Any Ideas?

well, maybe. on a previous vette, the optispark distributor is underneath the water pump. if the water pumpt leaks, the optispark corrodes and needs replacement (ie, hundreds of dollars). gm didn't learn to do this right for about 4 model years.

regards, charlie

Well, "do this right", I guess, depends on if you think the engineers, or the beancounters, were in charge of the decision.

Or - if you have to abandon the bolt/location as a fastener how about rigging up a clamping arrangement outboard of the water pump flange?

Ken.

Yeah, and Slim rode out of town at high noon yesterday.....

Jeff

I think he was talking about something to get the already stuck bolt loose...

If it's stuckded already it's too late for anti-seize unless your grandaddy was H.G. Wells and he left you plans for a time machine.

Jeff

Right, but so there isn't a next time where he needs kroil, the anti-seize is the way to go.

I'm not allowed to discuss it.

The only thing they ever got out easy was the money from my wallet when I bought a small set years ago. Never found anything stuck lightly enough for them to do any good on.

Jeff

I used one for the first time ever, successfully, to pull out a corroded AA battery from a minimag flashlight after drilling out the core. I was amazed, of course I spent more time and energy then what the minimag is worth.

cheers T. Alan

When drilling the broken bolt or stud out, it's obviously important to drill on center and straight. A guide really helps.

If a bolt or stud is broken beneath the surface, and there are a few threads showing, I'll drill out a same size bolt on the lathe, thread it into the hole, and use that to guide the drill. Same thing if there are threads above the hole, except that I'll use a nut or coupler nut to connect the broken bolt and the drilled guide bolt.

If neither of those will work, I'll often use the original part to guide a full size drill bit to spot the hole, then drill with the correct smaller size drill. Or, use the part to hold a guide bushing to start the drill.

John Martin

There is no such thing as an easy out. Drilling and a helicoil or other thread fixing device is the way to go. With aluminum and steel you dont need locktite.

never sieze is the stuff to use when you put that pump back on.

John

I want to thank everyone for all their input and suggestions. I thought I'd give you all an update and ask a few more questions:

To begin with, I work in the same building with a welding company. I talked with a welder over there and he agreed that welding stainless would work out better. He even lent me a spool of stainless to take home and use. He also suggested heating said broken bolt off before welding to it. He was saying that it would weld better if the bolt was pre-heated. Is this sound doctrine in your guys' experience? He even suggested using a plasma cutter. He told me of a situation where he used a plasma cutter to blast out a tap without wrecking the internal threads. I've seen my dad cut nuts off a bolt without harming the bolt threads, but he used an oxy-acetalene torch, not a plasma cutter. If I had a plasma cutter, I would grab some scrap and see if this idea works. Can I get a volunteer? Can someone try this out and let the group know how it works?

I was telling my dad about my predicament. He went over to my house today while I was at work. He called me to tell me that he got the bolt out. I asked him how he did it and if he used the stainless welding wire. Now, you have to realize that this man's background is from the farm and he has been working on the railroad for decades. He's used to big, crude, rusty objects that weigh tons and tons. He's used to using rosebuds on the end of 3-foot torches and breaking out the sledgehammer to fix any problems, you see. So, between railroad repair experience and a farmer gotta-get-it-done attitude he decides to drill some holes just above the busted bolt and one below it for punch access. He basically beats the bolt up enough that he can then get on it with a pair of needlenose pliers and pull the thing out. There was only about a 1/4 inch of bolt engagment left in the block (it broke off as I was backing it out).

I'm hearing this over the phone and I'm used to a little finer precision than what a sledgehammer can bring, so in my mind I'm envisioning a complete mess. But I have faith in my dad. He's taught me an awful lot. He says that I just need to put a little JB Weld in there and I'll be good to go. "JB Weld?", I ask; I've only used it on oil pans before. I would think the proper way to do it would be to fill the drilled holes in with weld, bolt on the old pump, use a transfer punch to locate the hole, then drill and tap my way to a perfect fix. In his opinion, that was way to much fuss. He's used JB Weld to repair tractor engine blocks before and has stories of repairing

3/4 ton Ford differentials with this magical mixture. I checked the JB Weld website and this stuff bonds with aluminum and is good up to 500 degrees F. I figure I'll give this stuff a try and if it doesn't work then I'll dig or chip it out and figure out how to weld aluminum. And I'm definitely going to get some anti-seize compound to slather on the bolts before I put them back in.

So, that's where I'm at now.

Relz

DE wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

I've never had any luck with EZ outs. The Alden screw extractors actually work. You need enough room to use a power drill though.