how to get the set screw out

[boostedg60rado]

Okay so i have a set if integy driveshafts for my ax10. Well i tightened the one up and the tip broke off in the set screw. No big deal figured it will loosen up and than i can get it out. Well my dig unit came in went to install it got everything ready to go and what do you know it is still in there. and this is the drive shaft that needs to be shortened.

Well i tried picking at it to loosen it up. Didnt work.

I tired taking my cutof tool on the dremel and slotting it so i can get a flat head in there. No good there. Tried making an + so i can get a phillips no good there. Is my last option to just cut it out completly.


No big deal to me. But than it might get to the point of cutting into the axle housing. Which i dont want to do being i want to crawl this weekend. And wont be able to get the case in time.

I guess my plan is to spilt 2 sides of it and pry it off at this point right. Any other suggestions would be great. Thanks in advance and hopefully this turns out okay.

[Rockcrawler]

Can you not just drill it out?

[romulus22]

don't cut perpendicular to the case. cut parallel. remove the tranny if needed. you're putting a dig on it anyways

[Reflection]

Originally Posted by Rockcrawler

Can you not just drill it out?

That's what I'd do.

.098" drill should do fine without harming the threads much,if any. Once off,chase the threads with a 3mm tap,good as new.

[romulus22]

you guys are good if your able to drill through the setscrew with a piece of the allen in it . especially if you can do it with minimal damage to the threads

[boostedg60rado]

thank you. And they must be hardened anyway cause my bits wont even start to cut threw it. Forgot to add i tried that first.

and it is not at the tranny section it is at the rear end

[Ads]

Got any pics? Might be able to use a bit of heat to help loosen things up.

[boostedg60rado]

na to far into it to heat it now. No way to grab it or get the broken hex out of the set screw.

[monkeyracer]

I'm in the same boat with my axial driveshafts. The damn AX10 RTR set screw was stuck in, and stripped out. I tried to heat the piece with a propane torch, without melting the axle casing, but nothing... I tried an "ez-out" but couldn't get it in far enough to bite. I tried a reverse drill bit, nope. I tried drilling it with a 1/8 bit, but broke that. I'm going to go look at tougher bits, but the next resort would be splitting it in half to get it off. I already bought new yokes so I'm not too worried about destroying these ones.

[romulus22]

dont worry about trying to cut it in half to get it off. just dremmel the whole screw out

["N8"]

you can use a carbide end mill for the dremel to remove the hardened allen wrench.

[boostedg60rado]

Well do what I did and call it a day in 1 minute. 4 inch grinder. Cut threw set screw between wheels and take the shaft out. Done deal. Dig is in working like a charm

[team3six]

The best way to do it is to just drill it out, you want damage the threads if you use a small enough bit. I had that happen several times and thats why i hate when these manufacturers use the small set screws. some of RC4WD's rods are like that. But everytime it happens, I just drill it out and end of story. the pieces just fall apart and sometimes you can get some stuff still stuck inside the threads but if you use a micro flat head, they screw out.

[monkeyracer]

Originally Posted by team3six

The best way to do it is to just drill it out, you want damage the threads if you use a small enough bit. I had that happen several times and thats why i hate when these manufacturers use the small set screws. some of RC4WD's rods are like that. But everytime it happens, I just drill it out and end of story. the pieces just fall apart and sometimes you can get some stuff still stuck inside the threads but if you use a micro flat head, they screw out.

I drilled a 7/64 bit into it, and the screw didn't budge, tried a reverse 3/32, still nothing, I'm going to try a 1/8 now, and intentionally strip out the threads. I need a stronger bit to do that into the hardened steel though. If I want to use them still I can always tap 4mm into the 1/8 hole.

[KBrog]

Can you take the shaft apart at the u-joint, or CVD instead of at the yoke where the set screw is? I may be way off here.

[ecoli]

Originally Posted by KBrog

Can you take the shaft apart at the u-joint, or CVD instead of at the yoke where the set screw is? I may be way off here.

I think he wants to remove the yoke off the tranny output to install his dig.

I've drilled out set screws in the past with success. Often results in ruining the yoke and needing a new one. Such is life, they're not super expensive, cheaper than a new tranny ! Good luck with tapping hardened steel if you use the bigger drill bit :-P

I do hate those tiny set screws. I understand the reason for having them small and flush with the yoke, but I'm sure with rock crawlers, they could have a 4mm set screw without any major fit issues. Makes more sense given the torque they experience.

[Stormin2u]

I've always had good luck drilling but the broken shaft is a problem I got lucky once buy taping at the broken shaft and then using a strong magnet to pull the tip out then it was drill baby drill.

[liverkiller1]

cut the output shaft and buy a new one

[monkeyracer]

Originally Posted by liverkiller1

cut the output shaft and buy a new one

That's what I ended up doing.

[Reflection]

Like mentioned above,a carbide endmill works great. Something like this,you wanna use 4 flutes at least. Spin it fast,feed it very slow and use a little cutting oil,coolant or even just regular oil. While cutting,blow air on the part keeping the chips out. Chip build up will break the small tooling quicker than anything. Chinese drills or tooling won't cut it. Good tooling that's made in America is what you need to look for if you wanna buy a good set of drills or endmills.