# La pavoni europiccola stuck brew head screws



## Bacms (Jul 25, 2019)

I have picked up a used La Pavoni Europiccola on eBay to try and restore.

I have restore quite a few Gaggias in the past but always wanted to try and restore a La Pavoni.

Unfortunately they always seems to go for quite a lot of money which makes it pretty worthless to try and restore.

Finally something came up that ended up quite low so I decided to take a shot at it and see how it goes. Knowing how simple this machines tend to be I wasn't really expecting this to be too much of a risk. But boy oh boy was I wrong. The machine is marked as been manufactured in December 2010 but at this point the damage with scale and rust is so big I am not really sure whether I will bother to repair it or just sell the parts. I managed to descale most of it and started to disassemble to replace all the seals and gaskets unfortunately when trying to remove the brew head the bolt snapped. Does anyone has any idea/suggestions on how I could try and remove this? I am thinking oil for a few days and then try and grab and rotate them somehow.


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## ashcroc (Oct 28, 2016)

Plusgas, heat & cut a slot in the top for a flat head screwdriver.

At worst, you can probaly drill it out carefully but you may need to retap the hole.

Good luck with the refurb if you decide to go ahead. That's some crazy rust for such a new machine.


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## Bacms (Jul 25, 2019)

ashcroc said:


> Plusgas﻿, heat﻿ & cut a slot in the top for a flat head screwdriver.
> 
> At worst, you can probably drill it out carefully but you may need to retap the hole.
> 
> Good luck with the refurb if you decide to go ahead. That's some crazy rust for such a new machine.


 I think the refurb it will depend on my success of getting those screws out and the cost of the parts. I do enjoy this sort of thing so as long as it does not work more expensive than buying a second hand machine I may have a go at it.

And have to agree on the amount of rust. Don't really understand how someone can take such bad care of something they bought. The rust is terrible there was about a 5mm coffee cake on the bottom of the basket and inside the portafilter, scale several mm deep and to top it off the machine was sent with water on the boiler so I have to wonder for how long it had been sitting there. Anyway rant over.

Thank you for your help, I had never actually used plusgas so will give that a go. Cutting a slot is also a good idea


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## lake_m (Feb 4, 2017)

You could also try using an 'easy out' bolt extractor although it looks a bit on the small side.


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## joey24dirt (Jan 28, 2017)

lake_m said:


> You could also try using an 'easy out' bolt extractor although it looks a bit on the small side.


Easy-outs... the most falsely advertised tool going 

Good luck with the refurb. Stick with it 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## ashcroc (Oct 28, 2016)

Bacms said:


> I think the refurb it will depend on my success of getting those screws out and the cost of the parts. I do enjoy this sort of thing so as long as it does not work more expensive than buying a second hand machine I may have a go at it.
> And have to agree on the amount of rust. Don't really understand how someone can take such bad care of something they bought. The rust is terrible there was about a 5mm coffee cake on the bottom of the basket and inside the portafilter, scale several mm deep and to top it off the machine was sent with water on the boiler so I have to wonder for how long it had been sitting there. Anyway rant over.
> Thank you for your help, I had never actually used plusgas so will give that a go. Cutting a slot is also a good idea


Plusgas is good stuff. It knocks the likes of WD40 & GT85 out of the park. Don't be put off if it takes a few applications. The heat will help it gwt where it needs to be but it'll need reapplying after each cycle.

Another option if you have enough of the stud showing is to file a couple of flats to clamp a pair of mole grips on. 
I've seen a nut welded on too to get a broken exhaust stud out before but that of course, needs a welder.


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## lake_m (Feb 4, 2017)

joey24dirt said:


> Easy-outs... the most falsely advertised tool going
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 Our mechies use them, but prefer heat and a bloody big hammer ?


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## El carajillo (Mar 16, 2013)

Take care if you try "easyouts" = stud extractors. If the stud /bolt is very tight the extractor will begin to flex. Do NOT force it, if you break the extractor off in the bolt you will not be able to drill it out as they are exceedingly hard. Proceed carefully, use good quality extractors (not cheap ones)


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