Well.....life long ailment of fixing something that is working fine already.....I wanted to make sure my shift rod was rrreeellllyyyy tight.....well, it is now! Can't get cone screw back out. Any ideas? Thanks.
gg

Drill

use a left-handed drill & then an easy-out if it doesn't back out with the drilling

See if you can get the easy-out to grab as is, before you drill.

The old hole is probably not as smooth as a drilled hole and may grab better.

look for a new used rod with a good coupler. it should be cheap and there are prob a gazillion of them in the LA area. put 914rubber coupler bushings in, source a couple of Jwest coupler screws (they have jam nuts and there is no song and dance to reuse them) and be done with it.

Weld a nut onto the end of the cone screw. The heat should help break whatever bonds are holding the screw in place, and the nut gives you an easy place to put a wrench so you can turn it out.

I would not try the easy-out first; those things are brittle and very very very hard. It is relatively common to break an easy-out, and very difficult to drill the easy-out once that happens.

--DD

Dave's approach is the one most likely to work. If you do not have a welder handy, put a dab of JB-Weld in the cone screw where Allen wrench goes. Find an allen wrench you are willing to part with, put it in there and let the JB-Weld dry.

Alternatively, Beat a Torx bit attached to an extension into the rounded out screw.


You can also try these, I have no experience with them.

https://www.amazon.com/IRWIN-HANSON-Multi-S...7/dp/B0002SRG66

I have used easy outs and once they break, which is every time, now you really have a mess. Never heard of reverse drill bits? Where can I find them? Thank you.

Torx bit hs worked for me.

Same here, for exactly the same problem the OP has. Heated with a torch and then hammered in a torx bit and it came right out.

Never heard of reverse drill bits? Where can I find them?

don't think you can! what would be the purpose of a reverse bit, easy outs twist backwards I do know that good luck

But what does he do if he's not left handed?

Reverse bits are designed just for this purpose. As you drill into it, it tends to loosen the bad part, rather than tighten. Often, drilling with a reverse bit will actually allow the screw in question to back out as you drill.

https://www.amazon.com/Neiko-10037A-Titaniu...erse+drill+bits

However, I doubt that one would work on a coupler cone screw that might still have the self-locking stuff in the threads.

Best answer so far

https://www.amazon.com/Tools-Cobalt-64-Inch...0/dp/B0002NYBJG
http://www.autozone.com/cutting-drilling-s...set/390938_0_0/
https://www.harborfreight.com/left-hand-dri...3-pc-61686.html

Get a screw extractor set. I got mine in the drill section of Lowes or Home Depot. Nowhere near as expensive but not as complete as the Irwin set above.

You drill the bit into the stripped screw by using the reverse function on your drill. When the bit sets in the stripped screwhead it is already going in reverse and SHOULD back the stripped screw out.

I havent seen them for smaller screws but I havent looked either. They work like a charm when I have used them. A better option than possibly ruining an old tool, but I love buying new tools anyway.

Another vote, this is why torx bits were invented, right?

SOB had no idea ...good to know

I've used torx and various extractors and also left handed drill bits. It doesn't really get any easier that a left hand drill bit.

And lots of ph blaster first.

Heat then PB blaster. If Loctite was used, you need heat to break it down

Well...got it out! Reverse drill did the trick. Used three of the four bits but that little sucker finally twisted out. I feel terrible until everything is "correct" on the car. Especially with 1,000 mile trip coming up next week..WCR!! Thank you all for your help.
gg