For those of you that have changed your water pump. My mechanic ran into an issue with I believe the bottom bolt that's in the middle. He sprayed with PB blaster and did a quarter turn to loosen then it got tight again. As if its cross threaded with the aluminum block. He didn't want to take the chance of stripping or snapping the bolt.
Anyone ever have the issue? He says worse case is he will drop the motor and extract the broken bolt and use a Heli coil kit so that another bolt can go back in. I thought of taking it to the Stealership but afraid if they snap the bolt and tell me I need to pay for a new motor.

Any info would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Rog

 

Sounds overly cautious to me.

Keep us posted on what he finds.

 

He put the car back together and I'm driving it now. Wanted to hear from you guys before I drop it off to him this weekend to mess with. I'm glad that he rather be safe than go ahead and proceed without letting me know.

 

If your mechanic actually turned the bolt rather than twisted it, then it should not be seized. But, if it is seized and if he twisted it, you could have a real problem with a stressed bolt. However, if it is simply cross-threaded, given patience and skill he should be able to back it out. Or, as Heavy said he may simply be overly cautious.

 

My apologies, I thought you had a course of action.

The above are my thoughts exactly. These cars can be intimidating to some mechanics and throw them off their game.

 

i know there is a motor mount bolt that goes through a hole in the water pump. have to be careful with this as a hardened steel bolt in aluminum engine easy to strip the threads out

 

This is very common but only on RL's. BTW, This bolt has to be removed just to remove the timing belt, just happens to go through the water pump as well. The lower passenger side engine mount bracket bolt that goes through the water pump comes from the factory with a Loctite type of thread locker, but only on the lower mount bolt. Not all RL's have this sealant on the bolt though, it may be just 05's...Which year is yours? It is a bear to remove even with a good ratchet or wrench. It is best to leave the top two bolts tight before he tries to remove the lower bolt and then advise him to use some PB blaster or Enforce or whatever he uses to aid in the removal of seized or rusted bolts. Break the bolt loose, then periodically spray as far inside of the mount bracket once it starts to loosen up. This bolt will come out slowly but sometimes it may have a couple aluminum threads from the block on the very end. Just use a thread chaser to clean the end up. Don't worry about the threads in the block. It goes so far in, it won't matter. Good luck...If your water pump wasn't leaking which i doubt it was, why even take it back? These pumps hardly ever leak.

 

I got an 05. That's exactly what is happening. I purchased all the parts and figure to just have a peace of mind with no issues. The plan is to drop it off for him in 2 weeks to give it another try. I will tell him this info. Thanks!

 

Any update?