Removing Screws Installed Using a Torque Wrench

Curious Yellow

Installed some screws using a torque wrench today. Those things seem to put a lot of welly into the screw!

Anyway, does anyone have any tips on how to make sure I don't strip them when the time comes to remove them? I know you're not supposed to use the torque wrench to remove them, but a normal Allen/Torx wrench doesn't seem like it will be capable of doing the removal.

Any advice welcome.

cooldad

Just remove them.
Are you sure you are using the right setting? - very little on a bike needs to be so tight a standard allen key or torx wrench won't remove it.

explosifpete

ARe you sure your not doing them up to tight as you shouldn't be that hard to remove

cooldad

Hope you are not using a ft lb setting on Nm specs.

Curious Yellow

Nope, torque wrench range is only up to 24Nm, so max torque it can deliver is about 17lb/ft.

I'm only doing them up between 4-6Nm at the moment. I'm a bit afraid to go any harder when trying to unscrew them.

I'm using a screwdriver with an adapter that holds a T25 Torx bit. The bit has stripped other screws before, so I'm trying to be a bit cautions before going He-Man on the screw.

Let me know if you think I'm being precious with the screw and should just use a bit more welly.

trooperk

The only tips I can give to people about removing screws is always put more force against the screw then the force of turning.

getonyourbike

Curious Yellow wrote:

Nope, torque wrench range is only up to 24Nm, so max torque it can deliver is about 17lb/ft.

I'm only doing them up between 4-6Nm at the moment. I'm a bit afraid to go any harder when trying to unscrew them.

I'm using a screwdriver with an adapter that holds a T25 Torx bit. The bit has stripped other screws before, so I'm trying to be a bit cautions before going He-Man on the screw.

Let me know if you think I'm being precious with the screw and should just use a bit more welly.

well, no wonder you can't remove it easily, you can't put much torque in at all with a screwdriver. Just use a standard Torx key or a socket and socket wrench and it'll come undone dead easy.

Anonymous

Also, spend some money and get a nice set of Torx bits. All the cheap ones I've ever used have been of horrendous quality and tolerances. Some of them have been nowhere near the right size.

lesz42

i serviced and cleaned my BB, the other month, and to my horror stripped one of the hex bolts on the crank


got some hard steel bolts from halfords (!) and a Pro allen key bit? that fitted the stripped bolt and held well enough to loosen


compared to the cheap bit, its just sharper and"fuller" if that makes any sense

Curious Yellow

Thanks for the suggestions. I've got my eye on a breaker bar, just in case I get desperate!

I will also try the "use a proper Allen/Torx wrench" suggestions. Perhaps this is where I'm going wrong.

Also, an excuse to get more stuff from Park. At this rate, I'm going to have a mini-garage in my flat by the end of the year

nicklouse

Curious Yellow wrote:

Thanks for the suggestions. I've got my eye on a breaker bar, just in case I get desperate!

I will also try the "use a proper Allen/Torx wrench" suggestions. Perhaps this is where I'm going wrong.

Also, an excuse to get more stuff from Park. At this rate, I'm going to have a mini-garage in my flat by the end of the year

FFS why? A torque wrench does not do anything up tighter. it just does them up correctly (presuming the user knows how to use it)

all you need it the correct tools.

jj1048

Sorry to be pedantic but there are two references to "stripping" here.

Curious Yellow wrote:

I... Anyway, does anyone have any tips on how to make sure I don't strip them when the time comes to remove them?

The OP is referring to stripping the thread of a bolt, nut or component due to over tightening. This is where a correctly used torque wrench could be useful.

lesz42 wrote:

i serviced and cleaned my BB, the other month, and to my horror stripped one of the hex bolts on the crank . got some hard steel bolts from halfords (!) and a Pro allen key bit? that fitted the stripped bolt and held well enough to loosen

IMHO the term "rounded" is better suited to the situation where the head of bolt, nut or screw as been damaged so that the correct tool does not grip. Commonly caused by using cheap or worn tools.

Curious Yellow

Yup, rounding and stripping, two different things and I'm pretty sure I know how to use a torque wrench. Left, down, rotate 62 degrees, engage rotor and so on. I'm trying to follow the manufacturer's spec to make sure I don't ruin any components like the above poster mentioned.

It's the removal that's proving troublesome. I don't trust the tools to remove them without rounding the heads.

Would you care to elaborate on how better quality tools guard against rounding off screw heads? In my limited experience, all it seems to take is a tool head harder than the screw head and bad luck. Would most people rather the tool rounded or the screw rounded?

If there's a way to guarantee no head "roundage" apart from use common sense, seat your driver properly and use the right size bit then I'm all ears. I'd be very grateful for the advice as well.

Had an Allen bolt round off on me 2 weeks ago, for no apparent reason. It's a bolt that's removed and reinstalled twice a week every week. This was done for about 6 months. I used the same method and the same tool to install and reinstall every time, but it rounded the last time for no apparent reason.

Anonymous

Curious Yellow wrote:

Would you care to elaborate on how better quality tools guard against rounding off screw heads?

from just up the page...

Yeehaamcgee wrote:

Also, spend some money and get a nice set of Torx bits. All the cheap ones I've ever used have been of horrendous quality and tolerances. Some of them have been nowhere near the right size.

Curious Yellow

Not much sympathy from me if you round off screw heads using the wrong size bits, or poor quality bits. What do you mean by tolerance? The bit's strength? I wouldn't use either of those to work on a bike, or anything else.

Money doesn't seem to buy a lot of quality until you get into silly figures. My local hardware shop (small business) sells Torx bits. The quality is not great. The bits will round off before the screw heads do.

I can buy a Leakey set. 30 bits for a tenner.

I can buy a Park Tools set instead. 17 bits in the usual bike sizes. £35 for the pleasure.

Both sets are made of the same Chrome Vanadium alloy. Essentially the same kit, but one costs over thrice the other. I'm sure most bike folk would swear the Park Tools bits are better, despite both sets of bits being the same. If you think otherwise, then please let me know why. The Leakey set is cheap, but I'd say it was decent quality for a home mechanic. The Park set, in this case, I'd say was a rip off.

You can then look at Snap On bit sets and the premium tradesmen brands. These cost silly money. These are worth the money, due to attention to detail, construction etc., but I cannot justify their purchase. I'd have a hard time believing most bike folk buy Snap On tools as well.

Have you never rounded off screw heads using your good quality bits? What brand bits are you using, and what are they made of?

I think I'm going to have to get a proper Torx wrench (not screwdriver) and give it a go. The screwhead is pretty shallow, so I'm not feeling very confident about them.

Anonymous

Tolerance, an engineering term. Everything that is manufactured to a size has a size tolerance.
All the cheap torx bits...
Hang on, why am I having to say this again. Go and Google "engineering tolerances"

cooldad

Torx bolts are horrible IMHO. Replace with allen headed bolts.

nicklouse

cooldad wrote:

Torx bolts are horrible IMHO. Replace with allen headed bolts.

way better than allen bolts. transfer any input force much better. also less chance of rounding.

sorry if you have poor tools.

DCR00

nicklouse wrote:

cooldad wrote:

Torx bolts are horrible IMHO. Replace with allen headed bolts.

way better than allen bolts. transfer any input force much better. also less chance of rounding.

sorry if you have poor tools.

IMO Torx relies more on having decent tools than allen heads

i have rounded off Torx heads (and even snapped one head) using a semi-decent set whilst i use a cheapo set of allen keys (cant even remember where i got them) with zero problems

cooldad

I do when it comes to Torx obviously. But as none left on my bike (centrelock rotors) it's not an issue.

But presumably my previous post should be ignored.