Found a hack for chasing stripped screws on engine cowlings

I was fighting a stripped phillips head on a Cessna 172 cowling last Thursday, the usual tricks weren't working. Tried the rubber band trick, tried the impact driver, nothing grabbed. Finally grabbed a flathead bit that was slightly too big and jammed it in with a hammer. Got it out in 20 seconds flat, no damage to the surrounding metal. Anyone else ever jury-rig a bit like that or am I just lucky?

3 comments

3 Comments

wesleyb2017d ago

yeah @parker_palmer44 I tried tapping it in deeper first but it just kept spinning. I actually read somewhere that using a torx bit can work on stripped phillips heads if you hammer it in. Someone on another forum said it grabs the metal better because of the shape. I think that's basically what I did with the flathead but maybe a torx would have been even cleaner. The key seems to be having a bit that's just a hair oversized and forcing it in so the edges bite. Glad it worked out for you too, that's a scary spot on the cowling where you dont want to drill or mess up the metal.

parker_palmer4417d ago

Did you try tapping the bit in deeper before turning it?

knight.dylan12d ago

Tried the torx trick on an old Subaru once and ended up snapping the bit off. Had to call @wesleyb20 to come bail me out with a set of vice grips and a lot of swearing. Guess that's what I get for thinking I'm a genius.