I'm trying to rebuild my throttle body, but the two small phillips screws that hold the throttle plate to the shaft are stuck and on the verge of stripping. I replaced the seals about two years ago, and recently the rear seal failed. I used locktite blue on the screw to secure it then, now I can budge it.

Is there a good MO to getting small screws like this out?

 

break em. drill em out. re-thread.....

thats my guess

 

I believe people have used heat, but be careful the body is aluminum

 

you could try an impact driver. it's a philips bit on the end of a thick handle that you hammer and it'll force them out. i use it on a lot of crap at work (dealership) and it works. be careful though.

 

Small vise-grips

 

Heat it to break the loctite or maybe an ez-out.

 

I would try the torch and impact driver, if all else fails, drill it and extract the screw...

 

Impact screw driver is priceless in this case. Not a common tool by any stretch though, but if you do get one you will find yourself using it quite often (good for reseating deck screws too). Of course heat it first.

Also you could dremel a line down the middle and use a flathead on it to get more torque, but this is a great reason to get a new toy!

 

get a better phillips tipped screw driver.. i remember my craftsman drivers didnt grab those screws.... and then press down really hard while turning.
you can put flame to them to try and break them loose, just dont hold it there for more than 10 seconds.
worst case scenario drive them out like the guy above said and re-tap the throttle body shaft.
good luck

 

if you still have a good head on the screw then try some kroil....its the best easy out chemical I know of.

 

+1. That would be what I recommend as well.

 

Use what others have recommended. If it breaks, buy a used TB

 

There is a kit that Sears and Lowe's sells that will extract stripped screws. It works great too.

 

It's not just the loctite that makes these a pain in the *** to extract, it's mostly the fact that the screws are peened after assembly at the factory. I've rebuilt 3 of these bastards and found that you only get ONE chance to not strip the screws. The impact screwdriver that someone mentioned is a godsend, but can be accomplished with a lot of direct force and the right sized screwdriver.

If you resort to the Dremel and slotted screwdriver, make sure you use one with a square shank so that you can use an open-ended wrench to turn the shank and put some body weight down on the driver.

Make sure you get new machine screws when you go to put it all back together, and put a bit of Loctite Blue on the threads so your head doesn't eat them later down the road.

 

I wouldn't use an impact driver on the seals, as you could bend the shaft, or do more damage. Slot them, or try a little heat, and use small vise grips. (you dont want to put too much pressure trying to remove)