P38A Seized nuts!

Gentlemen (& ladies),

We're looking at an automatic diesel P38A. Two of them actually. I'm trying to get the rad off my scrapper and onto what I am hoping might become a runner.

The radiator on the scrapper looks original. It is held at the bottom by two bolts that go through the rad holder frame and into a square captive nut held in a plastic channel at the bottom of each side of the radiator. Unfortunately, the plastic has weakened over time and as I try to undo said bolts, the captive nut rotates nicely in the plastic channel. So how do I undo the bolts?!

The channel is too small for needle-nosed pliers. I cannot use heat because I would melt the plastic of the radiator. Plusgas was liberally sprayed before I started. I tried jamming a flat-bladed screwdriver in there but it just pushed it out when I rotated the head of the bolt. I cannot get to the fastenings that hold the radiator frame in place. I'm really trying to avoid hacksawing the heads off the bolts and even if I did, the body of the bolt would still hold the radiator in place!

Anyone got any ideas of how to get the bar-stewards out without wrecking the rad mountings?!

Kettle on ...

Wreck the rad mountings, and use a stainless nut and bolt on reassembly.

I had this issue, it was solved quite quickly with a blowtorch and hacking away at the housing around the nut until I could just about fit a wrench on it to keep it still

MrGorsky said:

Wreck the rad mountings, and use a stainless nut and bolt on reassembly.

Click to expand...

+1

Whole f_ckin' day wasted today on those two bolts and no further forward. That and trying to bleed the high pressure pipes with 2 dodgy batteries that **** themselves as soon as you try to crank. Utterly wasted ****ing day.

Those bolts have one chance left and then it is time to get violent.