Stripped screws on air assist fan

EDIT: The screw itself seems fine. It’s the hole of the housing that is the problem (I think!).

I went to clean my machine this morning and noticed a screw from the air assist fan laying on the bed. I felt like the screw was sort of stripped when I cleaned the fan two days ago, but it didn’t seem to be falling out when I put it back in, so it had some grip left.

(Hopefully I’m using the right terms. Basically, the screw is just turning in the hole.) And honestly, now that I’m looking at it, three out of the four total don’t seem to be that strong of a hold either.

Please tell me there is a trick to getting past this until I can maybe order some parts! Do I need an entirely new air assist fan and carriage? Or just the black housing fan part itself? I have a million orders to get done…

There are quite a few products that can be used to repair stripped threads:

https://www.amazon.com/repair-stripped-thread/s?k=repair+stripped+thread

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Thanks, I’ll take a look. Is there a quick trick that might work until I can figure out which product will work best? I’m seeing things like super-glue something into the hole, etc. I’m not sure what would be safe for these parts.

I hesitate to say this… Is it possible that the tool is turning and not the screw? Those are not Phillips or Allen screw heads. I think they require Torx bits.

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No, I have the correct type of tool. It’s definitely just spinning in the housing. :frowning: Plus, it actually fell out…

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Just put a small dab of white glue on the tip of the screw! That will hold it. You could also go to a hardware store and get slightly larger screws!

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If it doesn’t pull away from the plate when you pull on it, the fan will be just fine with three screws.

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That is the issue! most fasteners in the machine require the fancy bits.

Sorry. It’s one of the reason I don’t participate in the P&S section as much as I used to. Some folks are technical geniuses and some should never touch anything inside. Most of us fall somewhere in the middle. Unfortunately there is no way for the community to know which is which. I tread carefully when providing simple solutions.

Folks that are offended when we suggest something obvious are folks I wouldn’t trust to polish a bowling ball. They always claim to have tried everything. Have owned a GF for 4+ years and it’s still easy for me to overlook the obvious.

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You can probably just take that screw out. Three should be enough, it’s not that heavy a fan. :slightly_smiling_face:

This is similar and all the bits you will likely need

If all else fails, take the fan down to Home Depot or Lowes and find a nut and bolt set that fits the opening instead of a screw. That would clamp everything together, no?

Is this directed at me? I was not trying to be snarky with my response that it was not the tool that was the problem. I was just responding that I knew for sure the tool wasn’t the issue.

Not at all. Your response was not anything other than informational. Was more a commentary on how I have been forced to approach helping folks I don’t know. I used to say simple one liners such as, "did you strip the screw head. It takes a Torx driver. " And half the time the person would get offended that I would suggest they did something wrong. When stressed some people get nasty. Social interaction is not my strong suit.

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I’m very confused as to who it was for then, but I’ll just leave it as a misunderstanding on my part. Thanks for the advice, truly. For what it’s worth, I usually use a Torx driver (though I never would have known it’s official name) but I have found that a little flathead that I have laying nearby is just the right size to fit in the screw. lol But sadly, the tool is not the issue regardless of which one I use. But my machine seems to be okay minus that screw for now. Hopefully the others stay put.

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Hello Kelly,

I see you already emailed us about this and we’re working on it there, so I’m going to close this topic.

Kind Regards,