1987Porsche944WithRealLongName

After tracking down my nasty leak I'm pretty sure it's coming from the farthest right bolt on the top part of the oil pump... Which I'm fairly certain is stripped. Tried using a slightly longer bolt but no-go, won't let me screw it all the way in. Has anyone dealt with this while the motor is inside the car? Could I move the balance shaft gear out of the way and helicoil the threads in with the pump installed on the car?

Darwantae951

I wouldn't try heli-coil with the pump installed. You need to drill the existing hole larger, and tap it.

The "proper" way would be to remove the pump and complete the repair.

1987Porsche944WithRealLongName

But that would involve removing the entire oil pan to get to it, right?..

Darwantae951

You can get away with just lowering the front of the oil pan.

mazdaverx7

once the pan is lowered and all bolts are removed, you will be able to slide the oil pump off. i can post a pic of the oil pump off the engine if need be. drilling and tapping is the proper way to repair the stripped section. simply tapping the area may not be enough as some of the material may have been eaten away and you may not get enough of a bite on the tap to create the proper deep threads.

Darwantae951

Every time I have pulled threads out of a 944 block, the threads come off in a perfect little spring shaped piece. The bore of the hole is smooth, and required a helicoil or timecert.

ramius665

The odds of either 1. screwing up the helicoil install or 2. contaminating the sealing area or oil pan with metal shavings will go way up if you try to do it with the oil pump on the engine. It'll be easier in the long run if you remove everything in the way to do the job right the first time.

1987Porsche944WithRealLongName

Fair enough. I was wary of removing the oil pan since I finally had a fresh gasket on there and doesn't leak after years of dealing with it.

944Newb

Drill a bigger bore, tap it. Find the right timecert and throw a SMALL amount of red lock tite on the bottom of the threads. Thread the timecert in and ready to put back together. In my experience timecerts work better than heli-coils.

If you have room to do so that is.

xsboost90

can you just tap it the next size up and put a new bolt in? Maybe american instead of metric has a size inbetween there somewhere.