Embedded Screws Help!

B

Badbrad8500

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I recently bought a Mag 9.5 and the screws holding the the bottom part of the pump housing were rusted so I tried to take them off to clean/replace. When I put screwdriver to screw, the screw head broke off and now I have a couple shafts that are stuck inside the pump housing. I tried the tool in the pic below, but it couldn't get a bite into any of the screws. Does anyone have any experience with this? I'd pay or trade coral for someone to get those darn screws out. Oh, also the ceramic shaft is broken and I'll need to buy one of those if anyone knows where to get one?

Thanks

Brad
 
You can try a left hand or reverse thread drill but. But as bill has stated may just be easier to replace the pump.
 
It looks like you have not drilled any holes yet in the bolts to insert the extractor in.

You might soak around the bolts with something like Liquid Wrench for a few days, and then try just grabbing the nubs with a needle nose, or tap them around with a hammer and chisel to start them out, or whatever works, and turn them out.

David
 
like DW said, you need to drill a small hole in the old screw so you can get the extractor in there
you will need a good drill bit, and go slow

Every extractor calls for a specific hole size to be pre drilled. The #1 extractor usually calls for a 5/64” drill bit
 
Hey thank you all for the replies. I did try drilling a pilot hole with a carbon (i think?) bit, but it broke off due to the unevenness of the surface, I guess I could file the screw down and try again. I'm not sure if the extractor bit will bite even then on those stainless screws though, it seemed to dull the tines on the bit when I tried it the first time, maybe it'll work better with that pilot hole. I'll buy a new extractor bit and note the specific pilot hole bit too (thanks Pete).

Lindsey, thanks for the offer, I might take you up on that if I can't do it myself. The pump is a replacement for the Rio 2500 I have as a return pump presently (more flow wanted). Yeah if I had the budget, I'd go with Eheim : ) Going to have to stick with the cheaper option for now!
 
One last thing that might be worth a try (keeping in mind that it's hard for me to judge the scale of the pump, so I don't know the exact size of those screws):

If you have a small pair of needle-nose vise-grips, you might be able to get enough of a hold of the broken screws to start to back them out. With the screw head gone, there should be less tension on the the part that's left and once you get it started it should be pretty easy. Grab onto the protruding part of the screw with the vise-grips "flat" against the pump.

Again, I can't see how much material you have left sticking out of the pump housing, so I don't know if that's even going to be possible, but you don't need much. Just enough to get the tip of the vise-grips to grab. I've done it before, but on a much large scale (broken cylinder head bolt on a car).
 
If you have to buy a new drill bit anways get a left hand bit....it may come out while you are drilling the hole.
 
Yeah, all the screws on the left side are pretty much flush with the housing. I tried another extractor bit, but no joy. If any of you all are close and want a free frag or cash, you're welcome to try. After that, I'll just (try to) sell it. Thanks for all the replies though!
 
Ive had pretty good luck taking the broken head and placing it on top of the broken screw and trying to back it out enough to grab with pliers. it looks like its pretty rusted in there though. Also sounds a bit crazy but might try some weak acid wash to try and break up that gunk to make it easier.
 
badbrad,
The way a screw extractor works is to drill the size of hole recommended for the extractor. The extractor is then placed into the newly drilled hole in the bolt and then turned in the same direction as if trying to remove the bolt/screw. Lefty loosey, righty tighty. The Ryobi extractor that is pictured calls for a 1/8" hole and is for 1/4" bolts. The broken bolts do not look to be that large in your pictures. So if these screws/bolts are smaller than 1/4" then you need a smaller extractor and drill to match the extractor. As with the other posts, a good penetrating oil, like Liquid Wrench, is recommended and the rusted screw/bolt should stay wet with it for at least 24-48 hours. If you decide to drill the holes be sure to stay in the center of the screw/bolt. If you drill the hole off center you could drill into the threaded area and you would not like the consequences.
I have worked on things like broken cylinder headbolts (cars and tractor) and broken automotive exhaust manifold bolts. They are more involed because of what needs to be removed to get to the broken bolt and the lack of working space. The small size of screw you are dealing with makes it about the same challenge. With larger bolts there is more room for drilling errors than with smaller screws.
I would like to help but am way too far away.

Good Luck.
C Stierhoff
 
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