Guys, on my 99 2wd rodeo, the spindle nut on the front right needs to be tightened. When I pull off the wheel, and the cap, there are 3 phillips head screws holding the retaining washer on. Is there a secret to getting those out? The heads were already boogered up...the metal seems to be very soft.

TIA...

Jeff

I've used a torx bit that would just barely fit down in there and hammer it in on the ones that were already boogered. Worked for me several times that way. The extra edges on the torx help it bite more so it's less likely to strip again. Then go to the dealer or lowes (where I found new ones) or maybe home depot and get you some new ones in stainless steel.

Richard <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/patriot.gif" alt="" />

WHILE YOU ARE THERE GETTING THE NEW SCREWS , GET YOURSELF A SMALL HAND HELD IMPACT SCREW DRIVER , AND THEY WILL COME RIGHT OUT , JERRY

x2 on the impact driver <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />

Previous thread

Good luck <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />

AAARRGGHHH...i've just spent this side of forever searching for an old post about iirc why it's best not to replace these screws with stainless steel ; that they were purposefully spec'ed for brass for brass's lube qualities (or something like that) and that the brittle stainless would tend to break more easily.
i remember it was a convincing thesis, but i'm a little vague now on the details

anybody else have an idea about why brass was spec'ed for these little buggers, and whether we should stick with that spec?

//bc

I have been running stainless ones for probably 5-6 years now with no catastrophic failures... and no more stripped out heads either. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

so any ideas why brass was spec'ed?

//bc

Hmmm, My Guess is brass was cheaper? And was WAYY to soft for what we do with them, Stainless is a great, I have not had any more stripped heads.

Thats just my guess. I bet I am wrong

Robbie--

Actually, brass is perfect for the application. Those screws have absolutely no other job other than to keep the washer on the spindle nut. They do not need to be tightened very much to do that job. Brass is also sacrificial, it saves both the spindle nut and the washer from getting chewed up.

The problem is that people do crank down on them and/or use the wrong screwdriver and then there are problems. Replacements in stainless are fine, but there will be a bit of galvanic corrosion between the screw and the spindle nut. I would suggest some anti-seize or those too will have to be extracted at some point in the future.

Good Luck
Michael