David, Thanks.  I followed your advice, cleaning the bolts and bores with brake cleaner, and putting antisieze lubricant on the bolts.  The bolts then turned in properly, though they required inordinate force.  I was unable to do it until I cleaned and lubricated them.  My torque wrench (cheapy) I abandoned, because I did not want to break it, and it would not turn the screws at 60 ft. lbs (GoWesty recommends 35-45 in their instructions).  However, the screws clearly were turning properly to that point.  I just took a regular socket wrench (which I also feared I might break, but it didn't show any stress) and kept the pressure on.  The screws turned in, and snugged up to the fitting.  I did not damage anything (except my ego for not being able to do a simple job simply).  I was a little leery about the screws themselves, but they never showed any sign of twisting, just turned with great difficulty.

Thanks again, David

---- David Beierl <dbeierl@attglobal.net> wrote:
> At 08:38 PM 6/10/2010, mcneely4@cox.net wrote:
> >David, these things get tighter and tighter.  They are not, to my
> >knowledge, exposed to the weather.  There are welded in nuts in the
> >body.  The ends of the screws do look a little bit like they have
> >some deposit on them, but they are neither rusty nor corroded.
>
> It's worse because it's a big bolt (although if you imported one
> you'd be paying duty on a machine screw, which is about three times
> the duty on a bolt) with a fine thread, so the clearances are small.
>
> >  I don't have a thread chaser (something a pro would have I'm sure).
>
> I keep a set of taps and dies in the common sizes for Vanagon bolts,
> and routinely "chase" fasteners I'm re-using.  But that particular
> one is not a common size at all.
>
> >  Maybe I should just see someone who does this kind of
> > work.  Seemed like a simple job to start with, and I was sort of
> > proud that I was able to fit the driver's side belt in, with the
> > cuts in the cabinet and so on.  And the belts seem to fit nicely
> > and work well.  But, I don't want to have my grandson buckled in
> > with his child seat, and a bolt fails to hold when it is critical.
>
> Yeah.  That's a bit of a head-scratcher, because the average
> low-to-middle grade mechanic is liable to use the bigger hammer
> approach.  Those bolts should thread in pretty smooth, and they're
> only torqued to 30 lb-ft, which it sounds like you're getting beyond
> without even taking out the slack.  My personal suggestion would be
> to pull them out, get a magnifying glass and your thinking cap, and
> study the situation.  I'll help however I can, subject to the limit
> that I'm pretty sick right now and definitely not up to crawling
> underneath things.  Some brake cleaner vigorously sprayed down the
> sides of the hole and on the bolt may well help.  Scrubbing both with
> a toothbrush while you spray may help more -- go round and round, not
> up and down.  With brake cleaner you get your choice of poison:  you
> can have non-flammable, which is an anesthetic, or you can have
> non-chlorinated, which is extremely flammable.  Don't be shocked if
> your toothbrush suddenly falls into twenty pieces -- it's called
> solvent-induced stress cracking.
>
> If you can get them to thread in ok, a bit of antiseize compound on
> the threads will help keep them that way.  Permatex Never-Seez is one brand.
>
> Yours,
> David
>

--
David McNeely