Corded impact driver to shift seized screws

[john_morris_uk]

These are good, designed for moving fixings, esp on alloy rims:


Clarke CIR13C 1/2" Drive 350Nm Impact Wrench Kit (12V) - Machine Mart - Machine Mart


12v and will give it quite a biff. Mind you I think you will end up drilling them out.

.

I've got one of these. Makita DTW285Z 18V LXT Cordless Brushless 1/2 inch Impact Wrench Body Only


Lots of different torque settings and not quite as brutal as you'd expect..

 

[Poignard]

I've got one of these. Oceanic Wheeled Courier Bag


Lots of different torque settings and not quite as brutal as you'd expect..

Wrong link, I think.

 

[John the kiwi]

I've had an exploratory go on one screw with a hammer operated impact driver but it wouldn't move. I'm not keen on hammering the mast as hard as would probably be needed so I was thinking of a corded impact driver.

I can't apply a blowtorch because it sits on a paxolin pad.

Try alternately tightening and then loosing with the manual impact driver...

 

[LiftyK]

Do try a release agent in addition an impact driver. I’ve had good results with Plusgas. It is widely available and here is one possible source.
PlusGas Formula A Dismantling Lubricant 400ml

 

[john_morris_uk]

Wrong link, I think.

Whoops. I meant one of these: Makita DTW285Z 18V LXT Cordless Brushless 1/2 inch Impact Wrench Body Only
And I don’t tend to use it on screws! As per my previous post, one you hit with a hammer (like the Halfords one) is much more controllable for screws.

 

[Skylark]

Patience, try some more gentle tapping with the hammer. And penetrating oil.

Assuming that the screw heads are still in the same very good condition as shown in the OP, this is the way forward.
One thing I would add is heat. No need for a flame, hot air guns work extremely well.
The Halfords manual impact screwdriver has a good range of heads so likely has one with a good fit to those screws.
Don’t forget to swear at it, this often helps, too. Good luck.

 

[Jim@sea]

What about the manual type that you hold, then hit with a hammer as you twist it?
They have the advantage of not jumping out of the slots and so are less likely to mangle the heads.
The shock from the hammer seems to be quite good at loosening them, without crazy torques that might shear the screws instead.
The main bonus being that they are cheap and portable! Mine's saved the day a few times

Yes I would get a manual type, the sort that you smack with a hammer. I was told by a mechanic that when you use one, smack it with the screw going in the tighten direction, that way if it is stuck it will loosen it.

 

[ean_p]

Yes I would get a manual type, the sort that you smack with a hammer. I was told by a mechanic that when you use one, smack it with the screw going in the tighten direction, that way if it is stuck it will loosen it.

It must be me, but in over 40 years of mechanic'ing I have never had any success what's so ever with the manual tools other than having beaten most of them to death with either 21/2 lb BP or 5lb lump hammers. Impact guns, air or electric, excellent!

 

[doug748]

It must be me, but in over 40 years of mechanic'ing I have never had any success what's so ever with the manual tools other than having beaten most of them to death with either 21/2 lb BP or 5lb lump hammers. Impact guns, air or electric, excellent!

Got to say, me as well.

.

 

[john_morris_uk]

It must be me, but in over 40 years of mechanic'ing I have never had any success what's so ever with the manual tools other than having beaten most of them to death with either 21/2 lb BP or 5lb lump hammers. Impact guns, air or electric, excellent!

I think it must be you (respectfully). There is a knack to using one of the manual ones but I’ve rarely failed with one. It’ll shear the screw head off if you’re not careful.

 

[Norman_E]

Yes, back in the day these were an essential tool for teenage motorbike butchers. They worked very well. Carpenters brace is good, but maybe not for the initial loosening. The other thing is to try the screws in the tightening direction first. This can break the bond, but don't overdo it.

View attachment 126250

In the past I have had far more success with a carpenters brace and screwdriver bit than with an impact tool. The screwdriver bits with square shanks for carpenters braces now seem hard to find, but you can make one from an old drill if you have a grinder, ensuring that you make it a good fit in the screw slots. Best technique is to push hard on the pommel and go back and forth a bit to start loosening the screw.

 

[Graham376]

Drill just the heads off leaving some bolt still proud of the mast which can be soaked in easing oil and heated. Hopefully they can then be removed with moles or similar. If you use a heavy duty impact driver they will shear and sods law with nothing left to grip so needing drilling out.

 

[Fr J Hackett]

The trick with the impact driver cordless or otherwise is to get a feel for it on something that doesn't matter first as the speed is determined by how much you press the trigger so go softly to start and gradually increase the pressure on the trigger. The Makita ones at between €90 and €140 are excellent buys but you then need a battery and charger. If an impact driver doesn't shift them you could end up drilling them out.
As has been suggested lots of hot water to see if it can get into the threads as they will be corroded into the aluminium of the mast.

 

[pandos]

,,,,
Don’t forget to swear at it, this often helps, too. Good luck.

Only genuine swearing will have any effect.

Thus you need blood spilled or at least some bruising although if you are a long way from home a forgotten tool or one lost overboard my suffice ...

 

[rotrax]

It must be me, but in over 40 years of mechanic'ing I have never had any success what's so ever with the manual tools other than having beaten most of them to death with either 21/2 lb BP or 5lb lump hammers. Impact guns, air or electric, excellent!

Well, I am still using one I bought in 1975!

I think it must be you. If you take one in bits it is just a double ramp cam, almost impossible to damage no matter how hard you hit it. It IS possible to damage the end tool, but not in my extensive experience the impact driver itself.

As a pro motorbike mechanic it rarely failed to get those soft headed cross head screws from Japanese motorcycle covers.

I used it only the other day to remove eight badly corroded 1/4 UNC phillips head screws from our Hoyt Boom.

I shall use Duralac for assembly, unlike the tossers at Peters Opal - or their contractor -who prepared the boat when new.

I used to have two pneumatic impact drivers, a 3/8 drive for light stuff and a 1/2 inch for heavier work.

It was surprising how often the manual one came out of its little case when the air tools did not cook it.

Always worked for me. In fact, in 2019, when working on our Kiwi boat, I moved a winch from the boom to the mast. I needed to borrow a manual impact driver to get the screws out, just like the OP needs to.

They have always worked for me, providing it could be undone. Sometimes drilling out is the final option, as with the front engine mounting bolts on Moto Guzzi vee twins.

 

[Major_Clanger]

Don't use a powered impact driver! You'll just tear the heads off the screws - which have probably frozen due to the aluminium corroding over them. Instead, get a decent centre punch and a couple of cobalt bits and drill the heads off. Remove the winch/pad, wire brush the screws/mast and leave to soak overnight in penetrating oil..... Next day put a pair of Mole grips on the screws and start by turning clockwise a little; this breaks the seal. The screws should then come out.

 

[dankilb]

Not to disagree with the lean towards manual impact, heat, leverage on a brace/screwdriver, drilling out etc…

But my (Worx 20v) brushless impact has 3 torque settings - plus the option to ‘jockey’ the power a bit with the trigger.

On the lowest setting, it wouldn’t shear the head off a starling (I chose a starling because they’re leaving the nastiest guano on our deck at present!)… But it does provide plenty of little impacts - if one believes in slow/steady percussion.

The better cordless ones aren’t ‘all or nothing’.

 

[dave_gibsea]

Get some heat going with one of those tiny blow lamps that have a very small but pin point flame, next use a manual impact driver - they type commonly used by motorcycle mechanics to remove cross-head machine crews from aluminium (yes they also come with a plain slotted-screw attachment). If all else fails drill it out using a small bit and gradually going up in size. don't be tempted with stud extractor - they often break !

 

[ean_p]

I think it must be you. If you take one in bits it is just a double ramp cam, almost impossible to damage no matter how hard you hit it. It IS possible to damage the end tool, but not in my extensive experience the impact driver itself.

Well I think you may be right Mike, either that or my expectations have been to high as I have destroyed a few of them over the years attempting to remove stubborn fixings. I remember vaguely having gone out at one time and buying one for a specific job on site and beating it with an hammer until the case split and deformed with not a jot of movement. It'll have been a reasonable quality tool too as the company at the time would have picked up the tab so no need to have skimped! Don't remember the outcome but that will have been binned as no use nor ornament!

 

[penberth3]

Well I think you may be right Mike, either that or my expectations have been to high as I have destroyed a few of them over the years attempting to remove stubborn fixings. I remember vaguely having gone out at one time and buying one for a specific job on site and beating it with an hammer until the case split and deformed with not a jot of movement.......

That does sound like "operator error", I wouldn't blame the tool for that.