Clamshell left hinge screw

[sfiera]

I have two iBook clamshells I’ve been working on. I stripped them down this far, but in both cases I got stuck at the screw holding the left hinge, the one dead center in this photo:



It turns freely, but won’t come out. There’s enough of a gap for the grounding cable to rotate, though. I tried forcing the screw upwards, but didn’t make any progress. The screw on the right hinge comes out without any trouble.

A stuck screw is no surprise, but I wasn’t expecting to get stuck on the same screw in both iBooks. Is there something I’m missing? Is there something about this specific screw? Any advice on how to proceed?

 

[bibilit]

Probably the thread insert is loose and preventing the screw to be removed. 

I will try to use a small lever under the screw, while unscrewing at the same time. 

 

[sfiera]

I tried, but I didn’t make any progress. There’s not really room to get much leverage there. I also tried inserting a coin under the hinge, but that didn’t help either. There might be room to slip a thin wrench underneath to keep the insert from turning, if I knew what size was appropriate. (assuming the insert is hex-shaped)

I guess the extreme option is to cut the head off the screw or drill it out. I don’t have the tools for that, though.