Inaccessible carb drain screw

[drchpete]

2003 Yamaha 9.9 - 2 stroke

I would like to drain the carb bowl for winterizing the engine but cannot access the screw. A regular screw driver cannot be angled enough to get a grip because it's lower than the lower cowling and the screw is not hex head so no wrench can be used. It's a slotted screw, not Phillips. I have tried a right angel driver but the way it lines up it cannot be rotated to move the screw without running into other parts of the engine. Is there a special tool to get this off or anyone have a trick for this? Pic attached. It's the bronze screw in the center of both pics and you can see I've started to mangle it.

[boscoe99]

A small rachet wrench with a flat bladed screw driver bit should be able to do the job. Or, a screw driver (offset type) with a 90 degree bend in it.

https://www.google.com/search?q=90+d...a&channel=fflb

Maintainability of a motor is not on a design engineers mind.

[robert graham]

The carb drain screws on my C90 Yamaha are brass hex/slot head, so either a slot head screwdriver or 10MM wrench fits....maybe you could replace your drain screws with some with the hex/slot heads to make it easier for carb draining.....maybe check the parts list for parts numbers that could be compatible....

[DennisG01]

Along the lines of what Bosoce mentioned, I sometimes use some tape to keep the screwdriver bit tightly inside the ratchet wrench. Another possible way, if there is enough space, is to use a socket/universal joint/extension/socket wrench.

[robert graham]

Like I said, take your drain screw to your Yamaha dealer and try to match one with the hex head...

[99yam40]

Like I said, take your drain screw to your Yamaha dealer and try to match one with the hex head...

Kind of hard to do until he can get the old one out to start out with.

may need to pull carb to get if out the 1st time

[robert graham]

Take an old screwdriver, put it in a vice and bend it to the appropriate angle to access the screw....lots of ways to skin that cat!....