you don’t work harden it.
One screw is messed up the other two I didn’t even try to get yet. I’m afraid I may have hardened it by drilling too fast now that you mention it. I don’t have a torch so I’ll prolly just pay the pros to deal with my headache.
get a flat punch and hit the head of the screw around the outside edge where it meets the rotor. Then hit it a few times in the center. I mean HIT it too. What you’re doing is trying to break up the surface tension. Do this BEFORE you try the impact screwdriver (the ones you’ve already fucked up nbd hit them now too). For the ones you have messed up what i’ve done when i had minimal tools was to get a chisel and hit the screw at a part near the outside that will make it turn in a counter clockwise direction. If you work at it a little they’ll come right out.
I usually make 1 attempt now with the impact driver and punch and if that don’t work out comes the plasma. It’s a right of passage kinda thing.
I’ll give you a call later when I’m on my break. How’s Thursday looking haha. With work I’ll probably drop the car off the night before and leave it there for the day unless I can get it off.
The problem with this is that by the time you heat around the screw, its such a small area to begin with and the screw is so small that the heat will almost instantly transfer. That is why I said to heat the screw til it was cherry red then give it a few seconds to cool (so you don’t strip the head) The screw itself will soften slightly which will allow you to get it out. If it were a bigger screw (ie lug bolt) then I would agree 100%… heat around it. But those screws are so tiny you would never be able to shock it quick enough to only heat around the screw… especially since I doubt the OP has Oxy/Acetylene torches and would probably just be using a simple propane torch.
correct me if im wrong but in sure when u heat somthing it can also harden. and if you get a tiny screw to hot you may just break it off. if you heat around it and your quick u can get it before the heat transfers. ive heated 1/4 bolts with no problems
