so i got a new steering wheel from my friends dad the other day, that is great and fits perfect, to get the bolt on the one side though to tighten down the steering wheel, u have to take off 6 allen wrench screws that are 3mm, so i got 3 off, but the other 3 wont come off and semi stripped. how wuld i get these off without hurting them? i wuld like to keep them but i dont know how i wuld get them off without damaging them. would a blowdryer work?

 

yeah just blowdry them loose

did you try forcing a bigger size Allen wrench in it? also, try a different brand of Allen wrench. is sounds dumb, but i have gotten lucky and had a chepo wrench that fit the stripped head better, and i have also used chepo wrenches that stripped the head and the good one was able to grab it enough to get it out.

make sure the wrench is in there flat, and you are turning it without putting the wrench at an angle. that's usually what strips them out. turn it slow, and try to say a prayer lol.

good luck!

 

Well, screws are pretty cheap if you have to replace them. You might try and re installing the ones you already have out. It will help take some of the pressure off the stuck ones. Make sure you use a GOOD QUALITY allen. If the head is already partically gone it may be too late already. You can try an allen socket on a hand inpact. Try some PB Blaster or other de rusting agent.

 

i wil try the blowdryer after school and maybe some penetrating oil. i just dont wanna ruin the screws, cuz i know they will be hard to find teh perfect ones.

 

u wouldn't use a torch to dry ur hair so why use a blowdryer to loosen bolts? those allen screws r nothing special. any hardware store that sells fasteners will have replacements. besides, those shouldn't be that tight.

 

i dont want to damage the steering wheel though, i will go to lowes or another place around here and if i can find an exact match, then i will use force.

 

I say take one of the ones that was removed to Fastenal and find a match in stainless steal. If you find a mach then just use some vise grips.

http://www.fastenal.com/web/locations.ex

 

I wuld use vice grips, just they are completely in they metal and no sides are exposed. i will see what i can find on fastenal

 

It sould not be a problem to find them at a hardwear store, either SAE or metric. They are normal socket head, not flat head right? You can use a drill just slightly larger than the thread diameter and drill down just past the head. When the drill breaks through, the head will pop right off leaving a few threads of length protruding from the hub. You can grab this with the vice grips after removing the wheel.

 

theyre a flathead

 

drilling it out like banzai mentioned is what i'd do.

 

Dremmel a notch into them and use the notch to unscrew them with a flathead.

 

Are you sure they're metric? Might have been SAE, in which case trying to use a metric Allen would strip em.

If you get them out, replace them with Torx-head screws. Never strip again.

 

Flat heads are nortorious for getting stuck. I think it's all the surface area of the countersunk angled underside and they usually have a smaller than normal allen size. Yes, dremeling a slot might work, or you can look at an autoparts store for a screw extractor. They have LH spiral types or square drive in types. I've had limited sucess with these. Another way is to buy a LH drill bit just larger than the allen size. You have to chuck it up good and tight and run the drill in reverse, but you'd be surprised how once the drill grabs it spins it loose. So, to review;
1) slightly larger allen driven in to hex slot
2) allen socket and hand inpact
3) dremmel in slot
4) drill off head
5) screw extractor
6) LH drill
Why is it still in there?

 

Oh yea, forgot the Blow Dryer!