The Water Pump: Addressing Oxidization on the Radiator Crossover Plate

 
The AC dryer mounting brackets were a real mess.

 
Dryer hardware removed. Since the threaded studs are part of the crossover plate, I didn't want to risk busting them up by brutalizing them to get the oxidized nuts off. Had I been so inclined, I could have welded on new studs. The nuts were 5/16 inch with 10-32 threads. After I remove the radiator crossover plate, I'll be revisiting this mess.

 
After removal of the radiator crossover plate, I was able to clean it up - that nasty bit of oxidization on either AC dryer clamp is now gone, as well as the oxidization around the studs on the crossover plate, as well as a few other points on the plate. The trick for me was using an agressive bead blaster. Note that the media I used with the bead blaster was a fine glass, versus silica or other more aggressive medias -- which might be fine for blasting rust from steel, but later when I was dealing with the aluminum water pump, I wouldn't want to be using a really harsh abrasive then.

On the second day of the project, I had repainted these parts:

 
Radiator crossover spots and AC dryer clamps repainted. Note that I didn't strip the entire radiator crossover plate - just the spots clearly needing attention. I figure at some point I may revisit this (possibly to install XJR-S style air rams), and at that point, I may beadblast the whole thing, weld in new dryer mounting studs, and powdercoat the whole thing, pretty much assuring I won't need to revisit it again after that.