What’s The Trick to Removing These ???

[Mr.humbucker]

I need to change the messed up wiring harness from the tail light on my 82 GS650G and swap it out with another I have. I have to get into the back of the brake light housing and for the life of me I cannot get the two large JIS (Phillips) screws/bolts, holding the housing together, to loosen at all on either of the two rear brake lights I am working with.

Am I missing something?

[Eli69]

PB blaster !!...

[Mr.humbucker]

I tried a bunch of sprays … will not budge … feels like there’s an obstruction almost.

[93Bandit]

A little heat and an impact screw driver.

[rphillips]

Wondering if these screws are screwed into plastic or metal?

[Rich82GS750TZ]

Here's the schematic for the '82 GS650G Tail Light Assembly if that helps.

Maybe with the lens removed you can get some spray in at the inside of the housing where those screws that come in from the back (#7) are.

[Mr.humbucker]

The two screws (7 on the diagram) screw into the tail light frame (1 on the above diagram). When I try to turn these screws to remove them they feel rock solid locked. There appears to be some kind of sped nut? Embedded in the tail light frame that prohibits them from being removed … would the put a permanent locktite in there???

[Cipher]

The fiche makes it look as if they used the cool hex\phillips combo head on the bolt. Can you get no purchase on the hex? or am I wrong and it is solely phillips?
If its a phillips my first response would be to check the condition of the metal bits they thread into, do the bolts protrude and show whiskery notable corrosion? a drop of muriatic acid works wonders on galvanic corrosion.

But just a drop and use brake clean to get ay petroleum crap off the bits before trying acid.

now when this fails my next trick would be to carefully drill off the phillips heads. Use a bit just large enough to rest in the recessed bit but not so small as to get caught and hop.
ANother fine tool for this is a carbide ball shaped tool in a dremel like device or even a drill if you can find one with a suitably long shank.

once the head are gone you can seperate the housing and get a massive surface are to apply a monster pair of vise grips at maximum finger hurting closing pressure.


no heat as I assume the intermediary but that holds the inserts the bolts thread into is plastic. Also take pains not to over torque with the vise grips cause 30 yr old plastic can be fussy.

[Suzukian]

If you can get vice grips on the head on them, you can probably get then to move. That's my last resort for stuck Phillips heads, but I make sure it's all prepared, as in take the fender off the bike, so you can get a good bike. Worse comes to worse, the Phillips tip hole gives you a good center for a drill and you can drill them both out, and use new nuts and bolts. .

[TheAlt]

Either direction you turn it is progress.
If it can take heat, heat the head. Soldering iron works well but will be slower.
Get it as hot as you can without destroying plastics etc.
Spray Blaster in it.
You can try either tightening or loosening just put good force into the screw (impact if you have it) and see if you can wiggle back and forth.
Repeat as needed.
Additionally shock cooling may work
Heat it.
Get a can of keyboard cleaner and turn it upside down and shoot it when it's hot. (not responsible for damage)
Repeat and repeat again
Back and forth, back and forth. Spray, heat, spray etc.

To give you an idea. I took 1 hour to remove 1 sparkplug from my Dodge. and was happy in the end.
Any progress is better and don't force it. If it moves, that's progress.
Alt

[Cipher]

Ebay its really not worth the effort.