Ok so here's my old pump and new pump:

Should the new pump have the studs to hold the pulley/fan? HTF am I going to screw in (hammer in?) new studs to something that is going to want to turn?



BTW love the orange sealant used to plug the hole that should have a bolt. I'd do the same, but I snapped 2 more bolt heads off.

Plus I snapped the head off the thermostat housing bolt.

LOVELY!

Maybe somebody could give me a push in the right direction?

(And no BBB, that direction is not toward a dealership for a new car )

 

Those studs'll come out of the old pump (in theory). I'd guess they're rusted in beyond anything that your human mind can fathom though. Go to the store and get some shit called PB Blast. It comes in this crazy looking 50's-style marketing spray can, but it really does bust loose about anything. It's only like $3 too.

Silicone sealer in place of bolts is a great idea. That's how I put the heads on my 350. Only pussies use bolts!

 

Oh, and buy air tools. Impact wrenches are much more forgiving to bolt heads than a breaker bar is. Trust me, I know!

 

F reuseing them, get nice shiney new ones.

 

True. They can't be but a few dollars at Ace Hardware or the parts store. I know, it sucks that the new pump doesn't come with them. Should've bought an electric pump!

 

My main concern is the snapped off bolt heads. At some point, that pump is going to be loose, correct? I mean right now, I have 3 (or 4?) bolts with snapped off heads. Sure, I MIGHT put it back on as a quick fix though. Fiancee needs the car driveable by Saturday, and I work afternoon-evening tomorrow and friday, and all day saturday and sunday ):

So...these shouldn't be difficult to insert in the new pump? At this point cost is low on my priority, short of paying a shop to do it.

I got the fan shroud cleaned up pretty good, only one side left to clean. It was so grimed and gunked up. Any idea how to get the INSIDE of the overflow clean? I swear it has ages of gunk built up inside. Probably going to soak it with dish soap and water tonight, see if it can cut through it.

 

Oh boy, put the tools down and step away!

 

I suppose you were born with automotive repair knowledge, sorry I wasn't so fortunate. Until I can have the information safely implanted into my brain, I'll continue the trial and error method. At least it's a $600 Buick instead of a irreplaceable cult icon. Correct?

 

Well you'll be happy to know I got one of the 2 remaining bolts out cleanly. It had to be twisted about a million times without moving, used 1/3 a can of PB blaster, but it eventually worked it's way out through all the grime.

The other bolt, holding the bracket for the alternator, wasn't so fortunate. I thought I had it working back and forth, just a hair each way, spray, go back to the other bolt, wash, rinse, repeat (literally...I have a puddle of PB blaster under the car). Then it turned a little, and POP it snapped off the head.

So I have a handful of bolt heads, and an assortment of bolts. Guess I'll be investing in a set of extractors.

 

I would have considered new bolts, if not for the fact I keep snapping them. Looks like if I do get the hang of drilling/extracting the bolts, I'll need a few new ones, so yes, I'll probably replace them all. But I need to know which hole takes what kind of bolt. So far looks to only be 2 kinds, so that's a relief.

And on a good note, the fan shroud is infinitely cleaner than it was before. Come visit me when I'm wracked with cancer in 20 years, but 1/4 a can of B-12 Chemtool later, there isn't hardly any grime left on it. I ended up using a putty knife to scrape it off it was so thick.
I also discovered that the top of the overflow and windshield reservoirs pop off, so I was able to get them cleaned up much better. I know that does absolutely nothing to move me toward getting the important stuff fixed, but I wanted something to turn out RIGHT for once.

So now I have all the bolts off, all that's left (unless I'm missing something, and...I probably am) is to separate the pump from the block, clean the surface, yank the broken bolt stud from the thermostat housing, drill out and extract 4 snapped off bolts, buy new bolts, and throw it all back together, hoping one of the 2 was the culprit of my coolant leak!

Believe me...were the last person to have used anti-sieze on the bolts, and none of the snap, crackle, popping happened, this would have only been a 3 day job, and for me, that's pretty good!