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Water Pump Bolt Hole Fix

W

will123345

New Member
Joined
April 25, 2009
Messages
7
Reaction score
3
Year, Model & Trim Level
explorer '96 xlt
Hey got a tip for you guys and girls on the water pump replacement.

I was recently replacing my water pump, and ran into a problem with one of my bolt holes. I managed to strip the hole taking the bolt out, most likely due to the rust on the bolt. Anyway i searched high and low for a solution to the problem because i could not torque the bolt. People were saying all kinds of things, tap and die make the hole bigger, helicoil, and the loctite "form a thread" were some of the more popular solutions.

Well i got one better than all of those. The bolts are actually shorter then what the hole is drilled out to. So i went to the local hardware store(home depot) and got a longer bolt! m6x1 25mm long. Also picked up a washer. Problem solved! I know it doesn't sound like much, but if you are put in that situation, it will be a HUGE help. Just thought i would share. I have pics if you want them.

ps. hope i posted this in the right spot? thanks
 



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welcome will
 






Thanks. I've been reading the board off and on since like 2005ish. Got a lot of good info on here, figured I'd try and give back.
 






welcome to the site
 






Welcome to this forum! Please post a picture if possible. Thanks for the tip! It will save a lot of people time & money.
 












awesome

thanks man, changing the pump in an 07, reading all the nightmare stories as I have stripped my bolt hole, just one, but you know one is as bad as 3. this fix I am going to try and Ill let you know how it goes but it looks genius im gonna at least get some sleep tonight thinking I have a good option to fix this in the am.
 






yeah, good luck. I've since got rid of the x and got an 01 f250. what a difference in build quality.
 






will123345 said:
Hey got a tip for you guys and girls on the water pump replacement.

I was recently replacing my water pump, and ran into a problem with one of my bolt holes. I managed to strip the hole taking the bolt out, most likely due to the rust on the bolt. Anyway i searched high and low for a solution to the problem because i could not torque the bolt. People were saying all kinds of things, tap and die make the hole bigger, helicoil, and the loctite "form a thread" were some of the more popular solutions.

Well i got one better than all of those. The bolts are actually shorter then what the hole is drilled out to. So i went to the local hardware store(home depot) and got a longer bolt! m6x1 25mm long. Also picked up a washer. Problem solved! I know it doesn't sound like much, but if you are put in that situation, it will be a HUGE help. Just thought i would share. I have pics if you want them.

ps. hope i posted this in the right spot? thanks
Click to expand...
What size motor was the explorer an size motor wondering if all the bolts are the same
 






redradrik72 said:
What size motor was the explorer an size motor wondering if all the bolts are the same
Click to expand...
Original post was for a 96 so it’s a 4.0 engine.
 






In 96 the 5.0 was available in the Explorer ... 97 first year of the 4.0 sohc.
 






Yea but the 5.0 uses 5/16” hardware not metric so we can deduce that the 96 was indeed a 4.0 v6
 






410Fortune said:
Yea but the 5.0 uses 5/16” hardware not metric so we can deduce that the 96 was indeed a 4.0 v6
Click to expand...
Drilling deeper in any water pump assembly brings with it the chance of breaking through into the water jacket. If this happens, the bolt involved must be adequately sealed against coolant leakage, noting the coolant is under pressure.
 






imp said:
Drilling deeper in any water pump assembly brings with it the chance of breaking through into the water jacket. If this happens, the bolt involved must be adequately sealed against coolant leakage, noting the coolant is under pressure.
Click to expand...
Thank goodness no drilling was involved like the one guy said its threaded deeper than the original bolts are long so I went with his pic of the bolt size m6 - 1.0 x 25mm an it worked perfectly. Thanks guys for the input I really didn't want to drill an put heli coil in so I went with the longer bolt with 2 washers it worked perfectly 😀
 


















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