Hi

Despite my lubing them periodically, I have a cleat screw that is seized.

Any suggestions for getting it out (other than drilling through it)?

This can be a really frustrating event! You need to understand that at this point the shoes are at risk and there's no guarantee of saving them. First is details. What kind of shoe and cleat? If a shoe with accessible cleat screw plates then you have a lot of worst case solutions (grinding cleat/screw away and replacing plates). If the cleat is plastic then cutting/grinding away the cleat and leaving the screw to be grabbed with a vice grip is a possibility. If the cleat screw plates are actually "T" nuts that can spin within the sole then things get problematic. Unless you can somehow keep the sloe's insert from spinning the shoe is likely going to be tossed in the end. (I have heard of replacing the "T" nuts but not for years...). You can try various penetrating liquids like ATF and kerosene but they get messy and won't dissolve rust, just lubricate it.

Post more info and we can get more specific. Andy.

Yup, here's more info... shoes are Shimano SPDs with Shimano SPD cleats:



I was able to remove the right screw but the left screw is seized.

ADD: Should also mention that the seized screw has been stripped.

If Shimano shoes with the replaceable plate inside, if liquid wrench or other chemistry doesn't do it
then drilling out the screws and replacing the plate in the shoes will mean the shoes themselves will survive..

Right on... I managed to drill/break the screw and saved the shoe.
Thank guys for the feedback.

Heat can help, I've had good luck with something as simple as a soldering iron. Some consideration is needed though, as the sole won't appreciate heat that much.
Allen screws are quite helpful, in that the stripped hole is a perfect guide for the drill.
Sometimes hammering a slightly larger Torx into the stripped Allen can give enough purchase to break the screw free.
One method I've had good luck with is to put a smallish hex nut over the stripped screw, and then run a weld bead into it, fusing the nut to the screw. The concentrated heat helps, and you get decent purchase to unscrew with the nut.

Often, you can remove the one screw then rotate the entire cleat, which may help take the screw with it. Other wise grind or cut the cleat to where you can break it out from under the bolt, which does to things. It gives access to the head so you can use a pair of pliers, and takes the tension off the screw, which by itself is often enough.

Obviously this sacrifices the cleat, but if you don't need to replace it anyway, you might as well leave it alone until you do.

Cleat screws tend to be good candidates for binding, because they see all kinds of weather from the bottom, and are vulnerable to your own sweat wicking in from the top. I always mount cleats using a good, waterproof MoS2 grease, and so far have done OK. (of course that could just be good luck, and not the grease).

I've saved both the cleat and the shoes by drilling the seized bolt with a 3/16" drill bit centered in the hex recess. Drill just deep enough to pop the head off the bolt. When the cleat is out of the way, you grab the protruding bolt stub with vise Grips and turn it out.

Reverse drill bits, aka screw extractors are amazing. They save time by not having to drill all the way through.

So really the screw was not seized but you stripped the head. Did you make sure to clean the dirt out first?

Re tighten the working screw a little to straighten the cleat and share the load. Remove the laces (or undo the straps) pull the shoe tongue to one side and slide the shoe over an end-up house brick. Use an impact driver with a hex bit. (You know how to use one, right? You start to use it like a normal screwdriver - then while holding it twisted tight against the resisting screw - you belt it on the top with a hammer) This has never failed me - although Time now use hex heads that are too small for my impact driver hex bit. I think I shall have to Dremel a flat blade slot in the heads of the next ones.

Anyhow - Impact Driver.

https://www.diytrade.com/china/pd/627...T_W_6_BIT.html


(by the way - Screw Extractors are often called Easyouts - this is only because ExtremelyFriggingDifficultOuts won't fit on the box)

For future reference, a few things I've found: Some hex wrenches have beveled ends (not the ball end type) which reduce the depth of engagement in the already shallow sockets of most cleat screws. Using a wrench with a flat end, or grinding the end flat on and existing wrench will improve engagement. Also, clean out the socket thoroughly with a pointy tool and compressed air to help ensure maximum depth of engagement with the wrench.

What he said^

Then you should learn how to properly use one. Of course On a truly seized bolt I could see it not doing any good. They are meant for stripped or rusted screw heads, Like the threshold of an exterior door jamb.

Just for future reference...one can protect the hex head holes of the cleat hardware by melting candle wax into them. It keeps dirt from compacting inside the hole that could reduce purchase of the 4mm hex key. When you need to remove the bolts just heat up the wax and let it drip out, use a small blade screwdriver to clear any residual wax and have at it with a hex key. Reading throug this thread I became concerned about my SPD cleat bolts on my mt bike shoes as I have not removed/replaced th cleats in a long time. While they were not seized, they were not greased either. Having waxed the bolt heads as described above made the job quicker and less worriesome as I knew I had full insertion of the hex key as I applied torque to unbolt the cleat.

-j

Well this post made me think it is time to do some maintenance on my shoes and my wife's!

There are lots of tricks to get screws loose. Try a mixture of Automatic transmission fluid and acetone.------Cut a groove in the screw with a thin blade dremel tool-----------apply dry ice. And yes as suggested if you can get one screw out, try turning the whole cleat if you can.

Tell me how please.

Drill into the head with appropriate sized bit which leaves enough material surrounding the head for the revrse bit to grab, Use appropiate sized reverse drill which matches the hole you just drilled, stick it in and turn it to the left with a tap or drill.

I recommend drilling the head with a drill bit equal to the minor diameter of the threads and a 3/16' drill bit does this for an M5 bolt. You drill just deep enough that the head pops off. That way you don't damage the cleat or the shoe and the remaining threaded stub can be removed with a pair of pliers or a Vise Grip. A "reverse bit" or Eze-Out doesn't have much depth to work with in something as small as a cleat bolt.

yeah but when they work they give you such a thrill of excitement (aka wood).