NEED HELP - mounting screw stuck in X34!

dizman7
dizman7 Member Posts: 3 New User
edited February 14 in 2020 Archives
Long story short I went to mount my X34 for an Ergotron arm mount. I removed the stand without problem, and went to install the mounting plate that came with the X34 (which I realize now was optional). I put all 4 screws in it then went to attach the arm to the plate when I noticed the plate was wobbly. Turns out the bottom two screws won't go in far enough to make it tight! So I tried again and one screw went down about a mm more but now won't come back out! It's like whatever it screwed into broke off and is just spinning in place when I try to unscrew it! So now I'm stuck where I can't mount it on the arm cause it'd be unstable but I also can't put the stand back on! Am I gonna have to RMA this whole thing because of one screw?!

I also noticed now that all 4 screws are the same length yet the bottoms holes are more shallow, as the bottom holes metal is flush with the plastic but the front holes metal sits under a layer of plastic? Shouldn't these all 4 be the same deepth to be complaint with vesa standard? Even the two sets of M4 screws that came with the arm are exact the same length, which is the same length as the screws that came with the X34 that were holding the stand on!

So yeah, I dunno what to do now. It's been a really long day already and that just ruined it completely. Any help would be appreciated, thanks!

Answers

  • Spec-Chum
    Spec-Chum Member Posts: 6 New User

    I know what's caused this but I can't help with the spinning screw, sorry.

     

    The Acer X(R)34's use 4 x M4 8mm, not 10mm, as you've noitced.  The correct 8mm screws come with the wall mount bracket.

     

    EDIT: Looks like you've already noticed the original stand is tapered so does use 10mm on all 4 corners but your arm (MX?) just needs 4 x 8mm and no bracket.  The bracket is just used to mount the monitor away from a wall, for wiring, I assume. due to the shape of the back.

     

    Have you tried glue on the screw?  It'll possibly cost you a screwdriver, but worth it in the long run?  Or knife prying it out as you unscew?

  • dbudworth
    dbudworth Member Posts: 1 New User

    did you ever solve this issue?  I also have 2 spinning screws stuck in the bottom of my monitor as well.

     

    No idea how to fix this, nor do I know how to take the monitor apart to hold down whatever is spinning on the inside.

     

     

  • Vandragorax
    Vandragorax Member Posts: 124 Die Hard WiFi Icon

    This seems like a tricky issue to solve.  I would say the quick solution would be, pull the screw out as far as you can, then use some very strong bolt cutters to snip off the screw as low down as possible so the screw part inside the monitor can drop down inside.  This might be annoying as they will be stuck in the monitor and you may notice them rattling around when you move it but they shouldn't cause any problems.  This will at least allow you to attach the new thumb screws (which come with the Ergotron MX) without using the mounting plate.

     

    Only other option I suppose is to see if Acer warranty support will allow you to send the monitor back to their nearest repair centre and have an engineer take it apart to remove the problem from the inside.

  • errolng
    errolng Member Posts: 4 New User

    hey i hope u have solved your issue.

    i was wondering if u could be of some help.

    i'm having the same problem as the bottom 2 screws won't go all the way in.

    thanks in advance!

  • errolng
    errolng Member Posts: 4 New User

    by the way, i'm using the desk mount not the wall mount if it makes a difference.

  • Cynary
    Cynary Member Posts: 1 New User
    I had the same issue with one screw, and for a while I lived with just 3/4 screws holding the monitor to the arms.
    Today, bothered enough with it, I decided to tackle it - it was also going to make it very difficult to move the monitor if I ever needed to since I couldn't remove it from the monitor arms :/

    I was successful. It seems what actually moves is the threaded metal piece the screw goes into - the screw got stuck in there, and too many rotations made it dislodge itself from its mount in the monitor frame.
    What I did was, applying pressure and with a drill, pull out the metal piece. Then with pliers, it is possible to remove the screw. After that used super glue and reinstalled the metal piece in the frame (other glues, more appropriate to plastic/metal are probably better, I just didn't have any easily available).

    I then mounted it with the supplied wall bracket, even though I didn't need to, to not risk having this happen again.
  • NegNoodles
    NegNoodles Member Posts: 1 New User
    Hi, was this ever solved? I recently remounted by x34 on a table stand and noticed that due to the bottom 2 screws that are loose and practically damaged, I am not able to maintain a solid angle for my x34. it keeps tilting downwards, and it's odd because this wasn't an issue the very first time I mounted this monitor.

    Should I just buy a new set of VESA screws that fits the x34? Or should I just have to learn to live with the fact that I will never be able to properly tilt the x34 in a proper angle without having it slowly tilt downwards due to the two loose screws?
  • nugen361
    nugen361 Member Posts: 1 New User
    Cynary said:
    I had the same issue with one screw, and for a while I lived with just 3/4 screws holding the monitor to the arms.
    Today, bothered enough with it, I decided to tackle it - it was also going to make it very difficult to move the monitor if I ever needed to since I couldn't remove it from the monitor arms :/

    I was successful. It seems what actually moves is the threaded metal piece the screw goes into - the screw got stuck in there, and too many rotations made it dislodge itself from its mount in the monitor frame.
    What I did was, applying pressure and with a drill, pull out the metal piece. Then with pliers, it is possible to remove the screw. After that used super glue and reinstalled the metal piece in the frame (other glues, more appropriate to plastic/metal are probably better, I just didn't have any easily available).

    I then mounted it with the supplied wall bracket, even though I didn't need to, to not risk having this happen again.
    I know this article is a bit old. But recently had an issue of getting one my screws broke inside. While the time you used the 3/4 screws, was it pretty stable for what it was? I really don't see me having any other option at this point. I've had the monitor mounted still but I had it sitting on a box just in case as i didn't feel comfortable knowing that without the 1 screw missing, it could lop over any moment. Still gives me anxiety knowing that the 4th screw not there.

    Josh