Radiator Screws Help

[a1ison]

Hi

I've just registered on here and I'm in need of some help;

I've bought a 1994 LX. It's a Cat 3 insurance so needs some work done - had an accident on the front right, so needs to be straightened and have a new radiator and bonnet. I've done up a cat 3 motorbike before, so figured I can do up this car too. Got a Haynes manual too.

I need to remove the radiator and put a new one on from the doner car (my 1991 Ghia). However, a couple things I'm having trouble with as I'm not that used to cars:

1 - trying to remove the latch of the bonnet - the top 2 screws are so tight that they have started to strip. The bottom one is coming out fine though. How can I get these out? As they are round, I can't use a wrench. Should I dremel them off?

2 - the radiator needs to come off as it's bent and broken (plus it needs to come off for my to attempt the straightening). However on all 3 bolts (2 radiator, 1 rad fan) I started to unscrew them and then something broke and now the screws are just rotating and not undoing. So I can't get the rad off. Is the only way to drill these out?

3 - The pipes which lead the radiator are so tightly on that I couldn't get them off - what do people suggest to remove them off the rad?

4 - when I drove it from the place I got it, there was a horrendous noise coming from the right of the engine - it sounded like metal on metal. It started as soon as I moved the car, and didn't stop until I stopped the engine. The car was in motion for about 5 minutes. I'm assuming as the rad is broken, there's not much liquid in there it's the pump. Will it disappear when the rad is fixed or do I need to use the donor car for this too? Looking at the Haynes manual, there's different types of water pumps, so I'm not sure if there is an option to tighten the belt (if that's the issue) either.

I plan for the donor car to give its central locking, exhaust, radiator too. The sun roof leaks too, so I'm going to be looking at that also.

Thanks in advance for your help.

[stef123]

1 - can you get in to cut a slot in the heads with a dremel? you can then use a flat screwdriver to remove them.

3 - try pouring a load of boiling hot water over the pipe for a minute, had to do this recently when pulling an engine out and it worked a treat on 3 hoses that were otherwise going to be cut off (had to use about 5l per hose right enough)

[taffg]

Hi

I've just registered on here and I'm in need of some help;

I've bought a 1994 LX. It's a Cat 3 insurance so needs some work done - had an accident on the front right, so needs to be straightened and have a new radiator and bonnet. I've done up a cat 3 motorbike before, so figured I can do up this car too. Got a Haynes manual too.

I need to remove the radiator and put a new one on from the doner car (my 1991 Ghia). However, a couple things I'm having trouble with as I'm not that used to cars:

1 - trying to remove the latch of the bonnet - the top 2 screws are so tight that they have started to strip. The bottom one is coming out fine though. How can I get these out? As they are round, I can't use a wrench. Should I dremel them off?

2 - the radiator needs to come off as it's bent and broken (plus it needs to come off for my to attempt the straightening). However on all 3 bolts (2 radiator, 1 rad fan) I started to unscrew them and then something broke and now the screws are just rotating and not undoing. So I can't get the rad off. Is the only way to drill these out?

3 - The pipes which lead the radiator are so tightly on that I couldn't get them off - what do people suggest to remove them off the rad?

4 - when I drove it from the place I got it, there was a horrendous noise coming from the right of the engine - it sounded like metal on metal. It started as soon as I moved the car, and didn't stop until I stopped the engine. The car was in motion for about 5 minutes. I'm assuming as the rad is broken, there's not much liquid in there it's the pump. Will it disappear when the rad is fixed or do I need to use the donor car for this too? Looking at the Haynes manual, there's different types of water pumps, so I'm not sure if there is an option to tighten the belt (if that's the issue) either.

I plan for the donor car to give its central locking, exhaust, radiator too. The sun roof leaks too, so I'm going to be looking at that also.

Thanks in advance for your help.

hi

1. if you dremel the heads off you still have to get the shanks out, i would recommend using a hacksaw to cut a good staight cut in the screw head, so you can use a good large headed screwdriver. ensure the screwdriver blade fits well in the slot you have cut. use plenty of releasing fluid (wd40,plusgas etc) then using a (spanner if screwdriver is square bodied or mole grips if round bodied) attach either to the body of the screwdriver, apply a good load onto the screwdriver to ensure it is held firm in the slot, then lever on the spanner or mole grips slowly to release the screw. u can apply a lot more force to the screw driver head using this method. if you have the clearance around the head of the screw u maybe able to use the molegrips directly onto the head to unscrew it.

2. you may have a type of anchor nut used to secure the radiator ( usually a nut held in position by a thin metal clip) these metal clips are very weak when old and it sounds like these have sheared. you need to get to the anchot nut, maybe through the grill area and undo these like a standard nut and bolt. failing that cut of the heads and sort it out later. these style anchor nuts are readily available.

3.with age rubber hoses fitted on radiators, pumps etc will virtually weld themselves on. completely remove the jubilee clips away from the contact point, apply a good splosh of wd40 to the hose area and using a thin bladed screwdriver or similar, gently ease it under the end of the hose and gently break the seal that the hose has. it may take a bit of working releasing a bit at a time but shouldnt take more than a minute or so to free each connection. just be a bit careful if you wish to reuse the hoses.

4. driven for five minutes with no cooling water in the engine has done you no favours, however it could be a bit of pump squeel or the fan belt squeel. fix the cooling system refill with 50/50 water and antifreeze/summer coolant. bleed the system to ensure you have no air locks and see how the engine warms up. you will then be able to investigate the squeeling noise. its better to see it than guess.

5. as for the rest i dont really do electrics but i'm sure someone else could help you out with any questions you may have.

good luck on your project and keep us updated!

[a1ison]

Thanks stef123 and taffg for the quick replies.

I'll borrow my brother's dremil. I do now remember demilling a screw on my bike a while ago to get it shifted... just forgot about it, so thanks for jogging my memory.

It certainly sounds like the anchor nuts have sheared (I thought "!Removed!" when I did it). I'm figuring dremil will be the best bet, and buy anything to replace the screws. Unfortunately, Jersey doesn't have a Halfords - so handy when I lived on "the mainland"!

I'll try the boiling water 1st, then the prising of the pipes - water does less damage than me!

I did put water in to drive it the short distance - I thought a little in there for a short journey would be ok (ish). If it had been a longer drive then I'd have towed it. So I'm hoping it's not done too much damage to the engine in that short time.

I plan to straighten the front by heating up the struts then hammering them (with wood between hammer and metal). I've been told I can also pull the struts with the other car (before I remove the rad from it!) if the hammer fails to do its job.

I'm disappointed that it's going to take longer than I thought - but hopefully by the end of Saturday, I'll have a working car (albeit without the central locking by then). After that, I've got another motorbike to do up !! LOL

[a1ison]

Update:

1 - trying to remove the latch of the bonnet - the top 2 screws are so tight that they have started to strip. The bottom one is coming out fine though. How can I get these out? As they are round, I can't use a wrench. Should I dremel them off?

Turns out the screws were tox, which I didn't know, but managed to dremel edges to use a vice grip to get them out. Used the donor car's screws as a replacement.

2 - the radiator needs to come off as it's bent and broken (plus it needs to come off for my to attempt the straightening). However on all 3 bolts (2 radiator, 1 rad fan) I started to unscrew them and then something broke and now the screws are just rotating and not undoing. So I can't get the rad off. Is the only way to drill these out?

Dremelled the heads off in the end. The donor car's screws were fine (after using WD-40 on them) so they have been reused in the car.

3 - The pipes which lead the radiator are so tightly on that I couldn't get them off - what do people suggest to remove them off the rad?

Got them off. As I was using the donor car's radiator, with the initial radiator being broken, I just cut off the pipes from the donor car and got them off easliy enough.

4 - when I drove it from the place I got it, there was a horrendous noise coming from the right of the engine - it sounded like metal on metal. It started as soon as I moved the car, and didn't stop until I stopped the engine. The car was in motion for about 5 minutes. I'm assuming as the rad is broken, there's not much liquid in there it's the pump. Will it disappear when the rad is fixed or do I need to use the donor car for this too? Looking at the Haynes manual, there's different types of water pumps, so I'm not sure if there is an option to tighten the belt (if that's the issue) either.

Belt was the issue - had help with from my neighbour, who held the alternator in place which I got under the car to play with the screws. There is no noise now.

I plan for the donor car to give its central locking, exhaust, radiator too.

Still to remove the central locking from the donor car. There is no problem with the exhaust so don't need that.

The sun roof leaks too, so I'm going to be looking at that also.

Well, used "muck off" to rejuvenate the seal on the sun roof; put a wire coat hanger down the pipes from the sun roof. I tested the right side (dry side) on a jack by pouring water down the pipe to see where the water came out - then, on the left side, I checked the opposite area where the water came out on the right - looks like the holes had been sealed by welding. So drilled a small hole in one of the places, and actualy found some other holes under the sill, behind the mud flap and before the door hinge, so used the coat hanger for that too. Tested it - water came out via the hole I drilled and close to the hole behind the mud flap.

However, as the floor was soaking there (imagine taking out washing without being spun), and it's rained once since then, so I don't know if my fudge has worked - the roof is dry, so I'm guessing the water can't / hasn't been able to, excape hence the flood inside. Only time will tell really.

Got another issue - the car pulls to the left rather badly; and I need to adjust the right light bracket (or pay for someone to do it) so that the light sits correctly so that the bonnet can close without touching it. My neighbour used a jack (and wood blocks) to get it nearly right.