Removing the Trombone Cooler
 

With my car down for the winter, I figure it's time to install the 28 tube brass cooler I acquired for my '82 SC.
A little while back I soaked the fittings which hook up to the oil lines with PB Blaster several times over the course of a few days and loosen them:no joy. Then I tried to heat the fittings up and then loosen them; that didn't work either.
Does anyone out there have a method for doing this before I get out the Dremel and start cutting? Thanks.

Ok... tell me why it seems that we all seem to want to do the same projects at the same time?

I can remember about a year ago when everybody had to have a 930S steering wheel. :)

I really can't offer you any advice about the fittings... soaking, heating, and beating the hell out of them is about the extent of my knoweledge.

I'm guessing you are just trying to remove the two fittings in the fender well that attach to the trombone loop?
Please post pictures of your progress! I'd love to see the brackets you made/mount!

I'm not trying to scer you, but i don't think you are to take off those su***rs any time soon... it's brass and it difunds, it's now a solid piece of metal there.

You'll end up cutting it and fitting quick-fits there.

Leland, good idea. I'll have to steal, I mean borrow a digital camera from work. I was more concerned about new oil lines until I read your thread on adding the cooler to your car. The bracketry shouldn't be too difficult to do (I design little widgets for a living).

Beepbeep, I talked to a 356 guru in our local club this morning. He loaned me the tools and told me the trick to doing it so I'll give it a shot and let you know how it went.

I'm quoting from Hayne's manual here: "grab firmly with molegrips, and beat repeatedly with large hammer."

Sorry, just kidding, actually mine came off easily; one of the smoother operations performed on 911 so far. I just put wrenches on both fittings of one pipe and used the squeeze them together method, bought a good Craftsman large adjustable crescent wrench and had right-size for other nut. They really shouldn't be welded together- thing never gets THAT hot.

I can tell you what worked for me when I replaced my old oil lines and trombone cooler. I tried heat, hammers, rust dissolvers,everything. But what worked finally was getting(or borrowing,renting) an air chisel/hammer and inserting a dulled chisel bit. I placed the bit on the edge of the nut as you would to try to get it to spin. It comes right off everytime. And if you are careful, you can save the nut with little damage. Now my car is a Euro 1977 Carrera that wasn't exactly in a dry climate and this is the only way I would ever do the job again.

Alan Poh

Two ways to go here, I ended up cutting the tube off close to the nut and simply using a socket, and mine came right off. We just took some off of Jevose's car, and was worried about the samething, but using a LONG wrench, they came right off. ( slide a socket and extension over the end of the wrench to make it a long pull bar, and it should come off. Gotta have the torque.)

i just finished an external oil cooler job (see my very long posts). in 2 instances, after torching, whacking, wrenching, pulling and cursing, i resorted to carefully cutting/grinding the oil cooler nuts off. in 1 instance, i used a file and a hacksaw. for the 2nd one, i went out and bought a dremel tool and it made the job much easier.

the trick is to be very careful and not try to take too much off at one time. if you're careful, you can JUST cut of the metal of the fitting and not damage the threads of the mated fitting surface.

i grinded/cut enough away, then carefully pounded the nut in pieces with a hammer and large screwdriver.

for the oil line fitting that connects the engine case to the oil tank, i connected 2 wrenches to each nut, and closed the gap between the 2 wrenches with a pair of channel locks. the only reason this worked was because the nut wasn't siezed to start with.