With virtually no access I would go in with a dremel straight diamond bit and cut through the side of the nut. Once you are through the nut should spread and come off. This is a nice controllable process compared to chiseling heating and beating. It will be slow but should ultimately work. Cheers Dan

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Thanks, everyone, for your cheering responses. Dan, what shape bit do you recommend for the job of drilling off one side? I see rounded ball tips with diamond grit on them are available; are these a good choice?

Thanks,

Kurt

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- '79 240D - engine swap complete! Engine broken in! 28-31 mpg! Lovin' the ride!
- '86 190D (W201-126) - 2.5 NA engine, 5 speed, cloth interior, manual climate controls, 33-34 mpg (sold to forum member).

Well, sometimes it's nice to hear the ending to the story. I took Dan's advice and did the Dremel approach. Originally I started with a cut-off wheel, but later I used a tungsten carbide bit; when I read the application information on the back of the Dremel bit packages it seemed like the diamond bits were for glass and tile, while the tungsten carbide bits were for stainless steel and other hard metals. I just chucked it up, set the Dremel for max rpm, and then applied it to the side of the nut for short periods. Kind of like "Engage 1, 2, 3... wait 1, 2, 3, 4, 5... engage 1, 2, 3..." The point of doing it like that was to try and keep the bit cool, since it would lose its temper if I overheated it.

Once I got down to the threads, which didn't take long, a couple of minutes at most, I got out a chisel to try spreading it. It started to move readily, and all I had to do was chisel drive it around a few rotations before reaching in with a needle nose to finish turning it.

Thanks to all who gave advice.

Kurt

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__________________
- '79 240D - engine swap complete! Engine broken in! 28-31 mpg! Lovin' the ride!
- '86 190D (W201-126) - 2.5 NA engine, 5 speed, cloth interior, manual climate controls, 33-34 mpg (sold to forum member).