(solved) removing rounded torx head screw | Page 3 | GTAMotorcycle.com

(solved) removing rounded torx head screw

The heads of the torx screws that fasten aluminum guards to the motor have become totally rounded.
Tried heat + bit-extractors and this did not work.
Anybody knows of a machine shop in around Mississauga that has the expertise and tools to unscrew the two screws?
(the screws go into the cylinder body)
Help!

Here is the ph numbetr of a machinist (independent) I have used in the past. He is currently selling his shop as he is now 73. I just spoke to him, he can give it a shot for you. He is up by Steeles and Weston or somewhere around there
416-573-0085
 
Can someone please explain map gas?
 
Here is the ph numbetr of a machinist (independent) I have used in the past. He is currently selling his shop as he is now 73. I just spoke to him, he can give it a shot for you. He is up by Steeles and Weston or somewhere around there
416-573-0085
Thank you, much appreciated!
 
That's how I would approach it, and if it doesn't spin out at the end, you get a machine tap and tap out the threads...but you need to know the specs for the screw so you get the right tap...but the OP is all thumbs as he stated so this ain't gonna happen.
"All thumbs"
It is true, in my apprenticeship days I could not hacksaw in a straight line and could not file two pieces of metal to match as one.
 
The loctite used on those screws is definitely the "red".
The plan is to drill out the screw heads, take off the engine guard plate, heat and then vice-grip the studs out.
After that, I am going through the garage and trash any red loctite I find!

If there is enough to get vice grips on I highly recommend (the aforementioned) stud extractor

I recently had a broken exhaust stud and it worked wonders

I doused it in penetrating oil for a good week first as I don’t feel comfortable bringing a lot of heat onto aluminum heads
Image1629237849.235458.jpg


Sent from my iPhone using GTAMotorcycle.com mobile app
 
Can someone please explain map gas?
Ron, I have used it a lot for soldering copper piping, it burns a lot hotter than propane. Its all I use. Don't know what's in it but you can't use the same torch as those for propane cylinders.
 
Ron, I have used it a lot for soldering copper piping, it burns a lot hotter than propane. Its all I use. Don't know what's in it but you can't use the same torch as those for propane cylinders.
Some torches work on both. Maybe all mapp torches work on propane. I've never tried a propane torch on mapp but it's not a good idea.

On temperature scale oxy acetylene>turbo torch>mapp>propane.
 
Can someone please explain map gas?
In the beginning there was propane but then came MAPP gas. However they stopped making it years ago, replacing it with MAP gas. MAPP was hotter than MAP but there were some production issues. Propane isn't as hot as either.

A clarification is needed with the term hot. Common pipe solders melt at about 400°F and a cigarette burns at about 3 to 4 times that but you can't solder a pipe with a lit cigarette because it doesn't generate a large enough quantity of heat. Similarly you could burn red Loctite off an exposed small screw with a butane cigarette lighter but it won't work with a screw in an engine block.

I've used all three gases in the same torches and they worked although I suspect I wasn't getting full efficiency with some combinations.

IIRC MAPP was methylacetylene-propadiene propane.

MAP flame is a bit cooler by a few hundred degrees
 
In the beginning there was propane but then came MAPP gas. However they stopped making it years ago, replacing it with MAP gas. MAPP was hotter than MAP but there were some production issues. Propane isn't as hot as either.

A clarification is needed with the term hot. Common pipe solders melt at about 400°F and a cigarette burns at about 3 to 4 times that but you can't solder a pipe with a lit cigarette because it doesn't generate a large enough quantity of heat. Similarly you could burn red Loctite off an exposed small screw with a butane cigarette lighter but it won't work with a screw in an engine block.

I've used all three gases in the same torches and they worked although I suspect I wasn't getting full efficiency with some combinations.

IIRC MAPP was methylacetylene-propadiene propane.

MAP flame is a bit cooler by a few hundred degrees
Interesting. I didn't know that. Just went out to check what I have. I have some Map/pro that doesn't list ingredients and some Max power propylene which is 99.5% propylene. Both yellow cylinders.

EDIT:
Boo. Propane is 1995 degrees C, Map/pro is 2050 degrees C with air, adding oxygen it heats up more than propane. Almost a wash in air. My Map torch is larger though so heat flux should be higher even if temperature isn't much better.
 
Last edited:
I would use a cut off wheel on my grinder to get most the washer out of the way.... I would then use a pipe wrench on the bolt head.. Possibly wack the handle of the pipe wrench with a hammer... I have a small pipe wrench with very sharp teeth I try to reserve for tasks like this.. I think it 6 inch made by ridgit.
 
Good news, the screw is out and nothing else broke while doing it!
Thank you All for your input, your wisdom came handy.
Method:
- heat the motor the natural way i.e. a long hard ride.
- get rid of the screw head (drill, dremel)
- slide off the aluminum plate, exposing the stud
- unscrew the stud with a stud extractor (shelf item at PA for around $30).

Happy ending, thank you again!
 

Back
Top Bottom