(This is a repost of a question I have on the pelican board, in case anyone here hasn't seen it.)

I'm trying to get the water pump off, but it appears to hanginging on one stud.

All the bolts and nuts are removed, and when I shake the pump, it wiggles a bit, but I noticed that the stud circled below also moves with it: I'm wiggling the stud in the block! The other studs have visible clearance around them; this one doesn't. I'm guessing that a threadlocker has been used, and it glued the stud to the pump body. It's also been suggested that is a corroded stud problem.

I've tried heat with a butane torch, gently prying with a pry bar from behind the pump, and penetrating oil (which is visible on there).

Any advice? Anyone dealt with something like this before?

 

Studs are cheap; grab it with visegrips or double-nut it and see if you can unscrew it. I'd bet there is a wad of corrosion on it that's hanging it up.

 

you could try outward pressure on the pump while tapping the stud with a hammer?

 

I had that exact stud cause the same issue on my old motor when I pulled it out. I basically used the methods you described... wiggle, prybar, oil, etc and it eventually came off. Took a long freakin time I will say that.

 

What was the condition of the stud itself and the thread in the block by the time you got it loose? Di you need t replce the stud and/or use an insert on the block? And how long did it take you actually get the thing loose?

 

So, how would this work? Two nuts on the end, tighten one against the other, turn inside one counterclockwise with one spanner and hold the outside one with another to prevent it turning?

How much torque to get a stud out of the block? I thought they were loctited in, for example (and easy to break)...

 

The double nut thing should work. You can do it just by turning the inner nut - no need for two wrenches. They're only torqued to 8lbs, if I recall correctly, so once you break it free it should be easy to take out.

Have you tried tapping the side of the WP with a hammer?

 

Yep, and just turning it within the pump casing may be enough to break the two apart

PS -- are you sure there isn't the remains of the washer stuck on the threads?

 

OK, well, the double nut thing sounds like the next thing to try. Sounds like I should order a new stud.

The washer (and nut) came off fairly cleanly. Washer was a little bit sticky coming off, but nothing out of the ordinary.

 

Hey Mark, any progress?

 

Not much progress, I'm afraid. I have determined that the problem does indeed seem to be corrosion rather than loctite, as most people have been suggesting.

I have been digging in the space between the pump and the stud (about a 1mm gap) with sharp objects trying to remove some of the corrosion that way, and reapplying penetrating oil. I've ordered some fine drill bits to try to get a drill in there to speed things up -- I may need to get a 90 degree attachment or a right angle drill to get in there. I really don't want to mess with removing the radiator unless I absolutely have to -- the plastic/aluminium components aren't well known for being the most solid design.

If digging at the corrosion doesn't work, I will probably have to drill out the pump around the stud, destroying it in the process, which would be a pity.

One step at a time. This isn't a job that likes to be hurried, it seems. Hope your WP is in better shape than mine... its hard to know untill all the nuts and bolts are removed, and you give it a tug.

 

Did you do the double-nut thing?

 

Freeze it.........use the new cold spray and it will break away

 

That motor is still on the stand. The stud was removed using the double nut method, heat, and some PB Blaster.

 

Double-nut thing I couldn't get to work for me. No matter how much I tightened the nuts against each other, the two nuts would turn together, spinning off. In any case, the torque to get that stud to spin is going to be large -- it's not the 8ftlb in the block that's holding it in, it's the corrosion in the WP housing, of course.

I was thinking of cutting a notch in the end of the stud to get a screwdriver onto it. Might still break off though, which would be bad.

I'll try the freeze method -- what's the "new cold spray" exactly?