Stripped Hardware on ride plate

[AirSniper]

Trying to remove ride plate for installation of a place diverter trim kit - stripped out the star scews (A) in the pic. I tried drilling & wound up grinding the heads off. Still havent gotten the (B) screws out yet either. Planning on trying heat & impact screwgun. I soaked them for 2+ weeks in penatrant, still no good.

So the question is ... should I be scared? are the (A) screws into the wear ring assy? If I use moderate heat, am I risking damage to the wear ring?

Any tricks or advice is appreciated, I am an electrician dammit!

2003 Utopia 205 / 250 DFI / M2 jet drive

 

[Dr Honda]

They put them in with some tough thread locker. You HAVE to heat them to kill the thread locker. But be careful so you don't cause any damage. Using a little butane torch, works well. They normally have a small, focused flame.

 

[buckeye_paul]

Yep what he said. I had the same problem you're having. I ended up using an easy out on the ride plate screws. I drilled the heads off of the trim plate screws, then after removing the trim plate, I backed those screws out with vice grips. Use plenty of heat. I'm an electrician too.

 

[AirSniper]

Thanks! Will give it a shot (in a few weeks when it warms up some).

 

[igneous]

Any luck getting screw out? I just removed plate yesterday to see if I can bend it. I'd like to get the far back end to be about 2" lower for some trim and hopefully eliminate the porpoising and drop bow quicker. Broke one of the adjustment screws last yr and shimied with rubber gromets, but could only get < 1" lower. Impossible to do with the front screws semi tight. May need to get a piece of stainless fabricated and wondering if making the back edge wider would help stability or cause issues.

 

[AirSniper]

Haven't made any progress , it is still 30 degrees in the garage. Planning on buying extractor kit, small torch, & a good drill set. Probably won't climb under the boat for another few weeks. I will update once it warms up.

 

[igneous]

Good luck with that....you'll probably have better luck drilling out and re-tapping threads. I just had to do that on one of my far end ride plate screws (broke off screw extractor in it). Previous owner ran boat in salt water and so far that's the only screw that corroded into housing--knock on wood. Going back with bolts instead of screws. I got on of the B screws out by magic mix (ie. half and half acetone and tranny fluid) since you can pour it into housing above screw and let gravity work. Best stuff known to free up frozen parts.
Like your boat....looking to trade someone w/Islandia or utop for my X20.