Water pump hell: bolt stripped/rounded out

[Trav]

Unless your F body is different than the FWD sleds that Ive worked on, I'm pretty sure that your "13mm" bolts are actually 1/2" headed 5/16 bolts and the "10mm" headed bolts are actually 3/8" headed... Yes, I know lots of other metric bolts are on that car/engine, but for some stupid reason these aren't.

I remember when they first started mixing metric and SAE together, back then they had the decency of coloring the metric heads blue or a sick yellow green, those days in this business sucked especially when rust or corrosion had got to the heads. I still keep a small amount of SAE sockets and wrenches for stuff like this but they are seldom used.

 

[The_Eric]

Funny, I just encountered this on ZJ motor mounts for a 5.2. I'm 99% they're an 11/16" head, which I thought was kinda douchey just 'cause 11/16" ain't that common.

IIRC I tried 17mm and it didn't fit.

I figure a bolt (NOT a nut) with 11/16" head is likely a 7/16‐14 in "heavy hex." I never did actually check the thread pitch though.

Yep, Mopar is probably the worst offender!

 

[TheLastWord]

I remember when they first started mixing metric and SAE together, back then they had the decency of coloring the metric heads blue or a sick yellow green, those days in this business sucked especially when rust or corrosion had got to the heads. I still keep a small amount of SAE sockets and wrenches for stuff like this but they are seldom used.

I'll raise you and go one better. On a 96 Roadmaster wagon the studs holding the cat cans have a metric on one end and an SAE on the other. On the same part.

 

[SHOZ]

Hyundai/Kia manual transmission drain plugs are advertised as a 24mm but a 15/16" fits perfect. It has a very thin head and is easily rounded too.

 

[slacktide_bitog]

UPDATE

The new bolts arrived last night, and I installed the water pump this morning with no problems. I added water and turned the water pump by hand, and no leaks! Then I put the pulley back on and started the car, still no leaks

I added Blue Devil radiator flush and water and ran it for awhile, and everything seems to be OK so far. Blue Devil says at least 10 minutes, but I ran it for 20. Right now, I am waiting for the car to cool down, and then I will drain the water and blue devil and then add coolant. I will be using Peak 10x to replace the Deathcool or whatever was in there. The old coolant looked yellowish, so I'm guessing it was some Prestone or other dexclone with 2-EHA.

 

[slacktide_bitog]

I used the Dorman 902-803 bolt kit. The 1/2 and 3/8 bolts come with thread sealer. The small pulley bolts in the Dorman kit have a 3/8 bolt head! (the stock ones are 8mm or the SAE equivalent)

 

[Dimsdale]

I had a 1999 GMC Suburban with the 6.5 Diesel engine, and it was an unholy mix of metric and SAE bolts and nuts, was glad I had both sets of tools, but I did more guesstimating, or trying on sockets than actually wrenching!

Want an easy water pump to change out? Get an International Harvester with the 152, 196, 266, 304, 345 or 396 engines; loosen the fan belt and remove, loosen four fan/pulley bolts, remove four water pump bolts then pump itself. Clean area, put on new gasket, reverse procedure. The only hard part was that the hood hinged in the front. Half hour job at best. Don't ask me about he wifemobile, a 2010 Edge with the internal water pump driven off the timing chain. That's a 12 hour job, if you are lucky.