[DeTomaso] radiator fan removal question

[Christopher Kimball]

I need some advice.

When I replaced my radiator almost four years ago, I added a third, sucker fan.  I had a mechanic do the install, and when he added the third fan, he used these plastic rods that on one side push through the fan and then the radiator, and on the other end push through some sort of plastic lock-nut, although I don't think they are threaded; they are probably sort of barbed like a fish hook so they install quickly.  This holds the fan against the back of the radiator  

I need to know the best way to remove the rods so I can remove the radiator.  I can't easily reach the "nut" end (as it were), but I can see the ends on the fan side.  The heads are square, and there is some foam rubber-type material cushioning the heads from the plastic frame of the fan (the fan is one-piece, frame, motor, mounts, etc.)

When the mechanic first did this, a club member, Doug Braun, suggested I make a bracket to hold the third fan instead of the quick mount things.  He said with use, the rods can eventually wear through the radiator and cause leaks.  I was new in the club at the time, and wasn't sure what I should do.  I asked the mechanic, and he said all kinds of racers use the quick connecting attachments he was using for my car, and that I shouldn't worry.  I had known the mechanic for 15 years; I had only known Doug for a relatively short time, so I left it the way the mechanic had done it.

Guess who was right.  

I'll give you a hint: it wasn't the mechanic.

Once I remove the radiator and have the leak fixed, I'll be fabricating a bracket...

Thanks, 

Chris (once again learning the hard way)