Freakin' mikuni float bowl screws!!!

[-JC-1]

just spent my Wednesday evening replacing float bowl screws on a couple of mikunis, 7 of them came out real easy, just as they should, but the last one threatened to ruin my whole day. after royally stripping the head, I got the dremel out and cut a slot only to have half of it snap off when i put the scredriver to it-xxxx!- took the carb off the bike and into the vise it goes. searched for an easy out- found one - got the right bit- can't believe i had it- and out it came! whew!
all this started when i read about replacement allen head screws here, and halfway thru this little fix I was cussin' myself for being an idiot, but now i'm pretty happy at the result- thanks for all the info on this board!

[Redrubicon2004]

Yep, those screws suck!!     I think all you have to do is look at them to screw them up!

[timvan]

A small vice grip plier would have broke it loose...would have made your evening go a lot easier!

[hdpegscraper]

Ive found, for me, a stubby Stanley screwdriver fits best. Others seam to be loose and push out of the screw under pressure. If they are too tight, I clamp a vise grip on the screwdriver and make it a wrench.  

[hardtail84]

What I did when I first got mine and wanted to change the jets before I installed it was to take a good fitting phillips stubby and smack each screw a few times. This lets you crack them loose pretty easily. Yes they come really tight.

[-JC-1]

believe me gents, tried all 3 of em, just a very stubborn screw that hadn't been off for probly 6 years!
taught that sumbitch tho!
thanks for the replies

[L-]

I replace the screws with allen head metrics from the ole ACE hardware store.   I have a supply that is longer and I use a stand off or long spacer of about 5/8" for them so they are easy to reach with the carb on the bike. I use a #2 Phillips but I smack it into the screws pretty well before starting to turn it.  Yep, some just meld with the aluminum and are hard to get out.

L-

[Upswept]

Were you using a cheap, chinese made screwdriver?  Maybe from harbor freight?  That's the quickest way to ruin a screw's head.

[Redrubicon2004]

With these screws it doesn't matter what kind of screw driver you use.  They almost always strip!

[hrdtail78]

Miks use soft screws on purpose.  Its so the screw strips and not the casting on the carb itself.  A little trick I pickup working on aircraft panels which also work on flaot bowl screws.  Put a little dap of lapping compound on the end of the screw driver.

[Upswept]

With these screws it doesn't matter what kind of screw driver you use.  They almost always strip!


I'm not sure that I agree, Red.  Get a new, never used phillips screw and fit a Snap-on or Mac screwdriver into it and feel the close tolerances.  Then, get a harbor freight screwdriver and feel the slop and notice how the screwdriver points don't exactly fit the contour of the screw head.  In tools, you get what you pay for. 

[Redrubicon2004]

With these screws it doesn't matter what kind of screw driver you use.  They almost always strip!


I'm not sure that I agree, Red.  Get a new, never used phillips screw and fit a Snap-on or Mac screwdriver into it and feel the close tolerances.  Then, get a harbor freight screwdriver and feel the slop and notice how the screwdriver points don't exactly fit the contour of the screw head.  In tools, you get what you pay for.  

For the most part yes, quality does matter.  I agree.  In this case it is more a matter of really soft screws that strip really easy.  While I was getting new jets from Fox Dist. (mikuni rep) He said "Oh, you will need these, doubt the phillips will be reusable once you get them out."  He was handing me allen screws to replace the phillips.

[PoorUB]

With these screws it doesn't matter what kind of screw driver you use.  They almost always strip!


I'm not sure that I agree, Red.  Get a new, never used phillips screw and fit a Snap-on or Mac screwdriver into it and feel the close tolerances.  Then, get a harbor freight screwdriver and feel the slop and notice how the screwdriver points don't exactly fit the contour of the screw head.  In tools, you get what you pay for. 

I second the new phillips screw driver too. Years ago I worked on lots of Mikuni carbs on snowmobiles and I had a new phillips screw driver that I kept tucked away for the bowl screws. I never used it for anything else, never had troble with the screws as long as I started with the goood driver.