Broken screw in my front brake reservoir

[mundmc]

So I'm a *******, and I make a lot of mistakes. Luckily I'm learning a lot along the way. A screw for my front brake reservoir was stripped, so I decided to drill a pilot hole and use my bolt extractor bit to get it out.

Well, the head of the screw ripped off, and I now have an unclear amount of screw left in the reservoir. I drilled out a good amount, but it's still stuck in the threads. I can't get a one of the old screws threaded back in, though I'm concerned about trying with too much torque. Using one screw to keep the reservoir cover on has resulted in a leaking reservoir. It's zip tied shut for now.

Thoughts on addressing this? Drill the crap out of it? Try to drive a new screw through? Titanium screw? Replace the whole thing?

I value my front brake, I heard it's important


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[DMAN999]

Those OEM screws are notorious for stripping, I personally had to use a dremel tool and cut a straight slot in one of mine and used a flat head screwdriver (with most of my body weight on it) to get one out a few years ago.
If yours is too far gone for you to get out, I'd take it to a machine shop and see if they can get it out for a few dollars.
If they can't then I'd just email Sean Morley ([email protected]) and get a used brake master from him.

And Yes, front brakes on a Vmax are absolutely essential to your survival.

 

[Fire-medic]

Drill press, new bit, take your time. Use a vise bolted to the drill press table. If all that doesn't allow you to remove it, & re-tap, then buy a new master cyl. Like you said, your front brake is "important." Or just remove it and take it to a machine shop.

You might want to make the end of the screw flat if it's 'rough' now, before trying to drill it yourself.

 

[Zeus36]

All above are good tips. Try to get a left-handed drill bit and drill what is left of the threads counterclockwise. Often the screw will back out from the heat of friction before you even get to the bolt extractor bit. Measure the good screw's thread length and use a drill stop on the drill bit.

The problem is a steel fastener threaded into an aluminum casting. If you do get it out and re-tap the threads, use a light film of Never-Seez on the threads AND the countersink section of the new fastener. Even if you mess it up, there is still the option of having a machine shop repair it with a Keensert, Time-Sert, or HeliCoil.

 

[mundmc]

Many thanks, will give these ideas a go.


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[norcalAF]

If anyone needs some replacement screws in stainless hex heads, send me pm, I have a bunch of extras.

 

[02GF74]

As fire medic says, clamped in drill press so needs to be off the bike.

If you can get the lid off, then I would try making copy of the lid from a sheet of steel to act as a guide for the drill. Once you've drilled the bolt minor diameter out, you should be able to remove the remainder of the thread with a pick before cleaning up the hole with a tap.

Worst case, replacements are plentiful and reasonably cheap.