Broken screws can be avoided by removing the white gear on (passenger side) without taking the motor apart.
I have never had a problem getting the white gear out with the motor intact. I did two in a parking lot during the BCA National meet in Concord without special tools. (Ask anyone watching how it was done.)
I have rebuilt lots of Reatta headlight motors. If the motors come from the rust belt, you can expect several of the #8-32 hex head bolts to break.
Repairing a broken screw is not a job for someone with few tools. I will share what I do.
Because I am completely rebuilding the motor, it is stripped down to the gear-housing with nothing else attached when I remove the broken screws.- Grind the broken end of the screw flat.
- Center punch or grind a pilot hole in the broken end (centered)
- Using carbide drills, I start with a drill that is under .100 (I have several sizes and it is not that important) as I start drilling, if it is noticeably off center, I stop and using a carbide burr, center the pilot hole.
- I drill almost all the way thru the screw, stopping before it breaks thru the back side. The reason is the screws are case hardened meaning the surface is the hardest and it gets slightly softer toward the center. If the carbide drill catches on a rough corner it breaks in the hole and now you are really screwed.
- I step up the drill size to .125 (1/8 in) and that is very close to getting the screw body cleared. You can go a little larger if your drill is perfectly centered.
- Some options at this point, heat and penetrating oil. With most of the screw removed, it does not take as much heat to heat the remaining amount of the screw and the penetrating oil can get into at least some of the threads. If there is a little bit of screw sticking out of the housing, it can be punched and folded over, grab with pliers and some will come out.
- Last step, use a #8-32 tap and carefully chase the broken screw threads out of the housing, they usually snap off in small pieces and can be blown out with air or flushed with fluid. Then I chase the threads a second time with a new tap.
If someone has tried to repair the housing before it came to you and the screw is drilled off center, or is over size, there are different types of thread inserts that will repair most of the damaged holes.
If you have a motor with broken screws do not trash it. I will take it on exchange as long as the gear-housing is not cracked or broken. I will even buy motors with broken screws, again but the gear-housing must be good.I charge $50 exchange to rebuild a motor + $5 shipping (As of 7/16/2012.)
Thanks to Barney Eaton, member of the Reatta forums, for this information.
