water pump nightmare scenario

[850oldschool]

While doing a timing belt job I got to the bottom most bolt on the water pump and it snapped right off. It looks like my timing belt job is going to take a little longer. At least there is a pretty good stub sticking out. And, to make things even more irritating, the pump bearing was still tight and quiet when I took it off and spun it, and probably didn't even need to be changed!

My plan is to buy or borrow an oxyacetylene torch and use the tiniest tip available (something a jeweler might use) to heat the bolt to a dull red and then crank it out with vise grips after it cools down. I would fabricate a sheet metal shield to protect the pump mounting surface and other items nearby.

How much of a hassle is it to get the plastic timing belt cover off? It looks like the cam sprockets need to be removed. which I've never done. How do you get the sprockets back on in the same orientation as they were before removal? Is it enough to just scribe index marks?

[abscate]

You can protect the plastic cover with a metalshield and warm it with 30mseconds of propane, then let it cool. Repeat 3x. Then grab the stub with a extractor and it will come. That steel in aluminum will respond well to heat.

To take the cover off, I think you do take the hubs off. They only go on three ways on your 1996 but the timing marks tell you the right way.

You need to have the timing marks set to put the belt back on and it’s good practice to do this on belt removal.

It’s just a broken bolt. It will come out and all will be well. Don’t go crazy on it , many cycles of heat and cool will get it loose. Keep well clear of the water pump flange with your tools as that’s the engine block and you don’t want to scar that

[kallekula]

Don’t use any screw extractors. They snap and after that it’s no fun anymore. Can you get hold of that piece that sticks out with a pipe wrench?

[850oldschool]

I'll see what I can do with heat shielding and propane first. I like the oxyacetylene because you can get a tiny little pinpoint flame which is about 5x hotter than propane. The HVAC guys use little rigs you can pick up and carry with one hand.

As I think about it, removing the pulleys seems less daunting. You could scribe the outlines of the bolt heads. With the plastic timing cover out of the way the heat shielding looks pretty easy. If you have to pull the damper off the crank to remove the timing cover, well that's another matter.

[kallekula]

You might not need heat

[850oldschool]

You might not need heat

When you're dealing with a broken bolt in an aluminum casting heat is absolutely magical. The aluminum expands and contracts, breaking and pulverizing all the corrosion.

[FireFox31]

Check out both sets of Irwin bolt extractors. Check the sizes to see if they're small enough to grab that stud. After applying heat, these bolt extractors would grab the stud with more bite than anything else you could fit in that small space.

And buy both sets of Irwin extractors anyway. Everyone working on these 20 year old cars should have them.

[scot850]

Have you tried a MAP or MAPP gas burner? Like those propane torches, but uses MAP gas which is way hotter than propane.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Bernzomatic ... /319944665

There is obviously a small gas cylinder that goes with this.

Neil.

[850oldschool]

Interesting. I like the flame shape.

[850oldschool]

The Blue Wrench wins again. It took several lengthy heating periods. When you're trying to heat this location you've got the whole engine block as a heat sink. I shielded the nearby fuel line and the driveshaft etc. with sheet metal.

I dosed it with penetrating oil as soon as I pulled the torch off each time using a stick to drop it right on the bolt. On this bolt it's helpful that the hole goes all the way through and you can dose the back side as well. I feel the heat is a real force multiplier for the penetrating oil, thinning it and allowing it to get to places it couldn't go at room temperature. Yes, it's stinky. Plus the heat loosens up the loctite.