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If the rear nut on the door handle is the hardest one, Im in good shape. After dropping the latch, I didn't think it was hard at all. I looked at the brake booster nuts once when I painted the engine compartment, but wound up leaving it in and painted it where it sat.
blaster, heated them, used an impact wrench a torch
and finally paid my vette mechanic to remove the last
bolt. Thanks for letting me vent.
Dave
I agree. The seatbelt bolts were the hardest for me. I had to use PB Blaster for a couple of days, and even then my 6-point socket just kept slipping up and off of the bolt. I gave it some more time with the PB Blaster, and used a 12-point socket on breaker bar. I finally succeeded.
1st place: No doubt in my mind. The rear Trailing Arm Bolts!!!!!!!!! Finally had to buy a reciprocal saw to cut them---which can injure you big time when it kicks back!!!!
2nd place: center consol bolts
3rd place 30 year old exhaust manifold bolts--took me a week to get them out--but I didn't break any.
Well I never thought I would say this but WHO THE HELL engineered the ducting for the heater core 3hr in a cold garage and I am still just getting to the main box wtf….
Sorry I just needed to rant…. Have a nice day!
You got that one right. My vote for the second hardest is that damn brake booster. Must have looked good on the drawing board. Not too good in practice.
From: Kansas City, MO ...I'd like to go fishing and catch a fishstick. That'd be convenient. - Mitch Hedberg
Not a nut, but a little clip on a door lock rod way inside the door where I could barely reach. That and the hose clamp on the power steering pump are the two things that have made me want to launch the tools in my hands the most.
I've done the booster and the dash/console and neither were nearly as bad in my opinion.
The 2 nuts that mount the center gauge bezel to the shifter console. Alan
I use plastic nuts. I install them on the two studs sticking out of the bottom of the central gauge bezel. They are installed with the shift console moved out of the way. I tighten them up to where I want them with the console installed, leaving tolerance for the slots on the shift console to slid between the nuts and the bottom of the console. Then using a pry bar (a long big screwdriver) I place it under the radio housing and push the entire gauge bezel up as high as I can get it and then slide the brake console into position. (I use plastic nuts because they act pretty much like jamb nuts and won't self loosen.)
By the way, the slotted metal plate on the shift console that mates with the studs will break away from the plastic underside of the shift console due to the brittleness of the old plastic. I line the junction of the metal plate and the plastic with fiberglass and resin to strenghten it up. This is of course underneath the console and no one sees it.
By the way, I spent many hours over several days trying to get the brake console mounted to the center gauge bezel before using the above technique. How in the world did the people on the assembly line assemble 60 to 70 or so complete interiors every day?
It's difficult to remove and much more difficult to install. (The 68's only have one nut to intall the door handle.)
To replace the nut, I used a stainless steel wing nut! I balanced the wing nut on my right index finger - the nut being upside down with the wings cradling my finger. I then inserted the nut into the opening and pushed it up against the stud. I then inserted my left index finger and slowly rotated a wing until it eventually engaged the thread. I then tightened up the wing nut with my fingers. It was pretty tight, but to add a little resistance, I coated the portion of the stud extending out of the wing nut with some body calking compound to make an easy to remove thread locker.
By the way, I actually dropped the wing nut off my finger a couple of times. It fell down into the door. I removed the black plate at the bottom of the door, it's the regulator access panel. This allowed me to retrieve the wing nut each time it dropped.