Screws stuck in my amp mounting holes HELP!

[gamehawk55 10+ year member]

Hi,

OK so about 4 years ago when I first got this amp installed in my car the audio shop that installed it used screws with heads that were just slightly too big for the mounting hole on the amp and would seem they probably must have forced them down and I have never been able to get them out. Pretty sure they are just regular deck screws with the thin head on them and now I really want to get them out. There are 2 or 3 stuck in the mounting holes and wondering what would be the best way of going about getting them out with minimal to no damage to the mounting holes.

Would carefully using a drill to try and grind the screw head into a pulp be a feasible option or will that only end in heartache?

Really wanna get these things out but not sure whats gonna be safe to do. Let me know.

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[Spooney 10+ year member]

Are the heads stripped?

 

[Kingstroker 10+ year member]

If it is mounted try a screw extractor, if it doesn't get it out it will at least make a pocket you can use to drill the head out. Go slow, with metal slower is better and a drop of oil on the head of the screw will make the drill bit cut better. Some times it only take a few turns of the bit to get through it. If it isn't mounted and has the screw sticking out the other side clamp a pair of vicegrips on the and push while turning.

 

[gamehawk55 10+ year member]

Are the heads stripped?

One of them is I'm sure but it doesn't matter because they are stuck at the bottom of a aprox. 1.5 inch deep mounting hole. The screws are loose at the bottom but cannot be pushed through to the top at all. I've even tried hammering on them from the bottom lightly before and they didn't budge.

 

[gamehawk55 10+ year member]

If it is mounted try a screw extractor, if it doesn't get it out it will at least make a pocket you can use to drill the head out. Go slow, with metal slower is better and a drop of oil on the head of the screw will make the drill bit cut better. Some times it only take a few turns of the bit to get through it. If it isn't mounted and has the screw sticking out the other side clamp a pair of vicegrips on the and push while turning.

The amp is not mounted currently. Have cut a lot of the excess off the bottom of the screw with wire cutters, but the screw head is the problem and is too big to be pushed back through the hole because the shop that first installed the amp obviously used the force of the screw being pulled into the wood to force the screws down the mounting hole.

 

[Kingstroker 10+ year member]

The amp is not mounted currently. Have cut a lot of the excess off the bottom of the screw with wire cutters, but the screw head is the problem and is too big to be pushed back through the hole because the shop that first installed the amp obviously used the force of the screw being pulled into the wood to force the screws down the mounting hole.

hmmm...shouldn't have cut it off now you have to drill it. I'm not sure I would try to drive it out with a punch, the amp might not like you banging on it too hard. Just take it slow and be careful

 

[gamehawk55 10+ year member]

hmmm...shouldn't have cut it off now you have to drill it. I'm not sure I would try to drive it out with a punch, the amp might not like you banging on it too hard. Just take it slow and be careful

Alright well as long as you think it should be safe enough. All I need to do is shred the head off the screws enough to get them out then I can find ones that are the proper size to fit the amp so I can clean up my new Sundown install //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif Guess ill just go slow with the drill while gripping the other end with some pliers or vice grips or something to stop it from spinning in the hole while I drill. And hope that I don't damage the side walls of the mounting holes (they're plastic). Don't wanna mess up my Audison . Anyways thanks for the suggestions. Will let ya know how it goes. Just bought a cordless 18v drill today, so will probably try tomorrow after work.

 

[gamehawk55 10+ year member]

hmmm...shouldn't have cut it off now you have to drill it. I'm not sure I would try to drive it out with a punch, the amp might not like you banging on it too hard. Just take it slow and be careful

Oh hey I should also ask what would be the best kind of drill bit to drill these screws out with? I only have the 3 kinds that my new drill came with today. Black Oxide, Brad Point and Masonry Drill Bits. But I could always go out and buy another set of bits tomorrow if these will be no good for drilling the screws.

 

[stevew007 10+ year member]

here is the problem i see.if the head of the screw is to big to come out that means you need a drill bit bigger then the head in order for you to to drill it out.well that wont work.if you use a smaller bit you still wont get the head out because its still to big correct?

can you post a couple of pictures of what you got going on? im wondering if you can grind off the bottom and get the screw head to turn over then drive it back out with a punch? I would take the amp apart or use a press to drive it back out because if you start beating on it you might as well throw it away

 

[Canaan 10+ year member]

ummmmmm.....can you get some pics of this problem???

 

[Kingstroker 10+ year member]

black oxide might do, it needs to be smaller than the head of the screw but larger than the threaded portion. once you drill through the ring that's left will either come out on the bit or you can pick it out. Get a new set bits for metal, they always come in handy

 

[stevew007 10+ year member]

thought more about it and the hole's most likely are messed up on the top! scratched from drills and screw drivers so you might as well just drill the holes out bigger then the screw so they just fall out. BUT leave the bottom alone so that you can still screw things down of course

 

[gamehawk55 10+ year member]

thought more about it and the hole's most likely are messed up on the top! scratched from drills and screw drivers so you might as well just drill the holes out bigger then the screw so they just fall out. BUT leave the bottom alone so that you can still screw things down of course

No what Kingstroker is saying makes a lot of sense. Most if not all wood screws are tapered inward to meet up with the threaded portion of the screw. So using a drill bit that is a little smaller than the hole should allow me to shred apart enough of the head of the screw so that all is left is the threaded portion which at that point should fall right out of the bottom of the hole once the head is separated from the body. And by that point also most of the screw head should just be shavings so should be able to just blow it out through the top. Or If there is a ring left inside I should be able to get it out by hooking it with something and dragging it back out.

Also there is not enough room to just grind off the bottom and flip the head over. The screw head is actually fairly loose in the bottom of the hole (can be shifted around a bit) but cannot move upward through the hole. I think drilling is the only hope of getting these things out.

 

[gamehawk55 10+ year member]

And I don't know if drilling out the holes to make them bigger is a very good idea. I don't want to cause any physical damage to this amp if I don't need to. This amp is worth $2000 brand new and I want to be able to sell it for as much as I possibly can one day and I'm sure having drill damage on the mounting holes is not going to help its resell value haha

 

[stevew007 10+ year member]

Well if you are sticking a drill bit in the hole and drilling you have a very high chance of hiting the side. What amp is it anyway?