Removing Phillips bolts

[Jay Mackro <jmackro@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

At 10:29 PM 10/4/98 -0400, Rich Hirsch wrote:

>BTW I would nominate the Phillips-type bolt fasteners on the '66
>door hinges as "Alfa's Worst Design Feature." They're almost
>impossible to remove (without drilling them out) and they can't
>be tightened well without buggering the slot.

Well, this doesn't ALWAYS work, but I have had great success
using a manual impact driver in these applications, both to
loosen AND to tighten.  A manual impact driver is a mechanical
marvel about 1" in diameter, and 6" long, that has a standard 
hex fitting at the front, where you can insert a large 
Phillips bit (a selection usually come with the driver).  Then,
you whomp the back with a hammer (I use a large, rubber mallet),
and it exerts a bit of torque to the bolt in question.  The
beauty of using one of these on a Phillips-headed bolt is that
just as the torque is being applied, the hammer impact is also
forcing the bit into the bolt, reducing the risk of slippage.

These things are great for re-assembly too. Even without a
hammer, the drivers are useful with the large Phillips bit
installed as a hand tool to tighten bolts.  Tap the end a bit
to do the final torquing (the tools are reversable).

I even found a hex <--> 1/4" adapter that allows me to mount
sockets to my impact driver.  However, about 98% of its
usage has been on those &^%%$# Phillips screws/bolts.  This
is one of those $10.00 tools that you really need to disassemble
older Alfas.

Jay Mackro

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