so... a bolt broke

'04 C4S I just finished my AOS today and what a challenging task! The design of the AOS for the C4S made it so difficult to get that 6th screw in the back. Now working on my water pump and thermostat. Unfortunately one of the bolt broke in half as shown on the picture. Thankfully i was still able to pull out the pump as the bolt hole on the pump itself is not threaded. Looking at the picture below --- how critical is it to have this bolt on the new pump? Will i need to worry about a leak? I am thinking that not having this particular bolt will be ok.... what do you think? I tried using a long needle nose plier to unscrew the broken piece but it won't budge as the area is tight to work in.

Its important. U need to get it out and replace. U may have to lower the motor some or even support the motor and remove the mounting plate to get to it. If pliers dont work welding a nut to the end may do it. When all else fails u will have to drill it out and helicoil the hole.

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If i i remove the mounting plate and lower the engine will it give me enough room to grip the bolt from under? I wonder if something like this extractor extractor works...

god dang it i think a small piece of sand paper flew into the port as shown on the picture below!!! i tried to get a better traction on the broken bolt with a small torn sand paper w/ the plier and before i knew it the paper dropped. can i just flush this port out with some water from a hose? this can't get any worse.

I'd use a powerful shop vac to get any debris out. You may want to call a mobile bolt removal service. They have the specialized tools and skills to handle bolts much more difficult than yours, such as below surface manifold bolts. Might cost you a hundred, but better than risking damage or scoring on the block surface that will leak later. Check youtube to see what they are able to do.

You, sir, are in way over your head. Yes, that bolt is very important. It will leak if you don't replace it. Now get someone to help you extract that bolt. If you can't lock some vice grips on it then you have a problem. And, you can't replace the water pump without backing off the motor mount plate and lowering the engine. So did you do that? Good suggestion on the shop vac ^^ How in the world can you try to use sand paper to grip the broken bolt and wedge it up the passage way? Please, get some help.

Broken bolt is no big deal it happens. You can't go without it though. Either toss it on a flat bed and get a shop to finish it or get the mobile mechanic to come over and extract it. Extracting is not hard either you do have to have the right tools thoigh. Then put the next bolt in and turn it right. Its not hard mistakes happen.

It's time for a professional. Where are you located?

Regardless of the approach you take, flatbedding, mobile mechanic or doing it yourself. Soak that bolt in penetrating oil. WD40 is not penetrating oil. Personally, my go to is half and half mix of ATF red and acetone. Do this daily. Have you tried tapping the bolt then getting a good set of vice grips on there? Heat is also good with a candle. It will suck the wax in and loosen the bold.

I second the use of heat. I have a small kitchen torch. It will take a few minutes to get nice and hot but the flame is easy to control. I dont thik u r over your head. Keep working the problem and u will fix it

1. Lower the engine, super easy. 2. Get the stuff below. 3. I would use heat, but a heat gun would be best. Heat it up for a while, such as five minutes. It will have a lot of soak. 4. Use vice grips. Make sure they are tight. If it doesn't come out with easy torque, heat more and repeat. It should come out.

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Anybody that dares to put a wrench on their own car ends up feeling like this at some point. Just to make you feel better, hopefully, trust me buddy, it can get WAY worse Take a step back and forgive yourself. Do some research and go back to the drawing board and clear your head. Sometimes a 24 hour break has the problem solved in minutes.

A couple weeks ago, I nearly through an outboard in the lake. Just couldn't get the carb properly adjusted after a rebuild. Picking it up tomorrow. Sometimes you just can't get stuff done. Has happened to me many times.

You may have enough thread left for 2 really narrow jam nuts, which may give you good purchase to get it out . They also make stud removal tools which work well in these situations

THanks for the vote of confidence guys. I am not over my head on this. Hell I completed a successful AOS replacement just minutes before. How many can say that. Yeah i need to take a step back and reassess the situation. A broken bolt on a water pump as i hear is quite common. I ended up applying the JB Kwikweld on the stud and then screwing in as much as i can w/ a nut. Letting it cure now --- instruction says 4-6 hours. Hopefully both can bond strong enough to turn it with a socket in several hours. As for what i thought was a small piece of sand paper that magically flew into one of the pump hole i couldn't see any sign of it with a borescope. If the Kwikweld doesn't help I will trying to see if a welder can come out and weld on a nut for me --- hell i pay them $100 if successful. I called a mobile mechanic this morning but the guy was not nearly prepared...he tried vice grip and heat but his torch wasn't hot enough. He also had a nifty stud removal tool but the stud is too small to have traction.

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1 - You don't need that much heat - just enough to get the surrounding aluminum to expand a little a break the oxidation bond...don't overheat the aluminum. 2 - if the extractor was too big, get a smaller one...they're out there 3 - the guy doesn't sound too swift... just my opinion Keep trying - you'll get it out...just don't do anything rash/crazy

An update So the JB weld of course did not work. Dremeled an indent on the stud for a flat head would not budge. So I ended up removing both catalytic to remove the mounting plate, lowered the engine to get better access. Of course one of the bolt on the exhaust header to a catalytic snapped. Great. Finally had much better access to the water pump. I was able to drill out the stud successfully. At first tried a left hand bit but did not turn it at all. So after completely drilling out the stud I was able to apply a helicoil (M6x1) successfully. First time ever phew. The engine surface for pump and thermostat were covered with rust from the old gaskets that took forever to clean off. Finally then I was able to Install the new low temp thermostat and pump successfully. I would recommended anyone who ever replace the pump and thermostat to lower the engine with the mounting plates off. So much better access. In case also you deal with a broken bolt like I did. Drilling on the engine was nerve wrecking. I've never done that. Tomorrow I need to drill out the broken M8 bolt on the catalytic before I can say I am done. What i thought was a carbide bit could not drill through it! Of course my harbor freight torque wrench also broke. Good lord. But i am glad on a success after feeling "what the hell have I gotten myself into... **** of ****" Old pump was actually in perfect condition. AOS, pump, thermostat done. (Tip on the AOS replacement [especially for the 996.2, C4S) ---- tie a string on that sixth front bolt for the intake header when reinstalling in case you drop it you don't have to go fishing for it. As well when removing the 6th bolt get yourself something to wedge between the AOS and the intake header to get better access to the bolt). Should had done the expansion tank too. Oh well... a to do in the future. Having done all this I feel I know my 996 better despite a very challenging start.

Just punch the broken stud out of the cat pipe and use a nut and bolt. Nice work on getting the heli in.

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I did with a hammer. Did not budge at all. It seems like its welded on the catalytic.

2:15 in the video below if it doesn't just start there You Tube

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Oh... haha THanks!

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Sure hope you're not a teacher...

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good job! what's involved in removing the mounting plate, etc completely? can you post a picture with it removed.

When your head is under there it's pretty easy to see how to remove the mounting plate. It's some years since I did this job myself, but I do remember it was relatively simple and obvious. Well done Carlo! Congrats on tackling some of the trickiest jobs on the 996 and overcoming a serious issue. It's a terrifying thing drilling out broken steel studs from critical aluminium castings as one false move from a wandering drill bit and it's all over. You did great.

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Sleepy Unfortunately i did not take a picture. It involves dismounting both catalytic from the header (and muffler) before you can completely pull out the mounting plate that is held by four bolts. Of course the engine should first be lowered (and supported w/ a scissor jack/floor jack) and the two large nuts under the engine mount removed before you can pull out the mounting plate. From there you have very easy access to the water pump.