Water pump sheared Bolt

Tiny
CHAD
  • MEMBER
  • 1999 DODGE CARAVAN
  • 6 CYL
  • FWD
  • AUTOMATIC
I broke a bolt off of a water pump that is a 5 bolt pattern. Will it last with 4 bolts?
Monday, January 3rd, 2011 AT 7:18 PM

1 Reply

Tiny
CARADIODOC
  • MECHANIC
  • 33,752 POSTS
Do you have the 3.3L and are you referring to the five housing bolts? If so, chances are it will leak with only four of them. That pump uses a rubber o-ring for a seal. Fill the groove with silicone gasket sealer, lightly set the o-ring in place, then let the sealer squish out as you tighten the remaining four bolts.

Two options for removing the broken bolt are to drill through the center of it, then use an "easy out", or to weld a nut to the bolt. Bolts that small are better drilled out completely, then tap the hole to a larger size and install a Heli-coil.

A small nut can be clamped over the bolt, then fill it in with a wire feed welder. That way the nut can be used to turn the bolt out. To work the best, the bolt must be heated through the nut first with an acetylene torch, otherwise the nut will fill up too fast before the weld softens and penetrates the end of the bolt. If you're steady, you must start the arc on the end of the hot bolt, then as it fills in the nut, it will penetrate and stick to it. This procedure worked for me on my thermostat bolt that broke off flush with the intake manifold, but it took four tries before it worked. Once you're done welding on the nut, let it cool for a few seconds, then dribble a little water on it to shrink the bolt and crack the threads free.

Caradiodoc
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Tuesday, January 4th, 2011 AT 1:59 AM

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