Bingster

The nuts and bolts that I removed from my car are rusting. I know, don't say it. New fasteners or have them plated or let them rust?

I'll look into that, Don. Thanks. I'll Google and check it out. This reminds me of a Star Trek episode. A creature stuck on Spock's back and messed up his nervous system. McCoy figured out that a high intensity light theoretically might kill the creature. So Spock goes into this chamber and McCoy bombards him with this light. Spock emerges and reports that the creature is gone, but that he is "quite blind". Kirk gets mad at McCoy, telling him that he didn't need to have thrown the entire spectrum of light at Spoke to cure him. A smaller power of light would have done it without blinding Spock. I've always remembered this lesson. Do the lesser first and not risk ruining something.

Sometimes it's difficult to sift through the opinions and decide on the right procedure. Logic tells me that the propane torch at least puts out a hot flame that has the potential to loosen a frozen bolt. Since every situation is unique, there is always a possibility that it will work. The torch is pretty inexpensive, and I've always found to try the least amount of force first and move up from there. Since $$ prohibits me from buying a welding torch, it seems that the propane route is at least a shot. As far as the penitrant, I've been lurking around other boards and found a chart that lists how much torque is needed to loosen a frozen bolt with various types of penitrants. Seems a 50/50 mix of acetone and tranny fluid is the winner. Wintergreen oil was another but the 50/50 mix won out.

It seems like the return button is now working for me.

There are many bolts and water valves that won't free up using conventional ways. I'd like some pointers on using those hardware store torches, you know, blue flame and stuff like that. I don't wants to burn up parts.

Yes, my error. Thank you for pointing it out. They are indeed gapped at .035.

Well, I got ACDELCO R45's that have been recommended on this site. No?

I have this tool but I thought that the round bending hole is only to bend it back if you go too far. If I need a .30 gap, my plug outta the box is .050. So I have to close the gap, but I don't see how the tool can close the gap, just increase it.

This seems like a no-brainer, but I was wondering if anybody has an easy way to bend the ground electrode of a spark plug. I've watched you-tube videos and they all just push it against something hard. Maybe I'm not pushing hard enough. One guy put the plug in a vise and hit the electrode with a hammer. I just thought that somebody might have devised some brilliant, easy way of doing it.

I don't know how to post a previous question to answer to, but I just don't have the time to moderate a group. I'd love to, though. I guess that's kind of typical to suggest something and not be willing to do it, but I just can't squeeze it in right now. Sorry!

So should I apply pipe joint compound to all threaded drain valves in the block as well? Any particular type? I'm having a helluva time getting that rear heater valve out of the block. I'm afraid it's gonna break off, although I wouldn't think that a pipe that hefty would snap in two. The heater valve is attached to the pipe that is attached to the block.

Thanks Rich. I'm just about to buy coolant and I wouldn't have known, thinking coolant is coolant. But I do get the 50/50? Also, I like your idea about putting in a valve on the water pump by-pass elbow instead of the tube. I was reading in my parts book and it says the thread is tapered. Would you know what that means?

I see your point. Actually, until that gen strap moved today, I hadn't had time to solve that problem so there was nothing to report. But I am hoping that's going to solve it. I can't think of anything else I left open but there certainly could be. I'm sure that by the time I'm ready to fire off the engine, that I'll have more questions of some sort. And I will be diligent to report them.

Okay, in the order in which they've come. Yes, plugs had already been installed in the head. And in flushing the cooling system, I gave the gen strap a tug and it moved. All that rust buster must have worked. I changed the oil because you guys said to change it before attempting to start a car that's been sitting for seven years. I work on parts based on the time I have. I had a day today and so did the flushing. If I only have time to crimp spark plug wires, I'll do that. Make new battery cables, etc. etc. Believe it or not, it works for me and things do get completed.

Just flushed the block and radiator of my '47 Desoto. Clear water on both. Funny, but when I changed oil a few months back, the oil was clean, too. Some water puddled in the spark plug wells before I began blowing them out with air. What if any water got into the cylinders?

Thank you. #2.

These aren't bad days but I need more money!

I've been working, my daughter had a baby, I'm remodeling my living room, I painted my trailer, writing a book, making the wife happy and stealing time for the car. I told her that "the guys" are waiting for some answers but not much compassion. As my dad used to say ( and I'm sure 20 million other guys) "It's a great life if you don't weaken." Or as my daughter likes to say, "I was born weakened."

I'm at a loss in explaining it any better than I have. There have been so many speculations and fixes that the problem has become totally obscured. LOL I have all of your info and there is plenty for me to come up with a fix. Thanks for all your input, guys.

The old belt is around the water pump pulley and the lower pulley but not the generator. I cannot get the belt around the generator pulley. It's close but it won't go. And that's the issue with the generator and the strap. Cannot push the gen up enough to get the belt around the gen pulley.

Okay, thanks. I'll see if I can get the belt off. It's not too pliable.

I'll look into it tomorrow after work. Thanks, Rich.

Got that right!! I'd rather screw it up myself for free.

The trailer is finished and it came out very nice in spite of things. I'm selling it so I'm not too particular. This HVLP gun I bought years ago for wood cabinet work. I just wanted to see what it would do with "real paint" on steel and not thinned lacquer and such. It is rated about 21 PSI at the gun. I'm retiring it from automotive work. It will be some time before until I'll be painting Carlo. I'm concentrating on the engine right now.

Do you mean the lower bracket that mounts to the engine block or the strap. There could be mixed terminology. At any rate, no I haven't. If you mean the engine block bracket, I've been trying to imagine if I flipped it what that would do to the generator lining up with the strap. It would lower the gen but it seems that it would swing at an arc that would be too low to match up with the strap. Plus, Donald had it the same as mine. If you're talking about the adjusting strap, I really don't want to mess with that bolt that goes into the head. I've tried to loosen it with heat and penetrating oil and it won't move. But from what I've read, it might be best that I leave it alone. However, even if I could loosen the strap to move up and down, I don't think it would make any difference in the generator moving any further. I think I'm gonna have to do with the advice to unbolt the gen from the engine block bracket and start again, only this time putting the belt around the pulley first and then re-bolting the gen to the bracket.