Broke water pump bolt...time to pull the motor
 

As the title says, i broke one of my water pump bolts off about a month ago. ive tried drilling it out, but with the engine in the bay its pretty much impossible to get at. the only other option i have at this point is pulling the motor. Currenty i have an 93 b18a stock internals with 108k on it. Been boosted at 7psi for 2 years now with no problems. Now since im pulling the motor, i have several options that i would like to run past yall, maybe to see if i could get some ideas and opinions.

pull the motor, drill out the bolt, and re-install the motor - free just time

p72 pistons, rods, and crank- although this would destroke my motor, i could get a used set for pretty cheap and then also have the internals to handle a little more power, hopefully around the 350hp range. this would net me a 9.82:1 cr with a cometic hg

b16 swap - $2000-3000

b18c swap - $2500-4000

tt rods, good set of pistons, arp hardware, hg - $1000-2000

I know this is a little long, just trying to see what u guys think. appreciate any help

Re: Broke water pump bolt...time to pull the motor
 

just fix the damn bolt

or if you go with a different crank send me yours I need a good one cheap

Re: Broke water pump bolt...time to pull the motor
 

Build the block while your at it if you have the money/ down time.

Re: Broke water pump bolt...time to pull the motor
 

Ok so about 50/50 right now, anybody else wanna chime in?

Re: Broke water pump bolt...time to pull the motor
 

No expert on hondas, but I can tell you something to get around having to pull the engine to fix a broken bolt. "Indian Head" gasket shalack. It's like JB Weld, Garrila glue, and RTV sealant mixed together. Basically glues ---- together when you break off bolts. You could put half the bolts in the water pump and use this stuff and it will never leak. I broke 5 head bolts on a yamaha 40hp outboard. Pull the engine? Nope. Indian head shalacked that ----. Runs good.

So if you just want to fix the leak as simply as possible, this will do that.

Re: Broke water pump bolt...time to pull the motor
 

I actually ended up doing that, but then noticed its now leaking from the weap hole. hence water pump needs to come off anyways

Re: Broke water pump bolt...time to pull the motor
 

New water pump and shalack it again. :6 In the spirit of HMT of course. If it's your DD yeah I understand you want it done right.

Re: Broke water pump bolt...time to pull the motor
 

one of my water pump bolts broke on my less i just rtv'ed it and no leaks.

Re: Broke water pump bolt...time to pull the motor
 

What car is this in that you can't get the bolt out and are actually thinking of pulling the motor instead? Lets get a pic of the room.

I took a look at my teg and there looks like a ton of room to get a small right angle drill in there and an easy out. If you don't have a right angle drill I'm sure someone close to you can lend you one, or there are cheap right angle adaptors at blowes or homo depot.

Worste case I'd say loosen your mounts enough that you can rock the engine to a spot with more room. I just don't see the point in spending that much work to pull a perfectly good engine. Unless you jsut want to build it.

Re: Broke water pump bolt...time to pull the motor
 

its in the integra on my profile 93.....theres like less than 4 inches of room to get to it, ive tried a right angle drill, flex extension, ---- even an air rachet. broke 4 bits. just cant get a good angle, and enough pressure on it to count. I was thinking about trying to drop the motor enough to get past the frame but i just dont think i can get it to lower enough to make it work. It would have to drop at least 8-10 inches to give any help on the situation.

Re: Broke water pump bolt...time to pull the motor
 

I have a 92 and there is deffinatley enough room to get at it. Just take your time and drill it slowly, if you're breaking bits then you're not putting even pressure. I had to do this to a friends mercedes and there is easily as much room in a teg. Try having a friend hold the drill straight and put your hand in between the back of the drill and the strut tower so you can put even STRAIGHT pressure on the drill.

One other thing I did to keep the bit centered was take another bolt and throw the head in a vice. Then drill a small hole through the center of it and cut the head off. We threaded the rod leftover in as a sleeve into the hole with a broken bolt. it held the bit centered and probably also helped keep it from bending a little.

After you get the hole drilled in the broken bolt, spray some PB blaster in through the hole and let it soak before you try the easy out.

---- worked perfect and took only 15min max.

Re: Broke water pump bolt...time to pull the motor
 

Yeah there's a lot of little tricks to breaking fastners loose and getting broken fasners out. I'm guessing with the water pump removed the bolt is not sticking out at all? Or is there some stub left?

To help break it loose:

heat the aluminum block around the steel. Aluminum expands more then steel, so the hotter the area, the less the aluminum will pinch the bolt.
Center punch the ---- out of the bolt. The shock will help break the threads loose.
Penetrating oil like Kroil. Better, heat the ---- out of the area, then Kroil. Almost guaranteed to work.
If the stud broke off flush to the block, use a dremel to cut a notch into the bolt and then use a big screwdriver to unscrew it. Also beating on the screwdriver with it in the new slot will help break the threads loose. Try tightening it too to break them loose.
Or drill the bitch out. Center punch and then start drilling one size at a time. You have to punch it dead in the center and drill straight though.
Also, left hand drill bits. They cut in the counter clockwise direction. So once you drill it close to the size of the ID of the threads, put the next size it in, drill, and then "jam" or hang the bit and it will grab and either break or spin the bolt out.
Breaking off an easy out in the bolt won't work.

I guarantee you can fix this without pulling the motor.

Re: Broke water pump bolt...time to pull the motor
 

well thanks for the extra ideas. guess ill pull the pump this weekend and see if i can get a better angle, or hold on it. bolt is flush with the block, so wish me luck. this will be the last weekend i try to do this, then its gonna have to come out. its been on blocks in my garage for a month.

Re: Broke water pump bolt...time to pull the motor
 

Spray it down with brake cleaner to get the grease off then weld a nut to it. Just get a bigger size nut and keep the heat on the bolt and let it puddle to the nut. Its not like its a cast block and it will all weld together, it might scar the aluminum a bit but it will only stick the steel parts together. Assuming you have access to a mig...

Re: Broke water pump bolt...time to pull the motor
 

Right angle air drill with a cut off bit.

Drill a hole in the center.

hammer in a T15 Torx bit and back it out


wouldn't hurt to heat it up first either.