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E36General discussion and technical help for (E36) 1992-1999 3 series cars. 318, 323, 325, 328.
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Your Ride: '99 323is
HELP! water pump bolt / timing case problem
So I completed my first DIY yesterday, swapping out the water pump, thermostat and housing, and changing the coolant. Everything went perfectly, except for when I was torqueing the nuts for the water pump, the lower right stud broke off, so now I have 3 out of the 4 tightened to spec. I haven't noticed any leaks, and the seems to have a pretty good seal, even when not bolted on, am I right to assume that the 3 out of 4 would suffice, provided I don't notice any leakage?
I'm not sure what the labor cost would be for the removal of the timing case to remove the broken stud and insert a new one. Does anyone here have any idea what that kind of labor would entail? Worst case, the part can be special ordered for around $150, but I am hoping I may be able to get by...?
Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance...
Your Ride: 92 525, 88 325 hardtop'ed vert and 83 320iS
If the stud broke at the block then your going to have to drill it out and re-tap it. If you remove the water pump and thres enough to get a vice grip on and back it out. You could just use a 10mm bolt as replacement.
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1992 525i, 1988 Hardtop'ed Vert and 1983 320iS
I ran my old e36 with the same situation, except it was the lower left bolt that broke on me. I never fixed it, and it held up for a year and a half with no issues. The car is still alive today with a new owner. But that doesn't mean you'll have the same luck. Remember that the water pump also holds the fan assembly and there's a good bit of weight on that connection point, plus the force of the fan belt pulling on it at 90deg from its axis.
Another option to retapping the screw hole is to drill it out slightly bigger and using a HeliCoil insert.
03-17-2008, 10:22 PM
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