A flare nut wrench bent at a 90 degree angle - sounds like a flare nut crowfoot wrench would work. A 12 pt. flare nut crowfoot might work even better since it would give you more fitting angles.
Well problem has been solved but i’ll disagree with the lab results of solvents. Maybe in the lab that’s the results but laying on your back under a car presents the real world test environment. I find it interesting that a water dispersant rates up there close to PB? Huh? I’ve heard people that rely on the home brew but with the resulting storage and application issues but I’ve got a can of LW that I’ve had for over 30 years that never gets used in favor of PB. Just usually ended up breaking the bolts rather than loosening it. Just my non-professional real life experience, but I think the lab results are bunk.
I was under the impression that Kroil isn’t even available on the shelf at any parts store
In fact, I was told you had to buy directly from the company
Fat chance of me ever doing that
I had some nuts for dock post sleeves locked up tighter than a toy monkey at Christmas. Some were cross threaded, no solution but to bust the sleeve, but the ones that were not PB Blaster rocked compared to liquid wrench, wd40, lps, and blast free.
lol … me too. That’s the LW I used to free-up those stubborn nuts. Still a little left. Never done a comparison of LW to anything else, but the LW seems to work ok for me for loosening rusted fasteners. The main challenge of LW, it can take quite a bit of time to work. Several days sometimes. But eventually it works. I think my 30 years old can of LW is going to run out this year, so I’ll try PB Blaster next time. I’ve got some ATF and Acetone on hand, so I’ll make a home-brew sol’n too.
Anybody here have info on the safety-of-use of the various rust-freeing products? I notice some of them come with some ominous warnings.
It’d be interesting to know why the designer of that part decided to put the bolts right up against the valve body, preventing the use of a socket.
I’d send you my can of LW were you not in California. Everything is dangerous or causes cancer there. If you want to stop by though, you can have it.
I remember the exact day when I was at the dealership, and we were required to put up prop 65 warnings . . . just about everywhere
It seems the simple act of walking, talking and even breathing will give you cancer 
A product called S-OK was my favorite for years but when the salesman who was my supplier retired I found no source for it and used whatever looked good on the shelf. PB Blaster seemed to be pretty good. And I kept cheap ATF in a machinists oil can for various uses and if it was handy I used it as a penetrant but alone it wasn’t anything special. Going back 50+ years I recall CRC-556 which was better than the 3-in-1 Oil. A local engine maching shop swore by heating frozen bolts with butane, then holding a candle against the base of the threads and turning. But I guess everyone here knows how effective heating is when it is safe to do so.
Safety data on chemicals should be available on line. Do a web search for either MSDS or SDS (new designation) and the product name. The product manufacturer’s web site should also have the SDS for the product.
That’s the type that I had in mind. I thought maybe you could position the wrench with the open area where the clearance was so close, and turn the nut just a bit, but enough to crack it loose. I wasn’t thinking about the lack of clearance at the other end of the wrench handle.
The other thought is using an oxygen sensor wrench, but I don’t really know if it could help.
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/wmr-w80491?seid=srese1&cm_mmc=pla-google--shopping--srese1-_-performance-tool&gclid=CjwKEAjwl4q-BRDtzJmSk-uGunkSJACmCOY-nK3KrzNISKq2622Olp7f_OEYLkqXNjUseQHJY1WkQxoCU4rw_wcB
Would this have worked?
https://www.suncoasttools.com/crm/VendorPages.aspx?Vendor=AldenWrenches
Tester
Could have used those a few days ago. No space to fit the socket in so had to tighten about 30 bolts with a plain ole box and open end wrench laying on my back.
I don’t think so. The common open end wrench didn’t anyway. I tried a couple of versions, regular, slim, I could get it onto the nut but the upper side was tight up against the valve so very little torque could be applied to the nut before it slipped off.
This was a problem where the nut was tight against the valve on the top, and close to the floor on the bottom. I could access the nut from both sides. I did have a bit of clearance below the nut and the floor, maybe 2 - 3 mm. Those Sears wrenches I posted a link for above I think might have worked. i.e. an open end wrench, everything in the same plane, but where the open end, instead of being more or less in line with the shaft, was at 90 degrees to the shaft instead. hmmm … hard to explain … This is a case where a picture is worth 1000 words. Look at the photos in the link for those Sears wrenches above to see what I mean.
Edit: I should add that at this point it is more a theoretical discussion than practical. A pro mechanic wouldn’t monkey around seeking out the best solution like I did. They’d just cut the nut off with a hack saw or dremmel tool, or have a helper work the job from the other side, under the car. That’s probably how it was installed in the first place, back at the factory.
Just a diy’er here, so don’t wrench nearly as much as pros of course. But the most frustrating wrenching experience I have on a routine basis is removing the fan blade so I can change out the water pump in my Ford 302. You have to fit a wrench in the space between the fan shroud and the radiator, then turn the bolts out by flipping the wrench every 15 degrees. You can loosens the fan shroud, but can’t remove it, since the fan is in the way. A catch-22 situation. Very slow going, plus the problem of scraping your hand against the radiator fins if you try to get overly clever. Ouch!! …lol …
I did come up with an improved method. I cut the shroud into two separate parts, held together with a some metal clips and bolts/nuts. Now I can remove the shroud with the fan installed, before busting my knuckles working on the fan bolts. Next time I have to do this, I’m gonna buy some of those ratcheting wrenches, which will make it possible to remove the fan bolts without the continual flipping of the wrench.
Yeah been there. Those fins are sharp. I think they want you to take the radiator out. I’m glad its getting harder to work on cars now. Its a good excuse just to have someone else do it.
Need ‘ONLY’ 30 degrees to ratchet? That’s 1/12th of a full circle. 30 degrees on the nut end is a LOT of movement on the opposite end. Better have plenty of clearance or these expensive suckers are not going to be much help. Just sayin’.