chim expansion tank removal

[alankarter]

I saw an earlier post saying the mounting bolts are captive in the inner wing. Mine are just turning and not coming out!!
Any suggestions???

[Mr Supercharged]

If they are just turning it means that your riv nuts in the inner wing are just spinning. Maybe worth just putting a screw driver in and prize the whole tank off the inner wing. They should just pull out with a bit of effort if the are spinning freely. Then you have 3 options, fit new riv nuts, fit bigger riv nuts if the holes are damaged, or use a high strength long curing araldite to fix the original rivnuts back in place. You will probably find that the reason why they are spinning is because the original bolts have rusted in place inside the riv nuts. If you replace these with stainless and rely upon a spring washer instead of a loctite to prevent coming undone during service you will be far better off i think.

[Mr Supercharged]

If they are just turning it means that your riv nuts in the inner wing are just spinning. Maybe worth just putting a screw driver in and prize the whole tank off the inner wing. They should just pull out with a bit of effort if the are spinning freely. Then you have 3 options, fit new riv nuts, fit bigger riv nuts if the holes are damaged, or use a high strength long curing araldite to fix the original rivnuts back in place. You will probably find that the reason why they are spinning is because the original bolts have rusted in place inside the riv nuts. If you replace these with stainless and rely upon a spring washer instead of a loctite to prevent coming undone during service you will be far better off i think.

[alankarter]

Thats great. Thanks for that.I hadn't heard of riv nuts!!Google is great, i saw they work like raw plugs.
Where can i get them from?

[Mr Supercharged]

You can buy riv nuts on Ebay, but the ones fitted here are quite big from memory and you will then need a tool to fit them with the correct mandrel. There is a company that sells a very nice tool for about £75, much more expensive than the Ebay ones but worth the cost. I'm away from home just now, if you PM me on Friday I will send you the details when I am home.

[alankarter]

I am thinking its going to get a little expensive as i am just taking it off to polish it!!
Are the riv nuts used all over the car, so i may need the tool again?
I will try to get them out and see if the araldite works!
If not i will have to buy the tool!
Thank you soo much for your help. The Steve heath bible wasn't any help!

[Mr Supercharged]

That approach will probably work fine. Next time you try to undo the bolts just apply the pressure with the screw driver as you undo them. They should then come out. There are a few rivnuts, not a excessive amount though. Good luck.

[alankarter]

Thanks for your help. I'll let you know how it goes.