Broken Water Pump Stud

[Goombatz]

- 2001, 2.7L Boxster, 5-speed, 94k mi.

I broke one of the studs while replacing the water pump.

The good news is, it's the stud that has the easiest access from the interior of the car, with the access panel removed. The bad news is, I can tell the stud probably broke flush along the block.

I have seen stud extraction tools but I haven't used one before. It seems as though one would need A LOT of working space to properly use stud extraction tools. I'm afraid the best way to tackle this project is to drop the engine for optimum access... which I'm not capable of doing due to lack of equipment and time.

Has this ever happened to anyone? If so, is this a job for an average DIY guy such as myself or should a pro handle this?

I attached a photo, the red arrow indicates which stud broke

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Edited December 16, 2012 by Goombatz

[1schoir]

It's difficult to tell from the angle of the photograph, but is it possible to get access to that broken stud with a drill?

If so, although it's precise work, it's not difficult to drill into the center of the stud and remove it. First step would be to remove the water pump.

Regards, Maurice.

[JFP in PA]

- 2001, 2.7L Boxster, 5-speed, 94k mi.

I broke one of the studs while replacing the water pump.

The good news is, it's the stud that has the easiest access from the interior of the car, with the access panel removed. The bad news is, I can tell the stud probably broke flush along the block.

I have seen stud extraction tools but I haven't used one before. It seems as though one would need A LOT of working space to properly use stud extraction tools. I'm afraid the best way to tackle this project is to drop the engine for optimum access... which I'm not capable of doing due to lack of equipment and time.

Has this ever happened to anyone? If so, is this a job for an average DYI guy such as myself or should a pro handle this?

I attached a photo, the red arrow indicates which stud broke

waterpump.jpg

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

You should be able to get at that and remove it once the water pump is out of the way. Before considering dropping the engine, I would buy either a right angle drill chuck adaptor or a right angle drill (cheap one from somewhere like Harbor Freight), which would give you access without moving the engine.............

[Goombatz]

1Schoir: There's approximately 5 inches between the engine block and firewall with the water pump removed. There's plenty of room to fit your hand in there comfortably to remove the stud with a socket wrench but I'm afraid it's too cramped to perform a decent stud extraction without messing up the original threads or engine block.

I viewed some videos on YouTube on stud extraction. It seems relatively easy however, I noticed that in most of the videos they were performing the extractions on a work bench or in an area with plenty work space.

I've decided to let a pro handle this since I haven't performed one of these before. I'm positive my mechanic will want to drop the block but, it would be great if he didn't have to because I know that dropping the block would affect the final cost.

I assume he'll perform the following:

- Drop the block

- Remove the water pump

- Stud extraction

- Install water pump

- Install engine

- Flush & refill engine coolant

I'll report back with results and estimate.

[1schoir]

Two thoughts:

1. By removing the water pump, you may find that there is enough of the bolt left to clamp on a Vise-Grip which will then allow you to unbolt the stud. If that is the case, I would first apply some PB Blaster liberally and let it soak for a good while, then use a torch to heat up the surrounding case before attempting to unscrew the bolt.

2. If there isn't enough of the bolt sticking out, you may still be able to drill it out without dropping the engine.

The red arrow points to the hole in which your bolt is broken. If you loosen or unbolt the front engine mount you can jack up the face of the engine closest to the front such that it will rotate up enough to get you a straight shot to use a drill comfortably. You may have to loosen the transmission mounts, but if just that side of the engine goes up, it will angle up enough.

You may also have to remove the top engine cover before jacking up the end of the motor.

If you don't do it, your mechanic should be able to use that same method with the car up on a lift.

Regards, Maurice.

Edited December 16, 2012 by 1schoir

[kedf1]

in case there is a little bit of stud sticking out,...you can take a nut and weld it onto the little bit. spary with liquid wrench, again spray and sit for a few days, then wrench it off.

if you can get direct access to it like 1schoir layed out, you can then take an impact driver to it after you weld and soak. iv'e found the impact is better than using a wrench.. http://www.sears.com/craftsman-impact-driver/p-00947641000P?prdNo=3&blockNo=3&blockType=G3

[Goombatz]

Well, I called one mechanic who I trust and he turned the job down. He said he doesn't want his guys doing that type of work. Why would he turn it down?

Is it because it's a risky job or is it really that simple that it's not worth his time? Maybe he just thought I wanted the stud extracted and that's all...

[mikefocke]

It is either going to be a 5 minute job in which case he will get grief for charging you some flat rate or an absolute bear where he will lose his shirt. Mechanics make money doing a flat rate job and doing it faster/better. Yours is a guaranteed labor intensive risky job where no mechanic will want to take it on because the probability of his beating the flat rate time alloted for r&r of a water pump is minimal. Most mechanics want to do the whole job from start to finish, not patch up somebody else's half done problem. Just as most mechanics don't want to use parts you brought in. They figure if they are taking responsibility, they want to source the part where they can get a new one from their normal local same-day supplier if it goes bad, not have a lift tied up while the problem part goes back through the owner and then to the internet source that originally may have supplied the bad/wrong part.

This is part of the reason I divided my car maintenance tasks into those I can do with no risk (maybe have to buy a tool); those I could do and don't want to; and those that I have neither the tools nor expertise nor appetite for risk to take on. I farmed out the latter two categories to the best P-car mechanic I could find. Some could say I lost out on learning oppertunities. I'd respond my Boxsters were super reliable and very cheap to maintain.

And when I didn't have such a mechanic I could trust, I sold em.

Edited December 18, 2012 by mikefocke

[JFP in PA]

Every time someone calls the shop about removing "a simple broken bolt", I cringe. As Mike noted, this job could go either way: simple or horrific. You never know why the bolt broke; was it the wrong bolt (very common on these water pumps) and it bottomed and also cracked the case before breaking? Was the bolt the wrong thread size/type, and buggered the hole before failing?

Basically, you have no idea what you are going to get into until you get there……

[txhokie4life]

if you can get the water pump off and there is enough threads for two nuts -- then you can put one on, since down the second

and then "remove" the first which will extract the stud. This is the equivalent of welding when you don't have a welder.

mike

[Goombatz]

Thank goodness the results weren't as bad as I thought.

I decided to take my car to indy Porsche mechanic, luckily he was able to complete the job without having to drop the engine. He removed the front motor mount (which is pretty easy to do). Then he raised the engine a few inches in order to provide enough clearance (from within the passenger compartment) to drill a straight hole into the broken stud and extract it.

The stud that broke was at the top of the water pump. If it was was one of the bottom studs that broke, he probably would have lowered the engine a few inches to gain access. If one of the middle studs would have broke, he probably would have had to drop the engine.

This is what caused the stud to break -

I screwed in one of the longer studs into the shorter stud's hole. There are 7 mounting studs, 2 of these studs are about 1/4" longer than the rest which means the holes the long studs screw into are deeper than the rest. As I was tighetning the stud, it was becoming harder to tighten and it maxed out, next thing I knew, it snapped. I was doing this blind because I was underneath the car, reaching up and tightening the stud at the top of the WP. I didn't have a clear view. I should have went into the passenger compartment and tightened it from up there.

It's important to keep track of the holes each stud comes out of when you R&R the water pump.

[mikefocke]

Good news. Thanks for the update.

[suburban99]

I did the same thing on a Dodge Ram 5.2L front cover. Put wrong bolt in front cover after swapping the engine. Actaully broke the timing chain when I tried to start the engine.

Of course engine would not start...had to remove cover and replace the timing chain. Now I take a piece of cardboard and sketch the shape of what I am removing. then put

X's where the bolts are are punch a hole. As I remove the bolts, they get put in the same spot on the diagram and it makes for trouble free re-assembly.