Can't extract this screw

[Mich7920]

Hi All,

Today I took apart my FHC E Type's doors and one of the top screws of the hinge on the bodywork rotated without unscrewing.
I removed the door of the hinge, and cut the head of the screw to recover the hinge.
Now I have 2cm of a without head screw impôssible to extract !
It rotate freely but it does't screw nor unscrew.
And of course I don't have access to the back of the bar which makes nuts for the both upper screw !

Did you had this case and what was your solution ?
Any ideas are welcome.

Mich

[Simonpfhc]

Hi Mich,

I had the exact same problem. However, I had the luxury of having the external A-pillar shut panel removed from the car so had full access.

The good news is that you can apply the same fix as I did, but it will just be a little harder removing and re-applying the fixed nut.

What I did was to drill out the spot welds that hold in the captive nut. If you can't see them, a little light sanding will highlight them. When you have drilled these out, you should be able to tap on that small 2cm stud that you have and that should be able to pop the mount off the back of the panel. You then somehow need to remove it - could be a challenge. When you have removed it, you need to drill and re-tap the nut. You then need to re-attach the nut and captive plate - maybe drill and use a self tapping screw on one side while you weld the other??

May not be an easy fix, but hopefully give you some ideas.

Cheers.

[Mich7920]

Thanks Simon, just hope that your solution isn't THE solution...

[Rustyred]

One thing you could try, if you know someone with a spot welder or maybe even try a TIG, is to pinch the remaining bolt and try to weld the stud nut back to the bracket. Once its fixed you can drill out the remaining stud and either re-tap the nut or fit a nutsert.
I have used this method on another vehicle, but it wasn't captive nut, but captive tapped plate, and used the TIG to weld the bolt, then drilled and re-tapped.
Good Luck

[paulsco]

Another possible welding solution which I have used many times with great sucess, is to place a washer over the remaining part of the bolt and weld the washer to the bolt through the hole in the middle.
Then weld a nut to the washer.

This should break the rust or whatever is holding the bolt and alow the bolt to be removed with a spanner or Mole grips.

I have also found that it is helpful to tighten the bolt a fraction first before removing it.
This also helps to break the rust and makes it easier to remove.

Paul

[paulsco]

Sorry, I just re-read your post and realised that the captured nut plate at the back is no longer captured, so my suggestion will probably not work :-(.

Paul

[Mich7920]

Hi Paul,

The plate is capture no problem. I can block it with the other top screw.
You'r solution is quite possible. Thanks

[Mich7920]

I got it !
First I locked the remaining screw at maxi right agains the frame and screwed the opposit screw on the bar nut.
I cut as far as I could and began to drilled it.
As I pushed quite hard, at a moment the small part screwed and went inside.
The threads wasn't hurt, so all is fine now.

Thanks Simon and Paul for your help and ideas

Mich