Broken Bolt while removing waterpump

DEB PRATT

MEMBER
1998 DODGE DURANGO
3.8L
V8
4WD
AUTOMATIC
200,000 MILES

Loosened all bolts really easy except for one was excessively tight busted on first try of removing it. It had approximately a quarter of an inch of thread sticking out. A professional welder had welded a nut on and attempted to remove the bolt again after spraying penetrating oil on several times and once again bolt broke. This time flush with the aluminium housing behind water pump. My question is, how do I remove that broken bolt without damaging the aluminium housing behind the water pump?

1 Reply

DANNY L

MECHANIC
5,648 POSTS

Hello, I am Danny.

With space permitting you might have to use a 90 degree drill motor with a short bit and drill a hole in the old bolt/stud. Use a screw extractor to see if you can back it out that way. If no luck you might have to continue to drill the old bolt stepping up sizes until it backs outs. Be sure to start small. Once you get close drilling to its size it should crumble apart and then clean the junk out of the threads. You might want to use a tap and die set to clean the threads afterwards. Hope this helps and feel free to ask any questions if needed. Thanks for using 2CarPros.
Danny-