Not able to remove Garmin GTX330

B

BerndMR

Filing Flight Plan
Joined
Apr 1, 2024
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BerndMR
That is NOT a 3/32 Allen-Head. What the heck do I see here and what tool do I need?

Thanks in advance for any tip.

IMG_5702_small.jpg
 
flyingron said:
It should indeed be a 3/32" allen
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Could've been damaged by a previous installer using the wrong size allen. Like using the nearest size metric.
A flat blade screwdricer can sometimes help, if everything else fails.
 
flyingron said:
You do understand that touching this makes your plane unairworthy. While removing slide-in radios is usually within the Appendix D owner maintenance exception, transponders and DMEs are NOT.

It should indeed be a 3/32" allen (turned counterclockwise) per the manual:
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Better warn him it’s theft too while you’re making assumptions. ;)

It could be an experimental aircraft just as easily as it could be a stolen aircraft.
 
BerndMR said:
What the heck do I see here and what tool do I need?
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The picture really isnt clear, but my best guess is that the internal wrench 3/32 socket was stripped and somehow had the walls of that socket beat or pressed into it. Not much you can do at that point except get a left-hand drill bit and see if that can loosen it or at least provide a hole for an easy out of some sort to loosen it. Unfortunately, any method attempted will require the services of repair station to correct the problem in the end. So maybe just have them make the attempt to remove it??
 
Salty said:
Better warn him it’s theft too while you’re making assumptions. ;)

It could be an experimental aircraft just as easily as it could be a stolen aircraft.
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He's got an Arrow from other posts here. Sure, I probably should have qualified it but my post conveys important information whereas yours just generates snark.
 
flyingron said:
He's got an Arrow from other posts here. Sure, I probably should have qualified it but my post conveys important information whereas yours just generates snark.
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Perhaps.
 
Yeah - it really looks like the last Avionics Shop messed that screw up. So he will have the fun to remove that (and I to pay…). In still can not imagine how he did that.
 
BerndMR said:
Yeah - it really looks like the last Avionics Shop messed that screw up. So he will have the fun to remove that (and I to pay…). In still can not imagine how he did that.
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Well, some people possess special talents. ;)
 
Is that screw down inside a hole? Hard to tell from the blurry picture. If the head is exposed, a Dremel cutoff wheel can make a slot to get a flat screwdriver in.

Sometimes it's possible to gently tap an appropriately sized Torx bit into a stripped hex recess.
 
as others said, 3/32'nds.

Depending on the clearance below, the cam below the tray may not have had room to come out freely and someone may have just kept abusing the allen opening....
 
Try the super glue trick. Get a disposable 3/32 Allen wrench, clean it and the Allen screw as much as you can with alcohol, and super glue the Allen wrench to the screw. It will either grab it well enough to unscrew it, or it will pop off at which point you get to start to drill it out.

This could save a little money, as you'll have removed before the avionics shop gets it vs paying them to dig that screw out.

BTW - why are you removing?
 
bbchien said:
Remove the slide in beneath it and examine the cam.....
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Is the GTX330 secured with a cam? Or is it secured using the threads? If I'm getting your drift correctly, sounds like you are advocating for possibly releasing the cam from underneath. Or above, if that's where the cam is located.

Although I'm somewhat familiar with other avionics secured by a cam, I'm not super familiar with the GTX330 in particular.
 
asicer said:
Is the GTX330 secured with a cam? Or is it secured using the threads? If I'm getting your drift correctly, sounds like you are advocating for possibly releasing the cam from underneath. Or above, if that's where the cam is located.

Although I'm somewhat familiar with other avionics secured by a cam, I'm not super familiar with the GTX330 in particular.
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Cam on bottom.
 
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