Reply to "Erica needs to get hosed....."

...then spent about 20 minutes with a large rat tail file, and a smaller round file, and an air cut-off wheel, and came up with this! Width is same as large washer, just under 1.2" and will move up and down the U-channel just fine with no issues.

It needs to be welded yet. I am waiting for delivery of a proper lock nut to weld on rear of AC bracket for alternator mount making that bolt a "one wrench thing" also!

I cannot use a nylock here as welding will destroy the integrity of the lock function! So I ordered a "flange lock nut" in a 7/16-20 thread (fine) to fit the bolt that I found in my car, from Fastenal.

Once the nut comes in, will weld up both at the same time! In the mean time I have LOTS of other stuff to do....and since I am waiting on parts and materials for other stuff higher on my list (chronological order....) doing this was no hit to my schedule!!! Just a freebie fix!

I also ordered a new bolt to hold the expansion tank in place. One stud had busted off in the past, and was replaced with a 4+ inch socket head screw with a 1"+ stack of washers on it!!! I now have a nice shiny supply of 1/4" x 1" washers to use! New hex head metric hardware will be mo better!

Just a note....the M6x1.5 nylocks used on the expansion tank studs are no longer available at normal outlets! In fact, I couldn't find ANY M6x1.5 bolts in the Fastenal catalog.....like they were wiped off the face of the earth...! All appears to be M6x1.0....

Not a big deal, just something that I noticed....

Parts are now soaking in Evapo-Rust solution to get the steel nice and clean for welding!

Cheers!
Steve