Help with screw removal?

Question

I am a customer of Swisco having purchased channel balances and replacement slider door rollers. I do these odd jobs for friends in my community, and am not a commercial business.
Please refer to the (3) pictures which illustrate the problem. This is a door at my home that I'm using for illustrative purposes.

Recently I ran into a problem removing an upper screw on the side panel of a PGT slider that is probably 17-18 years old. The screw was badly rusted, and although I had previously applied penetrating oil, my impact screwdriver was unable to bust it loose. I've encountered a few situations in the past like this, and have had to drill off the head and then use pliers to remove the remaining shaft.

In this case none of the male threaded shaft is sticking out, so I can't get a grip on it as it is flush with it's female threaded section. I thought of trying an "easy out," but the shaft is fairly small (about 1/8") and I was afraid a drill would just wobble on it.

Anyhow, that is my predicament. If you have any suggestions I could try to remove the male threaded shaft they would be most appreciated.

Also, if I can't get it out, are you aware of another fastening technique I might try knowing the shaft of the screw is still in the threaded section.

Thanks in advance.
Dennis M.

User submitted photos of patio door hardware.

Dave Sr. · Accepted Answer

What I've done in situations like this was to use an awl and a hammer. I'm just not sure if you can perform this task with the door frame still in the track, so keep that in mind. Regardless, what I normally do is to put the aluminum rail in a bench vise to hold it in place. With the metal rail secured, I take the awl and place the point of it up under the broken screw, then hit it with the hammer so that the point of the awl pushes the broken screw up and out of the screw way. After the broken screw is removed, I use a set of pliers to squeeze the screw way back in place. Like I said you might need to use a bench vise.