got some super tight hinge screws on the door hinges of my beetle, i bought an impact screwdriver and a small sledgehammer on the weekend but still no luck loosening them and i need to realign the door so if anyones got any hints or ideas on how to loosen the damn things i'd appreciate it, have sprayed wd40 as well.

You might try heating the screw with the oxy and then giving it a whack with the impact driver although I am reticent to hit it too hard or if this doesn't work drill the bolt in the centre of the cross and then retap the plate.

have you got a phillip's head bit that fits onto a 1/2 inch breaker bar?

You can purchase them, supercheap only has them with the impact drivers as a kit for like $12. The torque compared to just an impact driver and phillips head screw driver made the world a difference.

A bloke in uk on ebay has replacement stainless steel screws with hex key bolts instead of philips for replacement. makes future undo-ing a breeze

thanks guys I'll try all of the above.
Chris are you saying that I can buy the breaker bar and phillips head bit at Supercheap? the impact driver kit i bought from bunnings for $40 it was all i could find, maybe i can use that bit and just buy a breaker bar? i phoned supercheap and they said they used to have impact screwdrivers but no more. what youve described sounds good to me, i dont have an oxy so....

Yea, this impact driver kit supercheap sold a few yrs back (like 2 or 3 yrs) was this handheld thing that you bashed with a hammer at the end, and the front of this impact driver used a 1/2inch socket connection, where this socket bit had a hex drive for the three hex drive bits taht came with it. 1 being philips and 2 being flat heads etc.

you can buy the breaker bar from there lol, but in order to get this 1/2 inch socket with the hex bit to stick on it I had to buy the impact driver, which was like 12 ish dollars (was cheap).

Good tool shops like glenfords etc should have it and sell it separately.
Just let them know you are looking for a 1/2 inch socket (or what ever size your after for your breaker bar) that has a philips head drive on it. then slap the socket on a breaker bar and you got awesome torque

looks like this:
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/WILLIAMS-SNAP-SOCKET-DRIVER-SET-HEX-PHILLIPS-ALLEN...

good chris know what to get now, thanks everyone for the advice i'll use it all.

Quote:

Originally posted by bajachris88 Yea, this impact driver kit supercheap sold a few yrs back (like 2 or 3 yrs) was this handheld thing that you bashed with a hammer at the end, and the front of this impact driver used a 1/2inch socket connection, where this socket bit had a hex drive for the three hex drive bits taht came with it. 1 being philips and 2 being flat heads etc. you can buy the breaker bar from there lol, but in order to get this 1/2 inch socket with the hex bit to stick on it I had to buy the impact driver, which was like 12 ish dollars (was cheap). Good tool shops like glenfords etc should have it and sell it separately. Just let them know you are looking for a 1/2 inch socket (or what ever size your after for your breaker bar) that has a philips head drive on it. then slap the socket on a breaker bar and you got awesome torque looks like this: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/WILLIAMS-SNAP-SOCKET-DRIVER-SET-HEX-PHILLIPS-ALLEN...

May be a dumb question but is your impact driver reversible? Its set on undoing? I've never had one not come undone with the impact driver. Being a steelworks fitter you get pretty good at belting the crap out of things with hammers though.

Could you hold the phillips bit in the screw hard enough to turn with a breaker bar without it riding out and stuffing up the screw?

worked for me when normal screw driver no good and they were rediculously tight. What was hrs of failing with a philips was achieved in 30 minutes with the bar. you will have to put your body weight against the breaker bar to push into the bolt and prevent the philips drive from coming out.

if the philips head of the screw is burred and ugly, just hammer the philips bit in to reshape it (because it would already be molestered). and give it a go. The hammering will also shock teh bolt thread and crack open any areas where the thread is fused. there is alot of flesh on those bolts.

They got loctite products to prevent stainless reacting don't they?

The s/s hardware is available at any fastener supply shop, M8 x 1.25 c/s. S/s and mild steel arn't too bad for corrosion, but some antisieze should be used, but we all do that anyway...don't we?

use the breaker bar and a number 4 phillips tip

Clean all the grease n dirt out of the recess then tap the recess down into the correct place with a pin punch this will make the recess the correct shape and loosen the threads as well

get some corse valve cutting paste and apply to the screw recess then use the number 4 and a breaker bar also get yr mate with a lump of wood pushing on the head of the breaker bar to apply pressure and stop the bit from burring out of the recess only ever had to drill one screw in all the years

forgot to say NEVER use a impact driver

I've used a phillips bit out of an impact driver fitted into a socket then a breaker bar, saves running around looking for a dedicated phillips socket set, worked for me .

Hi

I use a big ugly Stanley screwdriver with a pair of vice grips on the handle. Failing that I drill the heads off.

Hammers and the delicate hinge area dont mix well.

Steve

I tried using the impact driver which you bash it with a hammer, it was such a PITA to use, kept changing direction from clockwise to anticlockwise. (I did manage to get one screw out LOL), Next day bought an rattle gun from supercheap and all the screws were out in 30 seconds!

All good advice, I used heat but not having oxy I used a butane torch with a fine flame which got the screw really hot, then quenched with a spray-bottle, I still needed to use an impact-driver but it did the trick

Yahtzee ! I used the phillips bit out of the impact driver and picked up a small breaker bar from supercheap as suggested, took it slow and steady and got them all loose. thanks for all the great advice guys good to know i'm not the only one that found them a challenge.

if it was stupid stuck rusted i drill out a little bit with 13mm drill then weld a high tensile bolt to it... never fails