Alright, here goes I have a bolt stripped where the water pump and the pulley meet. I have the other 3 out. I have tried to heat it up around the bolt with a propane torch.. i have tried an extractor, but it just broke off inside the bolt. I dont care if i break the head off the bolt or what. I would think that if i did that it would be easier to get off. If you have any ideas please let me know. Any at all.

Thanks,
Jonathon

 

Where's the bolt? Is it one of the 4 holding the water pump pulley to the water pump? Did you strip the bolt itself, or just the head, so a socket won't fit?

You could

A) Grind the head away
B) Hacksaw the head away
C) Put the other three bolts in as tight as you can, this should relieve the stress on the last bolt.

You're using metric sockets for this, right?

 

well you could go buy a bolt extractor for $8 and proceed to drill for half an hour, then break off the extractor and then spend another $8 for another bolt extractor... OR you could just go get another water pump for $17 (high end lifetime replacement remanned waterpump) and get a $.70 bolt from the hardware store, and you'd be back together in 10 minutes and you'd have a new water pump to boot.

 

Yah, i would like to take the water pump out.. that is the whole idea. I have an 88 and i cant get it off becuase there is another striped bolt at the bottom of the steering pump bracket. I tried to get the screw out with an extractor and it did in fact break inside it. I did strip the the one bolt on the water pump.. the other i did not. So right now i am kinda screwed. I am going to try and break off the bolt with a hammer and chisle. After that who knows.

 

The bottom of the power steering pump bracket..? Isn't that a little bolt?

 

Im not sure if it is or not, i have never taken it out before. The bolt i did try to take out was the one of the four on the front of the water pump pulley. But the bracket is just enough to cover the side of the water pump.

 

Okay; I don't know why you're not telling us, but:

What bolt did you ruin, and is it the same bolt you need help with?

Geez!

 

Alright ill try to break this down as simple as i can for you. First off, the objective is to get a new water pump in. Secondly, there are 2 bolts that are stripped and that need to come out. These two bolts are as follows, the first one is one of four that connect the water pump with the pulley. The second one is on some kind of powering steering pump bracket. It is at the very bottom of this bracket closest to the water pump. If i can get the bracket off i can take the water pump off, but then the problem with the bolt in the pulley still exists. Here is what i have done to this point. I have tried to use locking pliers to get a good grip on the water pump pulley bolt. They just slip off. I have tried to heat around it with a propane torch, this did absolutely nothing but waste propane and my time. I have tried using like wd-40 and letting it sit for some time, agian nothing. Lastly i drilled into the bolt, then i stuck an extractor into it. This extractor broke after a quarter of a turn, and currently is still in that bolt. Now the bolt on the powering steering bracket, i have not touched. So i hope i have broke it down so you can understand exactly what i am seeing and what i have done. If you have any questions about anything else.. feel free to ask

 

Thanks for the description! I had no idea which bolt was the problem, I thought it was only one bolt, not two.

Okay, so I told you how to get the one pulley bolt ("one of the 4 connecting the water pump to the pulley") off. Did you try any of the 3 suggestions I gave you? One of them is sure to work.

Are you using metric (mm) sockets?

None of those bolts should be cranked in there; I don't see how you're stripping the heads off, unless the person that owned the car before you didn't pay attention to torque settings. I believe every "large" water pump bolt is only 20 ft/lbs?

Now, I assume you've got an '88-below, since from your description, it seems you're using regular sockets on these bolts. ('89 up uses torx bolts for the water pump.) (Or, wait, guys, did I mess that up? Is it 87-below uses hex head bolts, and 88-up uses torx?) Use a hacksaw to remove the bolt head so you can get the pump off. IIRC, that lower power steering bracket bolt just keeps the power steering pump bracket "in place".

When I swapped that '86 2.8 into my friend's '89 2.8 Camaro, I noticed his '89 water pump (and probably every 87-up pump) had an extra boss cast into the driver's side of the pump. It was meant to take a bolt from the power steering pump, and did not "go through" to the block. When we put the '86 motor in, we did NOT swap water pumps... so that one bolt was not connected. You don't really need it. Plus, like Drew said, when you turn in your old water pump, who cares if the bolt's stuck in there? You'll get a new water pump, and while you're in the store, go to their hardware aisle, and find a METRIC bolt that fits the hole in the pump.

 

Alright i am starting to get what you are saying. I have tried using your third option, but no luck. When you said you were grinding the head off the bolt, what do you use to do that?

 

Are you using metric sockets? Or, you don't want to tell me?

 

Opps.. sorry fella.. i had to write that twice the first one I did tell you. But it made me write it agian. I was using i believe 10mm sockets for both bolts.

 

Okay, cool, I was worried you were using SAE bolts (like a 3/8") and were going to wind up ruining ALL the bolts! Try going to a 6-point socket, they usually grab better than a 12-point. Also, try to avoid using ratchet extensions between the ratchet and socket. They allow a side load to be introduced easily, and that means your socket isn't fitting all the way onto the bolt.

An angle grinder is what you'd use... I think http://www.harborfreight.com might still have some $30 ones. I bought my 4" angle grinder from them about 3 or 4 years ago for $30.

If you're bored, you could try filing the head off! Or, you could try to file the head so it fits the next size "smaller" socket. Can you get a hacksaw in there?

 

Alright,

Finally some success, I hammered a smaller socket SAE onto the stripped bolt on the power steering pump bracket, and used just about all the strentgh I had to get it off. Now i can get the water pump off. Its too dark to finish it. I went to Autozone and bought some new bolts. Now with water pump bolt, the guy at autozone told me to just keep drilling with a bigger bit, which means i am going to be at it for awhile. But i am going to alter his plans a little bit. I am going to drill a little bit more, i do have a bigger bit. My idea is to drill a little bit into it with the bigger bit then i am going to take the hammer and possible a regular screw drive and see if i can knock the rest of the head off. Does this sound like it would work to you? and no I cannot get a hacksaw on to it, the bolt has a lock washer back to it, if you understand what that means i dont know the proper term. What i mean though is that if a regular bolt and a washer were somehow melted together with the circular part sticking outside of the hex shape of the bolt on the back, thats what it would like. Best description i can give you.