Vent: a stripped nut on a fuel pump took me 6 hours and a trip to two stores
Spent most of last Tuesday fighting a rounded nut on a 737 fuel pump, and a cheap $12 nut splitter from the parts store saved me after my flare wrench just made it worse. I probably could have saved 4 of those hours if I had cut the thing off way earlier instead of trying to muscle it. Anyone got a go-to trick for getting into tight spots like that without rounding hardware in the first place?
Check your flare wrench size again, because a 12 point wrench on a tight nut is what rounds it, not the nut itself. Flare wrenches for AN fittings are 6 point by design and if yours is slipping you either have the wrong size or a cheap one that opened up. Line wrenches are made to grab the flats, so if it chewed the corners you were probably one size off or the jaws flexed. Also soaking in Kroil or PB Blaster for a day before you pull does more than any trick. Cutting is fine for a nut you are replacing but on a fuel pump you really want to keep the torch away. Go get a real 6 point line wrench set and toss the cheap junk.