Hi everyone,

I'm having some trouble with the long water pump bolts on my 88. All but one came out without much convincing. The last one is stuck inside the pump -- I got it out about halfway, but there are threads on the second half that I can't seem to get threaded to undo.

I've tried ratcheting on it (it turns fine) while pulling on it (otherwise it gets pushed in bc of the smooth part in the middle), but no dice. Not sure what else to try or what the problem is. Ideas?

Sorry for the blurry pic of the offending bolt ... the second pic is the other bolts I got out already so you can see what I mean about the threads. Pretty gross lookin.

Thanks,

Kelly

Just realized that this bolt isn't holding the pump on anymore. So tomorrow morning I'm going to try to separate it from the engine block and maybe then it'll make more sense. Guess I'll keep this thread up in case anyone else has this problem.

I just hammered the pump off and the bolt came off with it! To get it out I pushed on it pretty hard from the inside while ratcheting but there was nothing wrong with it except for all that muck on it.

Went in the new one fine, too. And now I got a shiny new pump!

I have had similar problems with water pump bolts on several occasions. When you get it apart run the bolt through a die and it will cut the crud off in no time. Use a good thread sealant on all bolts in the water jacket to prevent it from happening again.