Broken Screw Removal - 2000 Diplomat door awning.

[dereeves]

So yesterday i was putting the over door awning back up and the left side was hard to get loose. While getting it loose the screw broke which holds the lower arm to the body. The bottom screw was already missing. Anyways, when i was changing the clearance lights out, the marker light above the drivers side rear wheels screws both broke. Those i was able to get a small pipe wrench on the inside part of the screw and turn it out enough to get it with the wrench on the outside. These two screws for the door cover i cannot get to the inside. How do you guys get these out? When the marker light screw broke, i tried drilling it, using broken screw extractors which neither worked. I was simply amazed at how hard the screws in the fiberglass held. In anycase, anyone have any super secret ideas on how to get these out? Thanks in advance.

[Rodger]

9 minutes ago, dereeves said:

So yesterday i was putting the over door awning back up and the left side was hard to get loose. While getting it loose the screw broke which holds the lower arm to the body. The bottom screw was already missing. Anyways, when i was changing the clearance lights out, the marker light above the drivers side rear wheels screws both broke. Those i was able to get a small pipe wrench on the inside part of the screw and turn it out enough to get it with the wrench on the outside. These two screws for the door cover i cannot get to the inside. How do you guys get these out? When the marker light screw broke, i tried drilling it, using broken screw extractors which neither worked. I was simply amazed at how hard the screws in the fiberglass held. In anycase, anyone have any super secret ideas on how to get these out? Thanks in advance.

I ran into the same thing on the over bedroom awning and was able to put screws in beside them and silicone the holes. Not many choices, either drill the screw completely out or index over a new hole. 

[dereeves]

5 minutes ago, Rodger said:

I ran into the same thing on the over bedroom awning and was able to put screws in beside them and silicone the holes. Not many choices, either drill the screw completely out or index over a new hole. 

One thing i was thinking was, drill right next to each screw and tap the old one into the new hole, then clean it up and epoxy seal both holes and re drill for new screws. I haven't had much experience with fiberglass like these panels so i don't know what works and what doesn't. 

[jacwjames]

The screws were probably put into some sort of structure and rusted.  When I removed a long section of belt molding a lot of the screws broke off.  I didn't bother trying to remove, just drilled new holes.  

[dereeves]

27 minutes ago, jacwjames said:

The screws were probably put into some sort of structure and rusted.  When I removed a long section of belt molding a lot of the screws broke off.  I didn't bother trying to remove, just drilled new holes.  

Yeah if i could do that i would. These are the lower mount for the door awning, so i think they need to be where they are now. I ordered some marine ex epoxy putty from West Marine, so when it comes i will drill below the current holes and tap them down to that hole and hopefully out, then repair the holes with the putty and drill new holes. On the side marker light i was talking about, i thought that was a metal panel which would have explained the rusted in issue, but best i could tell it was just a fiberglass panel as i didn't see anything metal on the inside of it. I think a lot of the problem is the shaft of the screws rusted to near through and any torque breaks it. Now i wish i had a master list of screw size for all the exterior screws and get them, then go all around and replace them all with new ones. 

[Tom Cherry]

2 hours ago, dereeves said:

So yesterday i was putting the over door awning back up and the left side was hard to get loose. While getting it loose the screw broke which holds the lower arm to the body. The bottom screw was already missing. Anyways, when i was changing the clearance lights out, the marker light above the drivers side rear wheels screws both broke. Those i was able to get a small pipe wrench on the inside part of the screw and turn it out enough to get it with the wrench on the outside. These two screws for the door cover i cannot get to the inside. How do you guys get these out? When the marker light screw broke, i tried drilling it, using broken screw extractors which neither worked. I was simply amazed at how hard the screws in the fiberglass held. In anycase, anyone have any super secret ideas on how to get these out? Thanks in advance.

From a person that was the Chief Engineer for a Fastener company a d we designed and developed a variety of the infamous “Drill Scews” most likely used.  Also this applies to some high performance self tapping screws.  The material used in common bolts (grade 2) is garden variety.  The heat treatment is simple.

When you get into a “Tapping” screw, where the threads form or make threads in the material, there is a different grade used and the heat treatment is different.  The case or the exterior portion of the screw that is “specially hardened” is around 0.008” (EIGHT thousand’s of an inch).  The drill points are more…

Thus, the exterior deforms the material that the screw is driven into.  BUT….that Screw is BRITTLE as in would snap.  The second part of the process is to draw down or decrease the brittleness in the interior or core. There is a second furnace used.  It has a lower temperature than the first “hardening” furnace.  The core is the. More ductile or is not brittle.  

BUT that sucker ain’t like a un hardened or soft bolt….NOW SS bolts are harder.  So, you need a special CARBIDE TIPPED bit.  A titanium coated bit, usually, ain’t gonna do squat. NOW….you have to go to a larger size screw….if you drill it out, most folks use a larger bit.  OPPS…now the hole is too large.  

Many folks here have great experience.  If you use a smaller carbide tipped drill and a lubricant….you MIGHT drill it and then put an “Easy Out” in it…

There are blind, threaded flat rivets that you can buy on Amazon and they work great.  Folks have used SS Pop Rivets.  Just be aware, drilling out an Aluminum pop rivet is child’s play compared to a comparable sized SS one.
 

 

[1nolaguy]

This may be way odd base but are you sure they are screws? I ha a couple of "screw" failures on my awning and learned they were actually stainless steel rivets. These were often used in fiberglass bodies in the 2000's. Had to drill them out and replace. Required a larger than regular rivet gun to install.

[dereeves]

10 minutes ago, 1nolaguy said:

This may be way odd base but are you sure they are screws? I ha a couple of "screw" failures on my awning and learned they were actually stainless steel rivets. These were often used in fiberglass bodies in the 2000's. Had to drill them out and replace. Required a larger than regular rivet gun to install.

These are screws.

[Tom Cherry]

8 minutes ago, 1nolaguy said:

This may be way odd base but are you sure they are screws? I ha a couple of "screw" failures on my awning and learned they were actually stainless steel rivets. These were often used in fiberglass bodies in the 2000's. Had to drill them out and replace. Required a larger than regular rivet gun to install.

Depends on the "Failure". SS ain't the end all to end all.  It has limitations.  I have had the larger 3/16" SS Pop Rivets fail on the slide side wall.  Even SS has a tensile strength limit.

IF SS Drill Screws, and I don't know if they were or if someone replaced them...they will be slightly softer and easier to drill than a hardened Drill Point (commonly used by Monaco assemblers).  

 

[Bob125]

I’m not visualizing so this solution may not work.  If the situation is right, I use a Dremel rotary tool with a metal cutting disk and cut a slot in the leftover screw.  Them I use a straight screwdriver to unscrew.  

[dereeves]

45 minutes ago, Bob125 said:

I’m not visualizing so this solution may not work.  If the situation is right, I use a Dremel rotary tool with a metal cutting disk and cut a slot in the leftover screw.  Them I use a straight screwdriver to unscrew.  

To cut a slot in the stub would mean a slot in the fiberglass. If there was enough exposed to do this them i could use a pipe wrench to unscrew it.