EP95SE

iTrader: (1)

So I was removing the water pump and following the detailed instructions found on this site. All the steps leading up to the water pump went smoothly. Then I got to the water pump itself. I removed the three bolts holding the water pump in place. No problem there. To back out the water pump, I used the two bolts that were holding the timing chain tensioner in place. Started tighening the bolts down to back out the water pump....switching from one bolt to the other every full revolution....and then the top bolt broke off! Half of it is in the water pump flush with the hole and I cant reach it to remove it. So I'm taking it into a machine shop to have them drill it out.

My question is what went wrong? I need to know what to do differently once they get the bolt out. Any ideas?

matty

iTrader: (54)

Did you cross thread it ??

When your using the bolts to back the water pump out, that should be gentle and effortless. I did mine by hand and it popped right after a few revolutions with my fingers.

EP95SE

iTrader: (1)

I took it to the mechanic and we figured out what went wrong. The timing chain tensioner bolts are not the M8 size bolts needed to back the water pump out. They are the same size diameter as the bolts that secure the water pump to the engine, but longer. So the longer bolts did not thread the water pump holes and thus did not back the water pump out. They went all the way into the hole for the shorter bolts used to mount the water pump and since they are longer they reached the end of the hole and broke off.

So don't use the timing chain tensioner bolts they are not the correct size. Get some M8 bolts from a hardware store.

Fortunately, the shop was able to get the bolt out. If someone does end up breaking off one of their bolts, the way they got it out without drilling was to remove the old water pump (the correct way using the M8 bolts) and sodder a nut on the end of the broken bolt and then ratchet it out.

pmohr

iTrader: (26)

Instead of the tensioner bolts, use the bolts from the side guide right above the water pump. This is of course assuming you have the cover off.

Did you have the engine out?

EP95SE

iTrader: (1)

Nope didn't have the engine out. Just took off the cover to the water pump not the entire crankcase cover.

orleanzmax

iTrader: (8)

personally when i did the water pump with the motor in still. i used a pry bar to pop it out and put it in the same way. it only held in with an o ring gasket and 3 bolts.

JtzMax

iTrader: (5)

^^^^ So, you could have damaged the pump, the TC, or the cover .... but why let that stop you from using a prybar. Did you not read up on how to do this?

To the OP .... glad you got it out. It really shouldn't be in there very tight at all ... it pays to have the right tool for the job (in this case ... M8 bolts!)

orleanzmax

iTrader: (8)

i dont believe i damage anything cuz i grab the pump by hand at first to pull on it. it had a gap from the first o ring and i put the bar in b/w pump and the cover and it popped right out. it was a light tug and out it went. i haven't ran into any problems with either one of my max with 40k on those pump and cover. no leaks or noise. i put it back pretty much the same a slight push in it went.

Broyse22

Hey guys.

Followed write up for replacing water pump on my 98 maxima and everything went fairly smoothly until I tried to bolt on new pump. The side bolt threaded easily but the top and bottom bolts would not thread. Ive tried different bolts in different holes and still the same result. I believe the holes may have been damaged when using the M8 bolts to jack out pump, but I dont remember there being to much resistance.

Im thinking I just need to buy the proper sized tap and "clean" the opening of the holes with a hand tap. Does anyone know what size and thread pitch these bolts are? and who sells metric taps?

thanks in advance.

Broyse22

Nevermind guys.

Bought a metric hand tap kit at AZ which had the m6 x 1.0 tap i needed and the hand tap tool itself. Worked like a charm. Sprayed the tap with WD40, turned it about twice in the hole, then backed it out and cleaned the debris off of it with another blast of WD40, and then went in about 4 turns and then back out to finish. Got the pump mounted and now waiting on my replacement tc tensioner.

So in case anyone runs into it, those bolts are M6 x 1.0, and mine only had three of them instead of the four refered to in the writeup. Different year??

oldngivout

iTrader: (8)

Water pump has never had more than three bolts on any year VQ.

Not sure what write-up you saw, maybe it was referring to the four bolts securing the black metal plate on the front engine cover.

Broyse22

Yes. Looking at the write up again, it does say only three bolts. Not sure what i was thinking. All i know is i spent about 15 frustrating minutes looking for that imaginary 4th bolt. haha

stiches15

Anybody have an idea as to what labor costs would run these days for this? I could probably do it myself, but I get this sick feeling in my stomach just thinking about being out in the garage in the winter after I had to change my transmission this past February. I know I'm a wimp.

pmohr

iTrader: (26)

Have you actually tried getting quotes anywhere? Whatever we say on here as far as dollar amount is useless, it depends on exactly what your local shops charge per hour. The job calls for 3.9, multiply that by your shop's hourly rate, and you'll get a low ballpark.

stiches15

Thanks, that's exactly what I needed to know. Sorry for the dumb question. It's a long story but I'm stuck without a phone for a few days and have this part I'm trying to figure out whether to install on my own or not.

JtzMax

iTrader: (5)

If you think you can do it, go for it, if not .... to give you an idea of local shops around here (and I work in one) the labor rates are ~65.00 / hr -> ~90.00 / hr (stealership). It's not a bad job, but it's not much fun either. Took me about 2 hrs to get it done. After reading the write up .... a few times.

If you question if you can do it or not .... it's your car so if you F it up, it's your doin. If you take it to a shop and they do it, you'll pay for it, but it should get done right. Your call.

stiches15

Not so much a question of whether I can do it, more a question of how badly I want to. The transmission was a pretty traumatic dead of winter operation. But that's a story for another day.

When you did your WP did you take all the belts, pulleys, etc. off or did you leave them all on like Mishmosh describes? 2 hours isn't too bad. Some people talk about replacing the TC tensioner also but I'm not sure I need to. I'm actually working on a 96 I30 but as far as I'm aware they're pretty much the same thing.

JtzMax

iTrader: (5)

They are the same thing! Also ... why not do the TC Tensioner while you have it out anyway? Why reuse a part you'll need to replace eventually anyhow? It's not that expensive, but the labor to do it again later would make it that way. I took my drive belt off. You need to loosen the chain to allow it off the pump gear anyway, so you have to take the tensioner out and you don't need to pull the rez for the PS pump, just move it out of the way. As for the mount, you'll need to pull it. Not a bad job, just get it done .... sooner than better.

Aznfrog1487

[QUOTE=EP95SE;6644328]I took it to the mechanic and we figured out what went wrong. The timing chain tensioner bolts are not the M8 size bolts needed to back the water pump out. They are the same size diameter as the bolts that secure the water pump to the engine, but longer. So the longer bolts did not thread the water pump holes and thus did not back the water pump out. They went all the way into the hole for the shorter bolts used to mount the water pump and since they are longer they reached the end of the hole and broke off.



So don't use the timing chain tensioner bolts they are not the correct size. Get some M8 bolts from a hardware store.

Fortunately, the shop was able to get the bolt out. If someone does end up breaking off one of their bolts, the way they got it out without drilling was to remove the old water pump (the correct way using the M8 bolts) and sodder a nut on the end of the broken bolt and then ratchet it out.[/QuarryvilleE]

The same thing happened to me but I can't find a shop where around my area that would even touch it! Right now I got the bolt is still stuck in the tc cover. What shop did you take it too? Any help would be great! Thank you.

dgkb

If only I was lucky enough to have seen this a day ago

CMax03

iTrader: (3)

Read your Maintenance manual you can't go wrong....If you have mechanical skills...