Sway Control Ball Plate

[BaysideBruce]

I was looking at the Ball Plate for my Reese friction sway control bar that is screwed onto the tongue of the trailer.  The top middle screw is sheared off (or corroded off) and the bottom middle one is showing signs of doing the same.  The other four screws in the corners all look clean and good.  What should I do about the two middle ones?  Or should I do anything about it since the other four srews look good?  How do I replace the sheared one?  It is still in the hole but there is no screw head on it.  Do I try to take the middle bottom one out to replace it hoping that it will not break while trying to back it out?
Thanks,

[Tim5055]

To be honest, I probably wouldn' worry about it.  As you can see in THIS PICTURE, when they mounted mine they didn't even bother puting in the two center ones.

[Steve-o-bud]

I was looking at the Ball Plate for my Reese friction sway control bar that is screwed onto the tongue of the trailer.  The top middle screw is sheared off (or corroded off) and the bottom middle one is showing signs of doing the same.  The other four screws in the corners all look clean and good.  What should I do about the two middle ones?  Or should I do anything about it since the other four srews look good?  How do I replace the sheared one?  It is still in the hole but there is no screw head on it.  Do I try to take the middle bottom one out to replace it hoping that it will not break while trying to back it out?
Thanks,

If you want to fix it, drill out the original two rusted out screws/bolts.

Take a drill bit that is a little smaller than the original screw, and try to center it in the middle of what's left of the screw. Start slow, to keep it centered.

After you drill it out, I'd suggest installing a new screw, slightly larger size than the original. Go to a good hardware store, and get a stainless steel screw. It should not rust out.

[SkipP]

Like Tim, I too felt six bolts for the plate was a little overkill anyway. One thought though, why did the one rust out? You may want to consider replacing the ones that are in there with better bolts while they are still in good enough shape to do it.

[wynot]

Lowe's is selling a screw extractor kit now as well if you don't want to mess with normal drill out - which probably would take all of 2 minutes.