one screw stuck in fuel sender flange

[farmertom]

hey barners, fuel gauge on my '37 fordor has been not as good as could be expected since last fall. i was going to check to see if float was taking on fuel and got all screws but one out. the one that wont budge has allready hadthe slot buggered up before i got to it. cant get dremmel tool in there to cut another clean slot,round head cannot get any vice grip i have on it.dont dare weld annother nut or bolt on it disassterous. any ideas stumped. not wanting to remove tank. help please. thanks,Tom.

[19Fordy]

Can you drill it out using a number drill that is one size smaller than the tap drill size.
Then "pick out" the remaining metal and retap it.

[Merc Cruzer]

With out a picture I am flying a little blind here, but it sounds like if you drill or cut off the head of the last screw and then remove the top of the carb, you will have a enough of the screw shaft, above the base, to allow you to get a grip. You can also then put oil along the threads, to help you work the screw shaft back and forward carefully, to eventually back it out completely. Good luck.

[deuce lover]

Its a fuel sender ,not a carb

[Zeke3]

Even though the slot is, “buggered up,” I suggest trying an electric impact on it. Press down as hard as you can and quickly and briefly hit the trigger. Try to get the screwdriver bit to get some grip and try again. You may luck out and get it to break loose. You can always resort to drilling later. Those holes are blind holes, so don’t drill too deep.

My 1937 has a cork float on the fuel sender. I plan to get two composite floats for a Model A to replace the original cork float. There is an old discussion on here about that.

[Merc Cruzer]

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Originally Posted by deuce lover

Its a fuel sender ,not a carb

You are correct, thanks for the catch. Still cutting the head off the screw and removing the sending unit and gasket, then re-slotting the screw shaft and soaking it with penetration oil, then putting the send unit back over the screw, to give the shaft more strength, so as not to break off the sides, then work it out slowly.

This is listed as a 1937 Ford sending unit.

[Zeke3]

Originally Posted by Merc Cruzer

You are correct, thanks for the catch. Still cutting the head off the screw and removing the sending unit and gasket, then re-slotting the screw shaft and soaking it with penetration oil, then putting the send unit back over the screw, to give the shaft more strength, so as not to break off the sides, then work it out slowly.

This is listed as a 1937 Ford sending unit.

The problem is working down through a small opening in the trunk floor; there is no room to cut the head off the screw to remove the sender.

I was thinking you could drain the tank and fill it with water, then MIG weld a small nut to the top of the screw. The heat from the welding will probably loosen the screw. This will give you something to grab onto to remove the screw after it cools.

That is an aftermarket replacement for a 1937 Ford fuel sending unit, not a King Seeley original which has a flat round cap on it.

[Merc Cruzer]

Originally Posted by Zeke3

The problem is working down through a small opening in the trunk floor; there is no room to cut the head off the screw to remove the sender.

I was thinking you could drain the tank and fill it with water, then MIG weld a small nut to the top of the screw. The heat from the welding will probably loosen the screw. This will give you something to grab onto to remove the screw after it cools.

That is an aftermarket replacement for a 1937 Ford fuel sending unit, not a King Seeley original which has a flat round cap on it.

I was thinking drilling the head off, very slowly, with a bit the size of the head. Still sounds tricky due to the limited space.

[Sal]

Try putting some valve grinding compound in the screw slot then try to turn it out. If that doesn't work drill a hole in the screw and use an e-z out on it.

[Mart]

With the other screws out, is there any slight wiggle room for the sender unit? Will it move at all around the remaining screw? Sometimes if the part can move it is possible to get the screw to start to move by moving it and the part together.
This may or may not work in this case.
Mart.

[kurt v]

Go and buy the smallest vise grip you can find, maybe 4 inch, small jaws, you might be able to grip the screw head and wiggle it loose.

[deuce lover]

If you have access.A tip of small chisel angled in and at the edge of the slot and slightly tap the chisel with a small hammer to break it loose.Its worked for me several times .

[Flathead Fever]

If a small needle nose vise grip won't get in there like was suggested, I'd go ahead and pull the tank and get it out where you can work on it. That might be the fastest way in the long run. That will also give a chance to blow out any junk laying down in there. I have an electric fuel pump with a extra filter on it. It has wires with alligator clips long enough to reach the battery from the gas tank. I use it to pump the gas out of tanks and into my daily drivers, providing the gas isn't that old. If it's really old and nasty I have metal drain pans I put it in and then let them sit out in the sun and evaporate. That's more environmentally friendly than pouring it onto the ground. An empty tank is a lot easier to handle. Keep the gas cap on it and plug up the other screw holes ond fuel line holes if your going to be doing any grinding and drilling on it. Don't cut the head off unless it's a last resort. You could flush the tank really well and fill the tank completely full of water. I'd probably leave the cap off so if it did ignite the pressure would have a way out. Heat the screw red hot and let it cool and it should come right out. I do some sketchy things at times working are cars and I'm not sure I would risk using heat on a gas tank, but I probably would if I was convinced there was no air in the tank. Maybe stand the tank on its end so you can be sure that screw will be under water before you heat it. We don't want your place looking like the chocolate Easter Bunny plant that just blew-up.

[Old Magnet]

Never tried it myself but it might be worth considering....
Use a two pin security screw driver for use with two drilled holes in a screw head.
Check them out on McMaster.

[Lawson Cox]

"Heat the screw red hot and let it cool and it should come right out."

And melt the solder around the base at the same time. I'd veto that method.

[Jack E/NJ]

>>>A tip of small chisel angled in and at the edge of the slot>>>


I like this best. Soak in penetrating oil. Tap chisel CCW a few times. Then CW a few times. Repeat until it starts to move. Or breaks the head off. Then go from there. 8^)

[Jack E/NJ]

>>>"Heat the screw red hot and let it cool and it should come right out.">>>


Just the kind of suggestion that I'd expect from a guy who has HoneyNut heart-shaped Cheerios for a Sunday night dinner.8^)

[Bill OH]

I used Deuce Lovers (#12) method, but I used penetrating oil on the last screw on a 38 tank followed by putting the tip of the screw driver almost horizontally into the outside of the head slot and taping with a hammer - CCW and CW until I got it to move and with patience I was finally able to back the screw out with the screw driver. I would not attempt to drill or cut the head off - you will have nothing to work with on that small screw .

[farmertom]

first of all ,thanks very much for all the responses from you guys.very helpful. im trying to not remove the tank. by the way i think it might be a orig 85 yr old king sealy sender noted by the hardware. it is a six hole flange.i had been trying to evaluate best method to fix the problem so as not run into a dead end.marts idea was good with all other screws out tryed to move flange,didnt budge.wasnt crazy about even useing dremmel to cut off head of last screw or cut new slot and no room in access opening to get to screw. its at about 11 oclock. these screws are so small drilling and easy out may be out of question. first thing was to blast with PB,soak and shock tap screws worked all but THE ONE.thought about chucking the screw head up in drill.using a small chisel tapping ccw and cw i might have tried. last night i installed all new hardware in the mount flange and in wire from sender to gauge. like i had said all hardware corroded and rusted. today started up the old time machine and went for a putt and low and behold fuel gauge works at least as good as last fall.reads 1/2 full when tank is full. at least the 85 yr old tripometer still works. so i think i might put further exploration of this till future.since i call this my time machine and i dont even want to try to get her up to 88 mph ill wont know if found that the sender float condition.i did enjoy some humor. and Jack E/NJ i too eat cheerios at supper in the past. again thanks to all for ideas. Tom.

[35fordtn]

Just performed this task a couple weeks ago on a 1936. I drained the gas, l;et air dry for 48 hours, filled the tank with water then mig welded a 1/4" nut to the head of the screw and removed with ease. Drained the water from the tank, air dry, etc etc.

[51woodie]

I salvaged a KS fuel sender from a '50 Ford sedan, to replace the after market ender that a PO installed in my '46 Coupe. It was real scummy, the float had a few pinholes in it, and the wire float arm was almost corroded away. I salvaged it with some TLC, and some advice from Kubes. It works much better than the resistance type sender, and is more accurate. I had to adjust/bend the float arm to make sure the limits on the float travel were reached before the float hit the top or bottom of the tank. Not the info you are looking for on screw removal, but maybe of value once you get the sender out of the tank. I know the chart is for a '51, but good for reference.

[19Fordy]

51woodie, You provided very valuable info. THANKS

[51woodie]

Thank you 19Fordy. Another important point I learned, is to disconnect the power to the ignition coil, if you are testing the gauge/sender with the ignition on