Cleaning Valves


 
Sometimes you can look at a stripped screw and see by the direction that it was stripped whether the head was stripped from over-tightening or from trying to remove a stuck screw. If it was stripped by over-tightening, and one screw is brass and the other is steel, my first thought would be that someone possibly lost a screw during disassembly and tried to force a brass screw back in it's place. Very unusual to see screws of different materials in an assembly, except in cases where electrical bonding or electrolysis is in play, and that doesn't apply here. I would be on alert if it were me.
 
Patience might work. I put PB Blaster on those screws twice a day for a week before it loosed them up and I got them out. They were not as bad as yours but one or two applications of penetrating fluid might not be enough. Drilling just the head off so it comes apart and then gripping the threaded stub sticking out might work but I have never tried it. Good luck and post your results.
 
Lock the valve in a vice carefully. A good quality screwdriver placed firmly on the screw ad a sharp tap with a small ball peen or machinist hammer. It shocks the threads, and helps seat the driver better. Old mechanic trick
 

 

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