jdavis8361

A few drops of Liquid Wrench on each of the machine screws might be helpful.

storii

I'm thinking the pros and cons on this. While it should help the screws to turn, it could make stripping the head easier since it is almost impossible not to get the stuff on the head....

jdavis8361

If you're worried about stripping the heads (regardless of whether Liquid Wrench has been applied), a tab of screwdriver grip paste on the heads can help reduce the likelihood of that happening.

storii

Thank you! Learn new things every day! Just ordered this thing to give it a shot:

https://gitta-grip.com/

bkrantz

Like others have said, a manual impact driver is the optimum tool (and this exact task is about all I use mine for). And heat is your friend.

Don't sweat this one. Even if you strip the Philips slots, you can drill off the screw heads (and once removing the spacers/disk) have access to get solvent on the threads and grip the screw shaft directly.

storii

Thanks to those who pointed me to the manual impact driver, the job got done without any issue. The tool worked like a charm.

Dave in Chicago

It is a tool you will never regret having. If you're like me, the biggest issue will be remembering where you put it when the occasional need does actually come up.

Cheers!

Dave

PCarOMFS

OP, I had the same issue while changing my rotors. Using a ratchet for extra torque easily removed the screws without stripping.

bkrantz

The impact wrench has more torque, plus the hammer blow forces the bit into the screw head reducing the chance for stripping.

PCarOMFS

storii

You may be referring to an either pneumatic or electric impact wrench? The manual impact driver that I used for the job was nowhere near those in the torque department. I can't imagine that it can generate enough torque to snap the screw head off. Having actually done the job, I can now see that a ratchet with a screw driver bit could have done the job just as well, though.

HenryPcar

Very easy to remove. All you need is this :

By the way, those screws are not for retaining spacers, but rather your rotor if you do a brake job. No need to remove it if you are not touching the brake rotors. Spacers with eccentric centers will center itself when you attach it to the hub.

storii

The tool you are referring to is exactly what I used. FYI, some spacers come with longer countersunk screws so that they can be fixed in the proper position using the rotor retaining screw holes. This feature can be useful with cars that use lug bolts instead of studs like Porsches. All of these have already been discussed earlier in this thread.

JimV8

I learned about that method from a commercial door mechanic. He called it waking up the screw.

PCarOMFS