JasonA Posted February 11, 2005 Report Share Posted February 11, 2005 I'm going to fix my water pump leak this weekend, and I'm 95% sure I stripped one of the holes in the water pump housing when I last put the cover on...a few years ago. I reused the original rubber seal and stripped one of the bolts, but it still held until now before leaking. And even then, it just leaked a drip overnight, but it's now up to a teaspoon or so, and I'm going to fix it this weekend. Where can I get a Helicoil so small? It's a very small bolt...10mm head I think...even smaller threads. Before I go running all over town tomorrow, can someone give me a heads up on where I need to start? Will a hardwear store have all the thread insert sizes? I realize I may have to get a different size for this one bolt, in case they don't happen to have an insert in the OE size. But the smallest I've seen an insert, that I can remember, is a spark plug repair. Thanks in advance. Jason(2001 STS, White Diamond) "When you turn your car on...does it return the favor?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DFBonnett Posted February 11, 2005 Report Share Posted February 11, 2005 NAPA has them. Check www.napaonline.com for sizes. FWIW YMMV DFB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nitrous1 Posted February 11, 2005 Report Share Posted February 11, 2005 NAPA has them. Check www.napaonline.com for sizes. FWIW YMMV DFB Several of my local auto parts stores stock them, but NAPA is probably your best bet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
growe3 Posted February 12, 2005 Report Share Posted February 12, 2005 Another thought. I believe that it is a 6 mm (1/4") bolt. You should be able to just retap the hole to an 8 mm (5/16) bolt hole. Then just use a 5/16" drill in the cover to allow the oversize bolt through. No special helicoil tools needed, just a common 8 mm tap. -George Drive'em like you own 'em. - ....................04 DTS............................ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonA Posted February 12, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2005 Thanks guys, but after replacing the seal yesterday, I found that all the holes were still tight. I personally have a very hard time discerning when I'm compressing a gasket with a bolt, or when I'm stripping threads. It kind of felt like I was stripping threads the last time I did it, but when I pulled the cover off last night to replace the seal, all the threads were good. That seal I replaced was the original 141k-mile seal. Another example of cheap OE parts...it didn't even make it to 150,000 miles! LOL That old seal was so shrunk that it set flush in its groove in the pump cover, and it had a few nicks and cuts here and there. I don't know how it still held as well as it did. The new seal (which I bought two years ago when I did the pump but didn't use) set a good 1/16" up out of the groove, it was that thick. And after bolting it all back together, and being careful to not strip threads, there's still a paper-thin gap between the pump cover and pump housing, from the thickness of that gasket. What a difference! Have I said before that I love this engine? On no other engine that I know of can you come home, not even change out of your work clothes, and change a water pump (I just replaced the seal) in 50 minutes. And that 50 minutes included 10 minutes for me to step inside and help my wife carve a chicken for supper! By the way, my local Wal-Mart STILL carries Havoline Dexcool. I picked up two gallons last night to refill the system, along with two gallons of distilled water. Jason(2001 STS, White Diamond) "When you turn your car on...does it return the favor?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.