Tool for awkward nuts?

[TheBeastie]

Sorry title not better but I wondered if there is any recognised tool for getting nuts onto bolts in really awkward places.

I am trying to get the nut onto the middle bolt of the bottom bracket on my spare wheel carrier. It is at a point where you cannot get at it head on because of the back wall of the rear crossmember and cannot really get into it from the side because of the main chassis.

The added "bonus" is if you drop anything you have only a modest chance of ever seeing it again as it drops into the main body of the crossmember.

I have tried fingers, long nosed pliers, universal joint on socket set. There simply does not seem room to do anything. I have also tried cursing and screaming at it but it will not play!

The worst thing is I know I have done it once before when I put it on the first time so perhaps I need to chill, have aa cup of tea and then have another go.

If anyone has any bright ideas it would be wonderful!!

[Bowie69]

Superglue the nut to anything that can get it into position, it's not strong enough to hold it when you do it up, but will get it on a couple of threads

[gasket]

I know a fella who heated up a spanner and bent the head round an obtuse angle to reach the places other spanners would not.

Sorry i can not picture this, the spare wheel carrier on my 90 goes straight through the back door and is not a problem for access. you got any pictures that might make it clearer?

[cackshifter]

A pair of forceps is a good investment for such situations, though maybe wouldn't work here; or glue/tack weld a bit of coat hangar/welding wire to the nut maybe? Blob of something sticky on a finger sometimes works too.

Nigel

[Guest wunntenn]

I usually stick some masking tape across the back of a ratchet spanner, pop the nut in so the tape sticks to the nut, get the spanner in however - could be on a stick or whatver reaches and gently fiddle with it.

[nick w]

blue tack on whatever will reach the area but if its thet awkward and not to important leave it off

[TheBeastie]

Thanks guys. I am getting the idea. I will look and see what I can fashion with wire and superglue over the weekend. As you say, if I can only get the first couple of turns to take then I can be a bit more physical with it to get it tightened.

I feel cheered. Now switch to Blue Peter mode :-)

[LR90]

Zip ties can be very affective too

[cieranc]

Bah, baaaaahhhhhhh, baaggh.

Did this job a while ago, and remember the verrry same nut being a right fiddly bugger to get in place.

What's bugging me is that I can't exactly remember how I did it!

But it was fiddly, I think I stuck the nut (used one of them with a washer part of it for ease) into the spanner ring with some assembly fluid (sticky gunk specifically for holding fiddly wee blighters in place, like treacle) I may or may not have procured from the RAF.

Then wedged the nut with a screwdriver and rattled the bolt up with a windy gun.

[Tris Cocks]

What ive done at work before on small and/or very fiddily nuts is use a very small bit of superglue on my finger and nut, just so that it catches and then comes off my finger.

[cieranc]

If I remember rightly you can't get your finger to it, it's a case of manipulating the nut into place and trying to catch the threads by turning the bolt. And praying the bolt doesn't knock the off/out of whatever it's precariously positioned with!

As said above, if you drop it, you won't get it back out again.

[GL88]

I have used hot glue gun to hold nuts in a ring spanner in the past. Works well as glue is slightly rubbery.

Good luck.