I wouldn't hesitate to pull it. Contact between aluminum and SS is obviously fertile ground for galvanic corrosion. I'd worry more about that, given the large area of dissimilar metal contact, than about having to wrestle with the fitting to get it back on.
And I doubt seriously you'd have to do that. The SS isn't likely to spring out of shape after having been held there since the Gerald Ford administration. The fastener holes will position it correctly, and some c-clamps padded with wood, or a similar device, should get it in place if you even need them. And I'll bet you won't.
You could always pull fasteners a few at a time on one side to see if there's any resulting movement or malformation.
The through-bolts might go through SS compression sleeves inside the mast. These tubes keep the bolts from deforming the aluminum when tightened. So when you pull the bolts, follow them out with a stiff wire, screwdriver or pin of some sort to keep the compression sleeves from falling out of position. An easy operation. There also will probably be some structure inside the mast to keep the spreaders from squeezing the mast walls out of shape.
I pulled all the SS fasteners from my mast, coated each one with Tef-gel and re-installed. The tef-gel provides some galvanic insulation between the 2 metals. Lanocote does also. Screws tend to freeze in place over time without that.
You can galvanically insulate the fitting from the mast by sandwiching a sheet of mylar under it.
But I'd definately pull it off. I know that's easy for me to say, but the guy who assembled it in '78 probably wasn't a lot more skilled than you are.
And I doubt seriously you'd have to do that. The SS isn't likely to spring out of shape after having been held there since the Gerald Ford administration. The fastener holes will position it correctly, and some c-clamps padded with wood, or a similar device, should get it in place if you even need them. And I'll bet you won't.
You could always pull fasteners a few at a time on one side to see if there's any resulting movement or malformation.
The through-bolts might go through SS compression sleeves inside the mast. These tubes keep the bolts from deforming the aluminum when tightened. So when you pull the bolts, follow them out with a stiff wire, screwdriver or pin of some sort to keep the compression sleeves from falling out of position. An easy operation. There also will probably be some structure inside the mast to keep the spreaders from squeezing the mast walls out of shape.
I pulled all the SS fasteners from my mast, coated each one with Tef-gel and re-installed. The tef-gel provides some galvanic insulation between the 2 metals. Lanocote does also. Screws tend to freeze in place over time without that.
You can galvanically insulate the fitting from the mast by sandwiching a sheet of mylar under it.
But I'd definately pull it off. I know that's easy for me to say, but the guy who assembled it in '78 probably wasn't a lot more skilled than you are.
