Water Pump-Broken Bolt (the long one)

[Explorerlyon]

Edit: Got the bolt out. See post 7.


2003 X5 4.4. Broken water pump bolt, one of the long ones.



I recently acquired this vehicle and don't know much about the history. Went to remove the water pump and discovered one of the long bolts was broken. I just pulled it out. The other long bolt was not even tight. The four shorter bolts were all secure holding the pump in place. The water pump and thermostat are newish (I would guess under 1-yr old). The prior owner had replaced them recently. I was removing it as the seal between the thermostat and pump was leaking badly (strange for a new pump).

What are my options? My research on this forum suggests the only real solution is the removal of the lower timing chain cover. That is beyond my ability. The vehicle is not worth the cost of paying a shop to do it.

What if I just reinstall a new water pump without the bolt? The hole is plugged with the pice that is still screwed in there. I may get lucky and the pump seals to the block without the bolt. If it leaks, I am no worse off other than the time I have spent.

Any other options without removing the timing chain covers? I don't think a reverse drill bit or ez-out could ever reach in that far. I am leaning towards just reinstalling the pump and leaving this bolt out. What's the possible harm?

[aureliusmax]

Originally Posted by Explorerlyon

2003 X5 4.4. Broken water pump bolt, one of the long ones.
Attachment 81739


I recently acquired this vehicle and don't know much about the history. Went to remove the water pump and discovered one of the long bolts was broken. I just pulled it out. The other long bolt was not even tight. The four shorter bolts were all secure holding the pump in place. The water pump and thermostat are newish (I would guess under 1-yr old). The prior owner had replaced them recently. I was removing it as the seal between the thermostat and pump was leaking badly (strange for a new pump).

What are my options? My research on this forum suggests the only real solution is the removal of the lower timing chain cover. That is beyond my ability. The vehicle is not worth the cost of paying a shop to do it.

What if I just reinstall a new water pump without the bolt? The hole is plugged with the pice that is still screwed in there. I may get lucky and the pump seals to the block without the bolt. If it leaks, I am no worse off other than the time I have spent.

Any other options without removing the timing chain covers? I don't think a reverse drill bit or ez-out could ever reach in that far. I am leaning towards just reinstalling the pump and leaving this bolt out. What's the possible harm?

Wow, that's bad luck. Maybe this is the point at where you sell the car as is for a loss.

Go ahead and try it without the bolt. The worst that can happen is it just leaks, and then overheats an engine. That won't be any worse than spending $250 on labor to remove the broken bolt, since that's what OP said is the totaling value of the vehicle.



I can comment to this because the same thing happened to me, but on my 4.6 next to the water pump. After I cleaned the bores with a tap, it got stuck and broke.

I used a mig welder and my mechanic skills to extract the remaining broken piece inside the engine.

[Explorerlyon]

Originally Posted by aureliusmax

The worst that can happen is it just leaks, and then overheats an engine. That won't be any worse than spending $250 on labor to remove the broken bolt, since that's what OP said is the totaling value of the vehicle.

I will gladly pay $250 to have the broken bolt removed properly. I am thinking all the timing chain covers have to come off to get to where that bolt is snapped and closer to $2,000. Maybe I am way off on the amount of labor to remove the timing chain covers. I will check with an indy and see what their estimate is. Extracting a broken bolt that is 3" deep down a hole seems very problematic without removing the covers.

[aureliusmax]

Originally Posted by Explorerlyon

I will gladly pay $250 to have the broken bolt removed properly. I am thinking all the timing chain covers have to come off to get to where that bolt is snapped and closer to $2,000. Maybe I am way off on the amount of labor to remove the timing chain covers. I will check with an indy and see what their estimate is. Extracting a broken bolt that is 3" deep down a hole seems very problematic without removing the covers.

If i t's 3" deep there's going to be some removal of components involved. Best case scenario is determine if it's repairable with the engine in the vehicle.

[X5chemist]

On vehicles I've never work on before I use a 2 lb hammer or manual impact. It's good to tap bolts a few times. Especially on non steel bolts. Heat and a reverse drill bit might work.

[ahlem]

I recently watched a YouTube video where someone put a thin wall tube into a similar hole and MIG welded metal down the middle of it and finally welded a nut on. He was able to get it to back out.

[Explorerlyon]

Got the bolt out! I found a machinist/mechanic that extracted the bolt for me. He made a sleeve to go inside the hole. Drilled down the center of the broken bolt end with a regular bit (not reverse/left). He then used a square flute extractor and spun the bolt out.