Water Pump Broken Bolt

[Hummer Guy]

I know I'm going to get eating up for this one, but I ended up breaking one of the bolt heads, do I actually have to go and take this bolt off to avoid any leaks? This is one of the two bolts on the bottom. I know the water pump is completely sealed off from every other bolt torqued down properly but worried that the bolt hole to this goes right into the crankcase which can cause a oil leak

 

[CapePrep]

No need to roast you from me. But....that bolt is there for a reason and if it was me, I would want to remove the stud and replace. As far as how to get it out. Numerous methods. I am a fan of welding a nut on the end if that is possible. Heat, penetrating oil, shock, etc.

 

[Retiredwarhorses]

its possible you get a glycol leak in that area down the road…how did you break it? It’s a steel bolt that threads into the aluminum timing gear housing

 

[Hummer Guy]

its possible you get a glycol leak in that area down the road…how did you break it? It’s a steel bolt that threads into the aluminum timing gear housing

I used the old bolt, I was setting it to 20ft Ibs of torque and it broke soon when my wrench clicked. I put a lot of teflon tape before I threaded it in. As much as I want to get it out, I would hate to remove the entire water pump back off to take off that broken bolt

 

[TOBASH]

Use the water pump hole to better guide your reverse drill bit when removing the old broken bolt. Use liquid Teflon tape in the future.

 

[Hummer Guy]

Use the water pump hole to better guide your reverse drill bit when removing the old broken bolt. Use liquid Teflon tape in the future.

May end up trying this, I always had bad luck with reverse bits and ez outs with anything torqued down, I may just see if there be any leak, if not, I'll let it be for now because I used a ton of teflon tape on it.

 

[Hummer Guy]

Off topic but I am going with the viscous fan setup this time

 

[87cr250r]

If you overtightened the bolt and broke it, the price left in the hole will not be tight. Take the water pump off, grab the piece with your fingers, and unscrew it.

Do not run the engine with the broken bolt because the piece can run inwards and get into the timing chain/gears.

 

[Hummer Guy]

If you overtightened the bolt and broke it, the price left in the hole will not be tight. Take the water pump off, grab the piece with your fingers, and unscrew it.

Do not run the engine with the broken bolt because the piece can run inwards and get into the timing chain/gears.

Damn, that's exactly what scares me the most, going to end up trying to get it off with a reverse bit, if that doesn't work then off the water pump goes again

 

[87cr250r]

You can get a wood dowel or metal rod and put a dab of super glue on it and use that to try to unthread the piece of bolt.

The left hand drill bit isn't actually meant to remove the bolt, it's just sometimes the bolt is so loose that it comes out instead of getting drilled. You'll still want to have an EZ Out for after the hole is drilled. This is the one case that EZ Outs are designed to work for. The left hand bit is usually unnecessary but if the broken bolt can run inwards and fall into the engine then you do need to use a left hand bit. In all other cases a standard bit makes the same hole for less money.

 

[Hummer Guy]

You can get a wood dowel or metal rod and put a dab of super glue on it and use that to try to unthread the piece of bolt.

The left hand drill bit isn't actually meant to remove the bolt, it's just sometimes the bolt is so loose that it comes out instead of getting drilled. You'll still want to have an EZ Out for after the hole is drilled. This is the one case that EZ Outs are designed to work for. The left hand bit is usually unnecessary but if the broken bolt can run inwards and fall into the engine then you do need to use a left hand bit. In all other cases a standard bit makes the same hole for less money.

Doing this with the super glue next, ez out didn't work for me

 

[Retiredwarhorses]

Quite wasting time and pull the pump back off…you only need to remove the backing plate with the pump still attached, you don’t have to remove the pump off the backing plate.

 

[Retiredwarhorses]

May end up trying this, I always had bad luck with reverse bits and ez outs with anything torqued down, I may just see if there be any leak, if not, I'll let it be for now because I used a ton of teflon tape on it.

use a sealant, Teflon tape is a no go

 

[Hummer Guy]

use a sealant, Teflon tape is a no go

Pump off and got the bolt off, is there any specific sealant the bolts calls for? I can't find anything in the TMs on water pump replacement

Also, the plate to the engine, is loctite 515 the correct gasket maker to use? Just making sure before I bolt it back together

 

[TOBASH]

Great work!

 

[juanprado]

515 should work or any good quality rtv silicone.

For the bolts., I like to use any of the Teflon white brush on sealers like loctite 565 0r 567 etc. Will also act as an antisieze lubricant.

 

[Retiredwarhorses]

There is a water pump backing plate gasket made by Fel-pro, the OEM sealant is anaerobic sealant, it’s like a clear red gel.

https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/PTX7651189?cid=paidsearch_shopping_dcoe_google&store=40055&campaign=GSC-Paint-Body-Equipment&campaign_id=10947560788&adgroup_id=110533803034&adtype=pla&gclid=Cj0KCQiAz8GuBhCxARIsAOpzk8ydL9eeBl3yN3RmEySJQFxEGVlYYpDSuz3a1_xQMhWdBSHeVkvvwCkaAl8QEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1

 

[Retiredwarhorses]

https://www.autozone.com/gaskets/water-pump-gasket/p/fel-pro-water-pump-gasket-es72674/225555_0_0?cmpid=LIA:US:EN:AD:NL:1000000:IEN:19489353538&&CATARGETID=120054150001289781&CADevice=m&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAADkcoVsMCy14BG5GirwGZ2wFyl69q&gclid=Cj0KCQiAz8GuBhCxARIsAOpzk8wnu1D1davv2Eyclm7ZkAoh1MNOQUf5EBTxzBVabJl28fcwvHT3iIUaAvWvEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

[87cr250r]

Loctite 515 is correct. Anaerobic sealants are superior to silicone but don't work for sheet metal. Use silicone for your oil pan and valve covers. Use anaerobic sealants everywhere else.