Help! My thermocouple has gone bad, but I can't remove the manifold assembly door

[Pyroninja42]

We have a Whirlpool Water Heater, serial number beginning with FG (yeah. It's one of those). Last summer, after our thermocouple went bad again, we had a plumber install the BFG Burner Manifold Conversion Kit that Whirlpool had to distribute because of a class action lawsuit.

Well, it's summer, and the thermocouple needs to be replaced.

Normally, this wouldn't be a problem. I've replaced it before we got the conversion kit, and up in the attic the plumber had left the instructions for installing the conversion kit (from which I could infer the steps to removing the manifold door). It was all going smoothly, had everything unhooked and started unscrewing the screws.

Got the first screw out easy. And then I went onto the second screw.

The second screw is just turning and turning in both directions, but won't actually tighten or loosen. I've tried unscrewing it while using a flathead to guide it towards me. I've tried a vice grip to pull it out. I've tried an adjustable wrench and a socket wrench.

Here's the picture of the screw (sorry it's blurry- this is just to give you an idea of the situation that I'm working in)

The screw's starting to get stripped pretty badly, but I can still manage to grip it. For now. What's not shown is that above it are the natural gas pipes that feed into the water heater, restricting my "angles of attack", if you will.

Now here's what's really got me worried- I looked at the screw that I managed to retrieve and it's a self-tapping screw.

Like one of those. I don't know if the conversion kit came with those or if the plumber used it on his own initiative, but I'm worried that it COMPLETELY messed up the screw hole.

I'm getting sick of not having hot water! Any suggestions?

 

[havasu]

Use pliers, grip the screw head, and pull back as you unscrew the screw counterclockwise. You'll be fine. The reason for the spinning is with the self tapping screw, the thread is courser, but with sheet metal screws, they have a finer thread and usually will back out easier.

 

[Pyroninja42]

I got the door off. The screw head was too small and made of too poor quality metal to effectively get off with pliers. I had to use a drill to drill through the screw head to disconnect it from the screw body. Turns out the socket that it was screwed into was some kind of recent addition and was spinning freely.

Are there any kind of adhesives that I can use that aren't flammable to secure it? I don't want to deal with this crap in the future.

 

[Pyroninja42]

Pictures of what I'm dealing with right now.

^The best picture I could get of the inside situation.

I've been holding the inside piece with a vice grip while trying to unscrew it with a second vice grip. No luck.

And then here's the other side for comparison:

I need to get that screw out and that socket secured. I just want this nightmare to be over.

 

[havasu]

I believe JB Weld is only flammable until it dries?