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Steel screw anchors

Paul Narramore

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Messages
840
Location
Aylesford, Kent
The rear fog light bracket on my car is attached to the floor box section of the car using M6 captive nuts, or what I've just discovered are called Steel Screw Anchors. The bracket was very corroded so I've removed it and made a stainless steel replacement, however the SSAs were damaged in the process. I can buy a kit with 25 SSAs and an installation tool but as I only need three, can anyone help out? I think simply tightening the SSAs with an M6 screw would install them correctly rather than use a special tool. I did try plastic wall fasteners but they don't really do the job.
 
Silly me. I have just remembered I have a Riv-nut set with special tool. I just KNOW everybody was so keen to help but hey-ho.
 
Right, solved. I did find some M6 rivnuts and the Rivnut tool but what should have taken minutes took for ever because of the poor access under there. Later I discovered that YouTube has some film of home made tools which make inserting Rivnuts in out-of-the-way places much much easier. Next time I may make one of these as the proper Rivnut tools just over complicates things.

I had made up a simple rear fog light bracket from thin stainless steel to replace the original rotten effort so yesterday after adding a further two applications of Captain Tolley's stuff around the windscreen, I fitted the bracket and fog light. A bit of corrosion in the existing wiring and the live terminal in the lamp 0.5mm away from the end of the bulb, and it's now fully functioning.

I bought the car in the middle of the summer and have just used the heater for the first time. I takes a bit of time to actually chuck out some heat and the fan doesn't seem to make much difference, although it does eventually warm the car up. I do like the way the face level ventilators chuck out so much cool air.

With the evenings drawing in and it getting colder, the first frosts can't be far away so I am now thinking about emptying the engine/radiator coolant, flushing out the brown sludge with a hose, and re-filling with fresh water and antifreeze. I must dig out the Haynes to see how they recommend going about it. If I have to remove the top hose, I could take the opportunity to unbolt the rusty cross member and radiator stays and to give them a nice coat of black paint.
 
No, not tap water, but rain water. Yes I know the handbook says 'distilled water must be used' but in 50yrs of driving experience and servicing my own vehicles, I've always used rainwater. Our tap water is regarded as 'hard' ie with a high calcium content, which 'may' fur the cooling system up.
 
I use tap water. (It is corrosion that causes a problem and anti-freeze has corrosion inhibitors). I'm not sure what the coolant change intervals should be but for me it is every 5 or so years when the expansion bottle starts to look dirty. Nobody expected us to still be running these cars after 50 years.
 
Corrosion is one problem and calcium on the walls of the cooling system makes it less eficient. ( look inside a kitchen kettle how much calcium there is on its walls ) Distiled or rain water is deprived of the minerals and is much safer
 
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