Overcooling? Where does your temp gauge sit?

[Ian21401]

Originally Posted by lnparry

Thanks Ian,

Yes, I have had a similar thought but I've seen some special "rounded nut removal"sockets on the interweb that I might have a go with first. They seem to have some sort of thread inside that bites into the nut.

When you do yours I would certainly endorse soaking with WD40 for a week or two beforehand as someone on here mentioned. The uppermost nut cracked off a treat. Cheers, Leep

Sorry Leep. Had a serious case of brain fade. I have a set of “Nielsen” twist easy out sockets which somehow I had forgotten about. They a have sharp edged spiral inside which grips the offending bolt/nut. Tap the socket on, just hard enough so that it grips, then turn it with the driver. Definitely a worthwhile investment. They have worked well for me and a lot less bother than cutting/grinding etc. I don’t know how I forgot about them as I used them last year on a damaged brake caliper bracket bolt.

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by Ian21401

Sorry Leep. Had a serious case of brain fade. I have a set of “Nielsen” twist easy out sockets which somehow I had forgotten about. They a have sharp edged spiral inside which grips the offending bolt/nut. Tap the socket on, just hard enough so that it grips, then turn it with the driver. Definitely a worthwhile investment. They have worked well for me and a lot less bother than cutting/grinding etc. I don’t know how I forgot about them as I used them last year on a damaged brake caliper bracket bolt.

I've looked at those many time myself Ian, so far the only nut i have needed to use them on (or a similar tool) was impossible to get to with a socket!

That aside, are they really as worthwhile as you suggest?

Not doubting what you say and what i'm really asking is how did you justify the cost?

I'm not sure how much they are, seem to recall the sets i looked at were about £20 and over the past 10-15 years, i can only recall the one rounded nut i would have needed them on.

For me, one nut doesn't justify the expense when i was able to get it off fairly easily without them.

As for not knowing how you forgot them, i think like a lot of people, 2019 was a blur for you and the net conclusion of 2019 for me and others i know is someone nicked it, threw in some significant, unpleasant events, sucked the rest out and threw it back at me.

[lnparry]

Originally Posted by Ian21401

Sorry Leep. Had a serious case of brain fade. I have a set of “Nielsen” twist easy out sockets which somehow I had forgotten about. They a have sharp edged spiral inside which grips the offending bolt/nut. Tap the socket on, just hard enough so that it grips, then turn it with the driver. Definitely a worthwhile investment. They have worked well for me and a lot less bother than cutting/grinding etc. I don’t know how I forgot about them as I used them last year on a damaged brake caliper bracket bolt.

Funnily enough Ian my local classic car enthusiast mechanic was singing their praises in the pub last night so I ordered a set this morning. Good to hear they worked for you.

Dave is spot on about the £20 cost but I feel a man can never have enough tools! Seriously though I have always bought whatever tool I need for a job which has helped me build up things over the years and with 2 other classics to work on I'm sure I'll find another use in the future.

I'll have a go next weekend and report back.

Cheers,
LeeP

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by lnparry

I feel a man can never have enough tools! Seriously though I have always bought whatever tool I need for a job which has helped me build up things over the years and with 2 other classics to work on I'm sure I'll find another use in the future.

I'll have a go next weekend and report back.

Cheers,
LeeP

I have to agree on never having enough tools Lee but i've already got a lot and some things i've deliberately doubled-up on. For example, a few years back Screwfix had a January Clearance sale and a bought a Stanley toolbox, a 1/2" and a 1/4" drive socket set, plier set (normal, long nose and side cutters), a few other sundry tools including a box spanner set and it is now referred to as the (get me out of the) Sh!t Kit. Also squeezed into the box is a bottle jack, 12V tyre inflator/compressor and a baby can of WD40 and a couple of other bits.

With my main tools, i've bought things as and when i've needed them and there's no other way of doing the job. However i've often weighed up how many times i'm likely to use the tool afterwards and if it's unlikely that i'll use it again in a hurry (or a couple of years anyway! ) then i've usually sold the tools on again, usually at a hefty loss.

However i call that tool hire without a restriction on how quickly i have to return it so if the weathers bad or whatever other reason the job can't be done in a day/weekend, i won't be funding the hire companies ownership of the tool.

The other benefit of this is i don't clutter my tool box up long term with tools i'll only use once, leaving more room for more frequently used tools.

That said, i do have things like a 3-jaw stud extractor that can be used with an impact wrench and what i refer to as "vanity tools" - things like a skewdriver which has a small gearbox on the end and uses 1/4" hex drive bits and means i can drive screws at 60 degrees to the handle of the normal screwwdriver used to drive the skewdriver, a 1" diameter kurled button with a 1/4" hex drive in the middle for spinning screws in/out quickly and so on. I call them "vanity tools" as they're the sort of thing that while they come in useful once in a while, aren't used everyday but i can truthfully say "I've got one of those!".

My storage space is limited these days so i have to be a bit careful about buying tools.

Seems to be working well enough for me though!

[Ian21401]

The twist off set I bought is a Neilsen CT1381 10 piece 3/8”drive which cost me about £35.00. (I seem to have lost the receipt so cannot say from whom I bought it ). I was shown a set by one of my neighbours whilst at his garage business discussing other matters and the conversation moved on to stubborn nuts and bolts. (As one does ) I had a little extra disposable money at the time so bought an identical set plus a set of 6 point ( what I term flat drive ) 1/2” drive sockets as I was fed up with trying to remove corroded bolts on a 25 years old car with sockets that drove on the points of the bolt head. I haven’t needed a twist socket very often but have been very grateful that I had them on the odd occasion that they were required. I now try to use the flat drive socket set for all dismantling where there is sufficient access to avoid rounding off the bolt head/nut. I seem to have been buying tools all my life and still have two cheap sets of open end spanners ( one AF and the other metric but both now virtually useless as the jaws have spread ) I can remember buying when I acquired my first motor scooter in 1963. At that time I also bought some box spanners as requiired. They were so soft that they distorted easily and were of little use, but I managed somehow.
I’m rabbiting on again. One would think that I had nothing else to do and my “to do” list was all ticked off. I wish. Must get on with some of the in the house jobs until the weather warms up a bit.
Best of luck with your thermostat housing Leep.

[lnparry]

Oh boy.

I'm afraid the special sockets with the internal spiral didn't work for me. I think the problem was that the hexagonal part of the nut on the thermostat housing is quite shallow in depth as there is a sort of oversized collar at the base. So, there was not enough of the nut to grab even when I tapped the socket home. Just spun off. The nut seems to be made of very soft material.

Further attempts with mole grips failed.

I wished I had quit then but in desperation I had a go with a mini grinding wheel on a Dremel. I've ground off a lot of the nut and tried chasing the rest around with a sharp screwdriver. No joy.

I don't think I have damaged the stud yet but quite ashamed of the mess I have made. So, as its getting dark and being cold, wet and generally p***** off have come inside to lick my wounds.

Not sure where to go now apart from shamefacedly hand it over to the local garage. Goodness knows how they will get it off.

Cheers,
LeeP

[Pete940]

Have you tried a bit of heat? Guessing there's not enough left to grab with the mole grips anyway.

[Laird Scooby]

Sounds like a flange nut Jim?



If so, using a Dremel type tool, you could drill a small hole in the flange. First (once you've got the hole) is mix 50/50 acetone (steal the wifes nail varnish remover ) and ATF, give it a good shake then dribble some into the hole and onto the threads, go and have a cup of tea/coffee and let it soak.
Get a chisel/punch (or even a sharp screwdriver and lodge it in the hole and give it a few decent whacks with the hammer so it turns in an anti-clockwise direction.

Once it's moving, you should be able to spin it off by hand.

Some flange nuts have serrated faces on the underside as shown, others are smooth. If serrated, add a spring washer betwen the nut and plain washer unless you have a direct replacement flange nut.

If it originally took a 13mm spanner, being a flange nut it's likely to be an M10 thread. If it was a 10mm spanner, probably still an M6 thread but if you can't find replacement flange nuts, the ordinary version will do with a plain washer underneath.

Good luck with it!

[lnparry]

Pete - yes, I wondered about heat but not much left to heat up now.

Dave - yes, that is the little devil. I'll have a look and see if there is enough metal left to give it a go. I've already made sure I have nuts and washers once I get the so and so off.

Cheers,
LeeP

[nu11eaf]

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