Stripped Spectra Screws

bellersley · Post by **bellersley** » Mon Aug 21, 2006 3:13 pm

So, I've got a C4 Spectra. I need to remove the control head (it's a dash mount style). One screw came out no problem. The other one? It's stripped, 100% (as in, round). I don't particularly care about the radio chassis, but I need the head to come off in one piece.

Anyone have any ideas what I can do to remove this sucker?

Thanks!

ka8ypy · Post by **ka8ypy** » Mon Aug 21, 2006 3:35 pm

Dremel a slot in the top of the screw and use a flat tipped screw driver.

Worked for the last one I stripped.

DB

tvsjr · Post by **tvsjr** » Mon Aug 21, 2006 4:18 pm

Are you using a Torx driver? Bust out your metric hex-key set and see if you can find one that'll work. If it's actually round, you're screwed... if you've just rounded the tips out of the Torx star, a hex key will work great.

Jim202 · Post by **Jim202** » Mon Aug 21, 2006 5:14 pm

Sometimes you can get lucky and a small flat head screwdriver will just fit the head of the torx screw. You can also try tilting the driver about 45 degrees off center and see if it will bite at all.

Another trick is to take and rap the end of the cap screw a couple of times with a large flat head screw driver using a hammer. Not so hard you going to mess up the casting threads, but enough that it will attempt to break loose any corrosion that might have built up on the threads.

Jim

kcbooboo · Post by **kcbooboo** » Mon Aug 21, 2006 5:16 pm

As a last resort, just to get it out, is to use an "easy-out" screw extraction tool. These are turned into a drilled-out screw or bolt, counter-clockwise, and they agressively thread themselves into the hole. When they reach bottom, they will turn the screw/bolt out as you continue to "unscrew" the entire assembly. They aren't cheap, but one for #4 or #6 screws should fit the T10 hole in that screw.

Then go buy two, or a bag of, new screws from Motorola.

Bob M.

jackhackett · Post by **jackhackett** » Tue Aug 22, 2006 7:23 am

Note that the control head screws on spectras are normally NOT torx. They are 2.5mm hex, using a torx on them is a good way to strip either the screw or your torx bit.

kcbooboo · Post by **kcbooboo** » Tue Aug 22, 2006 8:26 am

I know that they're T15 on MaxTracs control heads, and T10 on MaxTrac side cover screws, so when I saw T15 on the Spectra top and bottom cover, and that didn't fit the control head, I used a T10 which worked perfectly.

But the UHF basic service manual clearly states T15 for the radio's covers, 2.5mm hex for the control head, and T10 for the screws that hold the stiffener on the back of the control head. This is for a push-button dash-mount head; things are different for an HHCH or System9000 head. Only Motorola could choose so many different hardware types and get away with it.

The dash-mount control head mounting screws are M3x18, so at least they're Metric threads.

T10 really fits and works great on the two dash-mount Spectras I own.

Now I'll have to go out and buy a Metric hex driver set.

I wonder what the correlation is between the Torx T-number (8, 10, 15, etc) and either Metric or SAE diameter? And what happened to all the numbers inbetween?

Bob M.

jackhackett · Post by **jackhackett** » Tue Aug 22, 2006 8:30 am

Oh, you're right.. 2.5mm, I read my wrench wrong. I'll correct it in my first post too.

I call these the "Motorola Screws", those two screws in every design that are different from all the others... like the two #8 torx screws in the Maxtrac audio amp heatsink, or the two(sometimes three) in the GM300s that are just a bit longer than the others. Anything to make a techs life just that little bit harder.