• Ford Model T wrench September 07 - 9:53 am

I have used ceater bar,hammer,Asceton-atf mix,heat & liquid wrench. No luck! I hope
the nut will move like emoticon soon.

Sometimes you just have to cut the nut in half.

As Royce said, sometimes, you just have to cut the nut. After what you have already been though, it probably isn't worth saving, anyway. Then, when you go back with a new nut (providing your manifold has good threads), if you want to spare yourself of the same problem in the future, coat the threads liberally with Anti-seize (not anti freeze) and then back up the nut on the pipe with a 1 1/2" muffler clamp placed as close as you can get it to the nut.

Are you using the special pack nut wrench? If not then I would recommend one as it makes the removal much easier.

If you have the tool, then you can use PB Blaster penatrating oil. If all else fails, you might need to heat up the pack nut only to free it. You'll need a torch outfif to do this so you can heat the nut quickly without heating up the manifold.

Bottom line: DO NOT use too much force or you will break the manifold. It's far cheaper to cut the $13 nut cross ways with a angle grinder that has a cut-off wheel installed rather than replacing the $90 manifold.

Mark

Every Model T should have an exhaust nut wrench. Water pump pliers, etc are not sufficient.

One method to cut the nut off:
1) Drill several holes around 3/16" diameter across one face for the nut. The holes don't need to overlap. 1/8" or so between the holes is fine.
2) Place the edge of a cold chisel so it connects two or more holes. Then hit the chisel sharply with a hammer. Repeat to cut the connections between the holes.
3) If the nut doesn't pop loose try turning it with a wrench.

Dave is spot on, in my opinion, with the fact that as a Model T owner (and mechanic) you should have an exhaust pack nut wrench. I messed around with channel lock pliers and it usually just make a mess out of the nut and there just no way to get the same amount of leverage with pliers. For the $18 the special wrenh costs, it sure takes out the aggravation usually associated with using pliers to remove the pack nut.

Mark

1/2 doz one, six of the other...

First time I had to change one that was frozen, I used one of those frameless hack saws and just sat there diligently, slicing through one side, whacking the cut every now and then with a cold chisel and hammer. It popped before I cut into the threads on the manifold. Took a while though laying on the front floorboards....

Next time with a frozen nut on another? Smart guy now, let it soak, get a proper nut packing wrench, save the time on that saw trick. Well...both hands on the wrench and my feet on the firewall wouldn't budge it at all...big cheater bar to get it to at least pop for a start. It popped all right...the manifold flew into bits like a china plate!

Moral of the story....use whatever works...cheater bars and cast iron excluded!

1. Propane torch...heat.
2. PB Blaster while hot...soak in.
3. Hand sledge hammer to support flat on nut on OPPOSITE side where you are able to strike.
4. Regular hammer to hit directly on face of flat that is OPPOSITE the flat supported by the hand sledge hammer.
5. 10-20 whacks
6. Apply exhaust wrench and apply gentle hammer blows to wrench to alternately tighten/loosen the nut.
Done this on 6-7 stuck nuts with success...have never cut a nut yet.

Scott has the right idea here with using the two hammer method. The trick is to be able to hit the nut hard enough to flex it, thus breaking the bond. Then use a good penetrating oil, not WD 40, it isn't designed for that. This method also works well on pipe fittings. Dave

One of the best penetrating oils I've found is 50/50 acetone and ATF.

Great advice here -

A lesson in how NOT to do this -

I was lacking special Model T tools in my early Model T days. The packing nut is quite large - my only tool on the workbench for something this large was a pipe wrench. Ten seconds later I successfully collapsed the manifold on my grandpa's Model T - I was devastated.

I now own the packing nut wrench.

Sometimes the packing nut wrench won't do it. In cases like that you have to cut the nut in half.

I've had good success on RUNNING cars by simply running the engine retarded and heating up the manifold and pack nut, then using the pack nut wrench (and the occasional whack with a whacker). The bronze nut should expand faster than the cast iron manifold.

I also tighten my pack nuts when the parts are hot. As long as the threads are good, I never have a problem with them coming loose.