No personal experience here, but I would remove the a-pillar cover first...

Then dremel a flat-head in there, use some heat (start with a soldering iron, hopefully you don't need a torch there...) and then try again. Heat will be the secret to softening/removing thread locker.

-Charlie

soldering iron is a good idea. torch would definitely cause some worry. ill try this. thanks!

If the soldering iron doesn’t work you could also try a mini butane torch, like the ones for lighting cigars. That’s what I use to solder wires lol.

dremeled some flat head into each bolt



then used soldering iron (probably 5 mins continuous heating, just to be sure)



AAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNDDDDDD........after a broken craftsman screwdriver and a broken drill bit, I called it quits.



I might just have to leave it as is for now. This really bums me out . I liked that handle. maybe if I get a stronger/bigger bit I can drill them out completely and weld in a nut and washer.

Die grinder and carbide burr, grind all out tap to larger screw/bolt.

Dang that’s frustrating man.. You might be able to get the bottom one with one of these.. they are what I used to get mine off but the heads were not broken off.. really have to get it on there good for it to grip when using battery impact screwdriver.

IRWIN Tools Power-Grip Screw and Bolt Extractor Set, 7-Piece (394100) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000EF1EHY..._Lz8tCb6SX8T17

Remember those aren't a phillips head screw to start with, it's one of those JIS screw heads. Yes, tighten it first then go back and forth until the locktite frees up, slowly you will get half a turn, the 3/4 turn then a full turn, but go back and forth which will generate heat. If you can get a little penetrating oil under it that will help too. Reinstall with an allen head.
I can't believe how much time I wasted on those but I know when a screw is going to break so I back off and finesse it.

I think the threads are also an interference thread i.e. slightly mismatched so it'll create enough to keep the screw from rattling loose. I actually got mine out originally with minor trouble. It was when I went to remove a second time (didn't use any thread locker) that the head snapped off.

I don't have any extra suggestions for the OP. However, I thought I'd take this opportunity to inform forum members of MDM, (metal disintegration machining) a subset of EDM (electrical discharge machining).

Rather than explain it all here, I'll provide links.

The ubiquitous Wikipedia entry.

Youtube videos of a guy in LA who does this kind of stuff for a living. His web site is shown on the video.

See here what he does with a badly botched BMW cylinder head. Of course, no reader of this forum would ever botch a repair so badly.

A maker of the equipment.

MDM and EDM seem mostly used on pieces you can lug to a shop and put on the table. Not suitable, so far as I know, for a screw stuck in a vehicle's A pillar.

I live near Seattle. 15 years ago I had a 6mm bolt broken off in the aluminum gas tank of a motorcycle , I called area welding shops until I found one (in Kenmore) that had an EDM machine. They cleanly burned out the screw. The cost was $25.