Freestyle factory pipe screws frozen

[fastgtfairlane]

i have a factory pipe on my 550 that has the water adjustment screws.. pipe has 2 adjustment screws the top turns freely, the middle screw is frozen shut.. i have an oversize screw kit with the drill bit and tap.. what is the best way to try removing the screws?? im gonna try heat and some vice grips...i also have pblaster.. ive thought about drilling it out but dont want to mess up the seat at the bottom of the water jacket.. i also performed a search on here for this very issue to save the trouble of going starting another thread thats been covered and my search came up empty..

 

[Christian_83]

Ive had 3 stuck in a SJ header, i put the header in the oven for 30 mins at 200 degrees celcius and could get them out easy. I would try that before trying to drill it out, keep in mind the screw is SS and hard, the header is aluminium and soft.

 

[fastgtfairlane]

thats a good idea! i do have a small torch i could use to heat it... theres enough of the screw exposed i should be able to get a good grip with vice grips..

 

[Christian_83]

Just throw that thing in the oven, seriously

 

[Shonuff]

I just put antiseize on mine the other day which was a bonus as Jet-Hot coatings just coated right the hell over the top of them.

 

[fastgtfairlane]

well i tried the oven thing and using a torch.. the screw broke off even with the base when i was using the vice grips... i made an attempt to start drilling and made it worse...looks like im down to one adjustment screw after all... damnit! i couldnt get the drill bit centered on the screw to drill it out because of the angle where the pipe curves...

 

[Offroadie]

I wish I had seen this sooner.

My dad let me in on a little secret that an old aircraft mechanic told him years ago when he built hydroplanes. If you have an old time style pharmacy in your area... check and see if they have "oil of wintergreen". The aircraft mechanic had used this to pour into cylinders that had seized pistons... let soak for a few days and been able to free engines. This stuff is not cheap (I paid $11 for a very small bottle). I also have yet to have any personal success with this method (i tried to free a seized outboard that I fear is beyond help) ... but my dad has used this with success. I don't know if this would free frozen screws on a pipe, but I have been wondering for some time now.

For what it's worth... I know that it has been known to work on seized pistons.

 

[Screwy]

The problem with those screws is that they r usually set and forgot about. My advise is to use a regular oxy torch.not the smaller mapp gas torches. I had three water fittings stuck in a riva pipe. Couple minutes with the torch and they came right out.

 

[LegDragger64]

If there is enough thread sticking out to get a second nut on it and jam them together , the screw will come right out .

 

[mjkammes]

going to try the oven trick today....sounds easy

 

[550/440]

Newmiller Machine will replace them. Chris has done 2 head pipes for me, and they both turned out excellent. He's on PWCtoday, screen name MCN6.

 

[fastgtfairlane]

problem is the threads sticking out were not enough to get a second bolt on it...tried that when i got the pipe.. using vise grips i broke the bolt off basically flush with the pipe..i then tried drilling the bolt out with no such luck and couldnt get centered on the bolt... really sucks because the factory full pipe like mine for the 550 are very hard to find and not cheap either! i drilled the top out and put the over sized screw in with no problems.. i did notice after running hose water through the pipe that you have to really tighten the screws to seal them up..

 

[fastgtfairlane]

the problem with the factory screws is they are too small! the oversize screws are much better

 

[pallety]

what i did is weld the nut on the screw . the screw will heat and afterwards it will schrink a little and it loses easily .

 

[motoman96]

If there is enough thread sticking out to get a second nut on it and jam them together , the screw will come right out .

If there's enough sticking out, weld a nut onto it. Not only does it give you something to grab, also heats the aluminum up to help release the threads. Granted you need someone who can tig stainless an get good penetration. Welding a nut on any broken bolt, if you can, is the easiest way. The welder at work comes in handy for just this reason, stainless I give to my engineer buddy an he does the same thing, he just has access to weld stainless. Goodluck

Once done, always apply anti-seize to the water screws EVERY year. Heat an patience is your friend.

 

[Snivilous]

what i did is weld the nut on the screw . the screw will heat and afterwards it will schrink a little and it loses easily .

That's what I was gonna suggest