Have you tried PB Blaster and heat? I had the steering joint on my Mercury
850E freeze up solid so we heated it and tilted it so that the PB Blaster
would move to the top of the steering joint finally freeing it. Now for the
art of heating something that you want to take apart... I'm not sure of your
delemma if you are taking a cover that screws into a female fitting only
heat the outside edge to expand that edge away from the part that is screwed
in. If the cover wraps around the male portion heat the outside edge to
expand it. Like my dad always says "anyone can own a hammer, knowing where
to knock is the key". While you are heating the edge tap the cover with a
hammer and use the PB Blaster. As for those strap things I thought it would
be the answer for taking off my F250 diesel oil filter but the straps on the
Costco knock off stretches and slips. That thing about the harder you pull
the tighter it grips doesn't work if the band stretches.

Good Luck
Mick


"Mister Grumpy" wrote in message
om...
Please send me an email or reply here if you have any suggestions to
my latest difficulty, which is described below.

In the cockpit sole on my sailboat is an aluminum cover over the
rudderpost, where the emergency tiller is attached when needed. The
cover is about 4" in diameter and is threaded into an aluminum frame.
It is normally removed with a spanner wrench (which I have, but it
doesn't get very good purchase on the two holes it fits into). As it
hasn't been removed in two years it is frozen and I can't get it to
open. I've tried penetrating oil and heating it with a propane torch.
I've also tried both of the above together in conjunction with a
judicicious application of the hammer. No luck.

I thought of removing the entire assembly (frame and all) but after
removing the screws, I found that the frame was glued to the
fiberglass with a tenacious sealant that won't budge.

Any ideas?

Mister Grumpy