R1830 Reduction Gear Cover Removal Help
Long term viewer first time poster, apologies if this query is not in the correct section. I'm hoping that someone here with round engine expertise can assist or point me in the right direction.
I'm a volunteer at the Darwin Aviation Museum as part of the workshop team. We have an R1830 that we would like to section, with the aim of providing a full motion display for museum visitors to view the inner workings of a radial engine. Basically push the button and be amazed at the technology as the engine turns, big kids Lego.
The large slotted nut on the prop shaft, securing the dome covering the reduction gearing, is proving to be immovable. We have applied force, heat (lots of it), ATF/Acetone, more force, violence etc, but the thing remains immune to our efforts. No sign of movement at all.
Drawings that we can find on the web show the prop shaft with a short thread where the nut is located but no mention of the nut itself. There doesn't appear to be any pins, screws or other obvious devices securing the nut.
Does anyone here know if there is a trick to removing the nut? We presume it is a standard RH thread (righty tighty, lefty loosy), exploratory attempts at turning it in the opposite direction have not been successful.
Thanks in advance.