Date:         Tue, 11 Dec 2012 09:43:43 -0600
Reply-To:     Mike South <msouth@GMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Mike South <msouth@GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Re: You know how just when you think you're wrapping up,
              the radiator bleeder screw head shears off?
In-Reply-To:  <CAFNeVpFxuChQ1Z4bGMKt1jh85EHskfYPf_ux5A7KpVcUCmiUfA@mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1

On Tue, Dec 11, 2012 at 7:43 AM, Tom Carchrae <tom@carchrae.net> wrote:

> This happened to me in the summer - those brass bolts are really soft.
>  I had just replaced my radiator, so it was not old, but I was
> probably guilty of over tightening it.
>
> I was able to get the bolt out just by carefully poking the top of the
> sheared bolt.  With no force down on it (whole head snapped off), it
> was easy to rotate.


I just gave this a try, and I was able to turn it about a half turn with
this method.  I think I got a little eager/careless and ended up destroying
the bit I was pushing against, though.

But this is good information--I think it would be possible to continue with
this route if nothing else was available, and if you hadn't suggested it,
it wouldn't have occurred to me to try.

So, to lower the radiator, is it just unplug the fan and the sensor at the
front bottom driver side, then undo the four bolts on the little
"mini-shelfs" (I looked it up, that's what they call them in the Bentley)
that it rests on?  It looks like the hoses will have enough play that I can
move it a significant amount without taking them off.

mike