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broken screws in alum. bulkheads

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SteelCityNitro

SteelCityNitro

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Has anyone ever had machine screws break off inside a set of aluminum bulkheads? I was thinking that i could drill out the holes and re-tap them... is this possible and where could I get the right tap and die set?
 
either a hardware store or like a v.i.p or any other automotive stores should have the tap and die sets... or home depote maybe..
 
typically its very hard to find a set for drilling and tapping holes that small. internet may save you tho
 
I have done it a couple time and had it work. My biggest problem is I normally use SS hardware and it is a pain in the butt to drill. My local hardware store has all the metric taps I use so I am just kinda lucky there. If you mess it up....well, it was broken to begin with right?
 
This has happened to me twice. And it's very frustrating to think a set of bulks is ruined because of alittle screw. Well unfortunately I think they are ruined. I tried drilling the screw out but the screw is much harder (steel) vs. the aluminum and I was not able to maintain drill alignment on the screw shaft. What ended up happening was the drillbit skewed off course and into the alum. of the bulkhead. I also searched locally and online for EZ-outs, none I found were small enough. On my third set of bulks I ended up drilling the chassis to bulk holes out a little larger, drilled a countersink hole on the angled edge of the bulkhead( the bottomside) and used stainless steel bolts, nylon locknuts and washers, all found at local hardware store. Now in the future if these fail, I remove the nut, the remaining hardware falls out and I replace it and move on.
 
I guess I will have to do some searching then. We all know how much these bulkheads cost and they aren't cheap. I just want to set up the E-MAXX for my better half and since I never run my 3.3 maxx anymore I wanted to make it a donor for her truck. Ugh.. its kind of frustrating.
 
At the expense of a bit of a cut in the bulkhead, take a dremel with a thin cut off blade and cut a notch in the screw post. Then you can use a blade/standard screwdriver to gently back it out.
 
My Snap On TDM117A tap and die set goes down to 3mm. My standard set goes down to 4-40. Don't know what your budget is, just throwin it out there. Olds has a good idea there. Not sure a left hand drill bit even would have helped.
 
thats what i do when ever i mess up screws is the trusty dremel comes out... I have had to cut the notch and slightly graze around the tip of the screw on the bulk so you can get a bite on the screw (yes it scratches the hell outa the bulkhead in that specific spot...) but if you wanna use it again you will find a way...

Because rak12 is right to drill out the screw is pretty dificult i have tride that rout on a set of shafts from a company that will remane nameless ( just dont wanna say it to start anything l.o.l) and I had stripped the grub screws and thought i would just drill them out cause i wanted to use pins and I had to drill at a whole different angle because going through the screw was so slow going aslong as you can keep the bit on just the screw......... alternative use a smaller bit and easy out.. so I would ask lhs to see if they have that size unless you go with the slit in the top of the screw........ either ways work just figure what way will work with wht you are working with..
 

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