I am having difficulty removing the Torx mounting screws from the FIPL on a '92 F250 7.3 Diesel. The size appears to be T15, but it seems to be slipping. Either the screw is damaged or rounded at the contact points, or this is a Torx Plus type screw. I have even tried a needle nose Vise Grip pliers but I can't a decent enough grip. I am considering some form of Ease Out or Screw Extractor either by itself or drilling the screw head "and" using the screw extractor. I have used WD40 & Liquid Wrench, to no avail. I am beginning to think that someone has used Loctite on the screw heads. Has anyone had the same problem and what was your solution?

 

Try using an Allen wrench, perhaps someone replaced the screws, I did, (on mine, not yours).

 

FSC, Ahhhh the light goes on! An Allen wrench just might do the trick! Even if they aren't Allen type screws, one just might manage to work if what I suspected to be Torx are slack enough to accept it. Thanks, I'll try that.

 

I have 2 pumps for 92s and both are torx 25.Hope this helps.

 

WD-40 is a water dispersant product. That's what WD stands for. A chemist was hired to develope a product for the space program that would disperse water. On his 40th formulation he found one that met their specs.

Use Kroil, or PB Blaster to brake rust and lubricate.

 

Thanks FSC, pnose, & ditch witch. I removed the sensor with the bracket attached. Thought that having it on a flat surface would give me the leverage to remove them with the Torx tip. No go. So I bought a 3 piece "Screw Out" set from Sears. Still no go, all the screw out bits did was enlarge the screw head by reaming it in reverse. So, I ended up drilling the bolt heads off and then removing the remaining now studs or threaded rod that they had become from the under side of the bracket. I had tried both WD40 and Liquid Wrench prior to this but had no luck. There was rust on the screw threads once I got them drilled and could see all of the threads. They were really frozen in the bracket. I have now seen all I want of those. I replaced them with some bolts I had on hand that have a combo slot / phillips option. However, if I ever have to remove these or any other screws that ahve apparently been in place since it's birth, I will remove the parts with the bracket in place if I can't break them loose on the bracket on the vehicle. Thanks again ya'll.

 

Good job FAirlane ... Dont ya just wish you could take the whole truck and put it in a vise so you can get some of those frozen bolts ??

 

i had the same problem i took a sharp chisel started a groove on the edge of the screw and tapped it around with a hammer until it freed up i then removed them and went to the hardware and got 2 small hex bolts to replace the torx.

 

WOAH THERE!!
I've done HUNDREDS of them F*(# ing things.
The factory uses there own type of locktight.
Just use a small (tiny, like it fits in your palm and powered by butane) torch to warm up the head and it will go from locktight to lube in a matter of seconds, and come right out.
And it is a TORX. I made one permanently attached to a 6 inch long, 1/4" drive extension so I would not have it fall off and make me fish it out with a firkin magnet.


Just dont forget that they are set to a specific setting for the E4OD, and failing to set it right on the money (not possible to do by sight) will toast your torque converter clutch real quick, then the overdrive clutch!

I lost count of how many E4OD's I rebuilt because some shop swapped the fuel pump out and just bolted it on without setting it!

 

Thankyou bilder, rigwelder, and arcangel for the information & support. And, yes, I am going to attempt to set the voltage on the FIPL within the specs. However, Arcangel, this makes me wonder if the FIPL that I removed had been a part of a pump swap and not properly set, because the main reason I went on this component replacement safari is because the E40D slips out of overdrive after it warms up after several miles of driving. I thankyou for the heads up, and I am hoping that the FIPL replacement will slove the problem and that theres no internal overdrive clutch problem. I already replaced the MLPS and that didn't solve it. So this FIPL was my next suspect. I understand that the RPM sensor may be a suspect as well. I only wish I had read your tip about the small torch to loosen up the screws, but drilling them out worked as well, just a little more effort. And, as regards the dropping the Torx bit and fishin out with a magnet, that's exactly what happened to me.....LOL. It was only after I fished it out did I discover I had a magnetic bit holder I "could've" used and avoided that problem. I suffer from "storage & retrieval" syndrome, I buy it, store it, then can't find it or forget I have it....LOL. Oh, and by the way, Ford will sell you the FIPL but they won't sell you the .515 gage to set the voltage range. Nice guys, huh? I'll have to make one from some sort of stock or find something that mics to the .515 x .515. x .750 demensions. Well, Onward thru the Fog!....Thanks again ya'll.

 

Also there might be problems in the wiring that might cause an electrical component to not operate properly, and swapping it out will not fix the problem.
Like on the "E" series vans, part of the transmission wiring harness goes right under the battery tray and if acid vapors get into a wire, you will never see it unless you strip off the plastic cover and see the swollen corroded wires.
I've seen more than a few of those.

 

Thanks for mentioning the "chisel technique". I am not very comfortable drilling out bolts, especially when they're small, in a tight spot, and getting a level angle is difficult. I fought the darn TPS bolt for a good 90 minutes but finally it began to spin. I think I can only describe the feeling as like a shipwreck survivor finally seeing a rescue vessel heading their way. The funny part is that even after chiseling the head of that T-27 bolt I still could have reused it if there was no other option as there was enough spline material to still move it with a Torx key, but thankfully there's that wonderful aisle in the hardware store with a million different bolts in it. Thanks again @therigwelder

 

Yep Microtorch!
Sold at register area at Dollar General, for instance.
Most are refillable through little hole in bottom
Butane comes in cans with a bunch of little adapter kits molded into can cap.
Focus very tip of blue flame exactly on center of bolt, very center!
That heats the bolt pretty well. Give it 5 minutes to really kill the threadlocker.

If that doesn't work, then you can try making a clean screwdriver slot in head with Dremel using little cutoff wheel.
Undercut edge of slot slightly so screwdriver doesn't just jump out.
With heat and different bit attempts, it should come out.

If not, then very carefully drill center with super high quality drill bit just to the point the head turns into a "washer" and comes off.
Or use Dremel cutoff to carefully grind away top of head.
Then, youll have a little stud once you remove the part. Get Brand New little genuine Vise Grip brand.
Locate the Vise Grips perfectly and exactly on the stud. There is an internal Allen hex in the Vise Grip tightening ****, use it to get the Vise Grips incredibly tight.
Always use heat.
You have one shot at getting this off, so be as patient and careful as you can.

 

Yeah I wanted to use heat but my mini-torch is POS and didn't want to stay going for more than 10 seconds or so. I don't think there was threadlocker because they looked very clean--no corrosion or discoloration at all. I hadn't thought about using the Dremel to cut the head and leave a stud to grab with the Vise-Grips. If I encounter this again I might try using the dremel to create two opposing flat surfaces on the bolt head so I can grab them with the Vise-Grips. If the chisel hadn't worked I was already contemplating pulling the IP off so I could at least get a good shot at drilling the bolt without damaging the bore but thankfully that did not come to pass. And yes, patience is your friend here. If it feels like it's going to strip then it's going to strip and you should back off and adjust your strategy accordingly. Ahhh the joys of old vehicles that have been worked on by a couple dozen or more different mechanics who may or may not have given a hoot about what the next guy might have to deal with.

 

hahaha! I literally just did the exact same thing on my F250 two days ago. I then ran down to the hardware store and replaced them with allen head bolts. Once I installed them, I liked them so much better, I ran back down and swapped them out on my F450 too.

The trick is, to make sure the chisel is sharp.