The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Interiors Clutch Head Screws

I had plans to get my new headliner put up this weekend but I have run into a problem with a few clutch head screws... I have been getting by using a square/flat head driver, but a ran into a few today are tougher to get out.

I can not find any local store that carries a driver, but I still want to get the headliner in tomorrow.

I am thinking about taking a Dremel to a larger square bit or maybe modifying an allen wrench. Are there any other tricks I can try?

Thanks in advance.

i had to look on Ebay. There were a few different kinds. Some for screw drivers (bits) and then long and short "Socket" style. The bits didn't fit in anything that i have here at the house. I think that the socket style ran about $15.

I plan on buying a set now that I know what they are... right now I have 3 screws that are preventing me from putting in my headliner tomorrow. Not a major problem, but I would like to get it done.

Drill them out just like you would any 60 year old Phillips head screw. Just don't cuss the old clutch head screw. He's old, iconic and means well.

Did you try a local RV/camper store? Clutch head were used in camping trailers and most stores sell bits and screwdrivers.

Is there enough head to grab with a Vise Grip?

Try this site, in stock & priced right!!

http://www.mcmaster.com/#clutch-head-screwdriver-bits/=nt89rp

Harold

If you need to do it tomorrow, do the weld method if you have a mig. Weld a washer with a hole about same size as head of screw onto the screw, then weld a nut to washer and remove clutch screw with a socket. No welder? gotta get the bits and hope the head doesn't break off. Soak with penetrant first, with any method. Drilling out is a 80% chance of failure and real trouble with small screws. Weld method or bits are near 100% success. If you use a bit, set your cordless driver clutch to make it light to medium "hammer". Start low and work up with "hammer" frequency until something happens. Let it bang and the penetrant will finally release it. Too much clutch bang will strip even a clutch head. It might take several minutes of hammering so charge them batteries. You want 75% vibration and 25% torque, if you know what I mean.

I have a drill driver with out "hammer" and it still works much better than a screwdriver.
1. CLEAN the heads first, with a small pick. A clean head makes all the difference. PB around the screw.
2. Take a flat punch the size of the screw head and and smack it once or twice with a small hammer. This will shock the screw and flatten down the head if it has been camed out.
3. driver set to high torque, make sure the bit is seated, lean into it and use full power.

I never broke off a head. had 2 that were so bad I had to drill, and 2 the driver couldn't reach. Loosened them with a small chisel and vice grips.

To be clear JIM: I am NOT talking about a Hammer drill or a setting for hammer. I used the word "Hammer" in parentheses because I am describing the noise or action of a NORMAL drill driver. The noise or action it makes when the adjustable clutch is set too low. It does not have enough torque to turn the fastener so it just "hammers". I use this to my advantage on stubborn fasteners to vibrate and knock them loose. That is what I was describing.

I was able to get them out enough to put in the new headliner. I took a right angle grinder and a flat head impact bit, ground the bit down to a rectangle that fit the length/width of the clutch head screw. The impact screw driver worked really well on most of the stuck. The threads stripped on one screw, but I managed to get vice grips on the head and finagle it out from there.

Im looking to buy a bit set for future use, but I think I would have had similar problems with or without the bits... Just might have been easier to resolve.

What size bit am I looking for? Are there other clutch head screws that I have not encountered (Should I buy a set, or can I get around with one)?

i made my own clutch head screwdrivers out of old broken screwdrivers of various sizes. they seem to work really well.


Indy

Bartomas, OK, got what you meant.

Redlegs48, I have stripped the'48 2 ton down to frame rails and a lot of pieces. I encountered 3 different size clutch heads. I don't remember what the sizes were called, just bought the 3 size bits that the camper store had . I did have a screwdriver that I had for years that was bigger than any of the 3 but haven't found a use for it.(tiny, average and larger?)

Out of curiosity:

With proper bits, are the clutch head screws as susceptible to caming out and stripping like a phillips?

Also, why were they phased out of use?

I found a set on e-bay that I plan on buying, just to keep around for future use.

much better than phillips, but they can cam out if they have dirt in them or are really corroded .... they weren't 'phased out', GM just stopped using them, the drivers and bits are available all over [like NAPA], and the screw type was used on trailers and motor home bodies for decades, a trailer supply place is a good spot to find the screws and drivers

Bill

Bill, Duz Da Bus have them?

no way, didn't have'em originally, and now most everything is Robertson, nothing else compares a few places Phillips had to be used with no Robertson of the right head type made

Bill

Once the head is full of paint and rust they are a major PITA.

My standard reclamation is : hit it with propane to melt the paint and break the rust on the threads. Wire brush the head to clean it. Use clutch head socket bit on ratchet so I can bear down on it... something a screwdriver really can't do easily.