Allen Screw Shredded, now what?

8 years ago

Hello,

Our Moen shower handle has recently gotten wobbly and I thought: What a simple repair. Take out the allen screw, tighten the phillips screws behind the handle and we are good.

Instead, this darn bugger doesn't want to come off. Either it is stripped or completely rusted over since the design places the allen screw directly under excess water when the shower is turned on. Way to go Moen..

Does any1 have any suggestions regarding how I can get this darn screw out in order to adjust the phillips screws behind it?

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Comments (3)

millworkman
8 years ago
EZ out in a drill.
kudzu9
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
The head doesn't look too bad, and may still come out. Spray it a couple of times with a penetrant like PB Blaster and let it sit for several minutes. Then make sure you are using the right wrench (it may or may not be metric). If that fails, resort to the specialized bit, as described above.
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wishiwereintheup
8 years ago
If necessary, turn the water off to the shower and turn the handle so the allen screw is facing up. PB Blaster might work. If it's not rust but encrusted lime, you could try vinegar. Lime Away is stronger however I've had it discolor chrome. Make sure the allen wrench bottoms out in the screw so there's no lime in it.

As previous two posters stated, if all else fails, use an ez out bit.