89magic98

Hey,

We have most of the waterpump bolts moving. We used anti-sieze 2 waterpumps ago, but the shop that did the last waterpump job put the bolts in dry.

Most of them are moving. However, 2 on the right side are moving very, very little. I have been soaking them in PB Blaster, loosening, then tightening a little, and repeat. One is out about 4 turns. The other is out just enough to move the washer with a fingernail.

Any advice anyone can provide on getting these out?

Usually the bolts shear because of overheating while turning, right? Assuming I am using a 1/4" drive without too much torque, if I keep soaking them, do I need to do anything else?

Thanks!

Kevin

89magic98

OK, we broke the heads off both bolts.

About 1" protrudes from the block on each bolt.

We are thinking of using vice grips to get them out.

Any suggestions?

HEEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLPPPPPPP!

adrial

A little heat oughta help...

Whacking em with a hammer (to "wake up" the threads). You'd want to hit the back of the remaining bolt in the direction of the block.

Have at em with vice grips while the area is heated...watch out for penetrating oil catching on fire though.

89magic98

OK, we got the upper bolt out - it is the hole on the top-right of the waterpump. Two hours of messing with vicegrips. It was extremely hard to take off almost to the last 2-3 turns.

No obvious rust damage - either the bolt was reused, stretched in the hole, or the mechanic used loctite or something (some white residue found in the hole). The threads inside the block look fine. New bolts went in "OK", with a little difficulty.

Here is a pic of the lower one. It is the post with 2 nuts on it. This one has less clearance than the other one for using vicegrips. Now, I have used thread lock to glue 2 10mm nuts onto the post, in the hopes that I can take it off with a socket tomorrow morning.

Any other ideas guys? I really need some suggestions here.

Also, should I run a tap through both of these holes to clean up the threads before installation?

If I use a propane torch, is there any risk of damaging/warping the aluminum block?

P.S. The mess is the gasket and PB blaster all over the place.

Hans

Heat the bolt a bit.
If loctite or so has been used, the glue will des-integrate above some 120 C.
If you strip the thread: helicoil repair thread.
The double nut set-up looks good, worked for me in many occasions.
Use one spanner (NO SOCKET) on the nut closest to the block to get it out.
TakeCare

EDIT
You can safely use a (small) torch, would wipe off as much junk as possible and keep a extinguisher ready just in case.
Just put the flame on the stud end close to the block. The heat will transfer through the stud.
And Yes, I would run a tap throug the holes to clean up the thread.
TakeCare

89magic98

Bump... both nuts are loctited to the stud... will try it out this morning.

More opinions needed. (Hans, thanks for the great advice.)

Dave

Cold can work as well as heat, for best results heat the area with a torch and then apply ice to the remains of the bolt (shrinking it while the block is still heated/expanded).
The white residue is probably corroded aluminum from the block, galvanic corrosion occurs at the junction of dissimilar metals, in this case steel bolt/aluminum block. Stainless steel hardware would be a nice upgrade but get the good stuff, low grade stainless isn't much better than regular steel.
I've used "tef-gel" in the past a corrosion inhibitor (marine use) where different metals were assembled, good stuff if you can find it.

CurlyDE

Heat and a "ez-out" (I doubt that is the technical term, looks like a drill bit or backwards threaded screw) worked on my waterpump bolt. I had one snap flush with the block.

Good luck getting it out!

89magic98

Thanks for everyone's replies.

In this case, heat did not work, and the two-nuts on the stud did not work out either. We broke it off clean with the block.

Wound up drilling out the stud and retapping it. I will post pictures tonight.

Time for some lunch, then back to work!