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Frozen stuck Vent Plug
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windswell



Joined: 20 May 2010
Posts: 211

PostPosted: Wed Nov 20, 2013 10:44 am    Post subject: Frozen stuck Vent Plug Reply with quote

I just bought a 2003 JP freewave 85. It seems a little heavy , but has no obvious repairs, lots of scratches and scuffs. I decided to change the vent Oring, and found the phillips head so dinged, and screw so frozen that it won't turn, and further strips the philips head after trying many different screw drivers. I've also put 3 drops of liquid wrench on the screw to free it up.

My next thought is to very carefully drill so holes in the the vent screw head, turning it from phillips into a slot head. Then put a big slot head screwdriver on it, and remove it from board.

Any other suggestions , and thought about whether more liquid wrench will help - or hurt the inside of the board??
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nw30



Joined: 21 Dec 2008
Posts: 6485
Location: The eye of the universe, Cen. Cal. coast

PostPosted: Wed Nov 20, 2013 12:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

If you don't have an impact driver, then do it manually. Find the best screwdriver that fits into the head, then as you apply strong down pressure while turning it, tap the end of the handle with a hammer at the same time.

If the female threads are messed up after you get it out, don't use that plug hole anymore. Once you're happy with the dryness of the interior of the board, fill up the hole with epoxy.
Then get a new retrofit vent plug, they are everywhere, drill a new hole in the deck, and epoxy the new one in, it's way easy.
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windswell



Joined: 20 May 2010
Posts: 211

PostPosted: Wed Nov 20, 2013 1:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The Phillips head is LONG past any "best screwdriver that fits". I tried a square driver and it wouldn't budge with medium torque, and I didn't want to further round the inside of the plug. Gonna play with drilling out a slot now.
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isobars



Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 20935

PostPosted: Wed Nov 20, 2013 3:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'd try an easy-out bolt extractor. I've always been very impressed with how well they work. If even that fails, I'd drill a short hole into the plug to give the EZ out a better bite. The best type I've seen is this $34 short-nosed version from Sears and others:
http://tinyurl.com/lxfokaa
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beaglebuddy



Joined: 10 Feb 2012
Posts: 1120

PostPosted: Wed Nov 20, 2013 3:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have had better luck with left handed drill bits as opposed to an easy out.
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isobars



Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 20935

PostPosted: Wed Nov 20, 2013 3:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Damn.
I'm right handed.
Smile
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skyking1231



Joined: 10 Jul 2000
Posts: 280

PostPosted: Wed Nov 20, 2013 4:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

if you drill.... start small....and when drilling through steel (i assume vent plugs are steel) low rpm is your drill bits friend
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isobars



Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 20935

PostPosted: Wed Nov 20, 2013 5:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

That's a good reason to try a left handed drill bit if you need to drill: to avoid over-tightening the plug and damaging something. If it also removes the plug, that's a bonus ... even if it wasn't the objective.

http://www.harborfreight.com/13-piece-left-hand-drill-bit-set-95146.html
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Brian_S



Joined: 11 Jun 2005
Posts: 249
Location: SE Michigan

PostPosted: Wed Nov 20, 2013 5:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I've never had much luck with easy-outs, but I'm surprised that your vent plug is in that tight. There must be something funny going on there. The vent plug insert on any JP board that I've seen is plastic, so there should be no galvanic corrosion locking the plug to the screw (like there could be with carbon-fiber). The screw could be corroded, of course, but still it shouldn't be that hard to remove. Any chance the previous owner epoxied the screw in?
I would suggest you try a drop of liquid wrench or PB Blaster, and tap the top of the screw with something metallic to 'ring' the part. Come back later and repeat. Come back later and repeat. Even let it sit for a day or two repeating. You probably don't want to soak it with oil, but the occasional tapping the screw, and a drop or two of penetrating oil, will help the oil work it's way into any corrosion with capillary action. I don't think a small amount oil (few drops) will hurt anything even if it gets into the board.
If the philips slots are totally destroyed, use a dremel and cut a clean slot for a big flat head. (BTW, the best philips screw driver ever was the screwdriver that came with the old F2 boards - hands down.)

If you still can't remove the screw, then it's likely epoxied in.
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U2U2U2



Joined: 06 Jul 2001
Posts: 5467
Location: Shipsterns Bluff, Tasmania. Colorado

PostPosted: Wed Nov 20, 2013 6:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

might suggest a impact driver.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impact_driver

a manual one, that you hit with a hammer.

the Liquid wrench over a few days, try more of.

heat from a gun, or hair dryer being ever so careful to not apply to much The make a slot with a dremel would be a good decision, if it worked. a slot would be good, any type cut that allows something like a chisel to dig in and hammer sideways making the screw turn, I would try all those before drilling

myself I would stay away from drilling

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