Getting at/replacing leaking wp bolt
 

Hi everyone,

I've got another question about the water pump...so I replaced my pump and gasket a few months ago since the gasket was leaking. So I noticed today, after getting a slight burned off coolant smell the past week or so, that I've got a leaking water pump bolt. Not a major leak, as I haven't noticed the coolant level go down at all. It's my fault, as I just put some gasket sealer on the threads when I reinstalled them, when I found out later I should have used hi perf thread sealant.

So, can I drain the system and remove that bolt? I'd like to inspect it, maybe replace the whole bolt and put good sealant on it. I think there were a couple of bolts that go all the way through actually, so maybe I should do all of the longer bolts?

Is there any problem with me doing that without having to redo the whole job?

woh,,, gasket sealant like copper stuff should have worked. not like theres a bunch of pressure. i am wondering if its getting out by the gasket. is it torqued down to spec

I could be wrong. I thought I may have some coolant burning off somewhere, and I noticed today what looked like a small wet spot on the left side of the water pump. I put a UV light on it, and it looked like a small ring of dye around where one of the bolts goes in. I knew I didn't put something like Permatex on the bolts, so I figured this might be it. I did torque everything with the correct bolt pattern.

In the last year I've replaced the radiator, upper/lower hoses, and the water pump + gasket. I've been hoping to not have anymore coolant related issues. But the car doesn't run hot and I'm not noticing a level change in the radiator. It just seems like I've got a slight sweet smell or fluid burn off thing going on.

i would pull the bolt if it looks like it bleading a bit of coolant and reseal it. shouldnt hurt anything

You could pull the bolt and seal the threads with liquid Teflon but the reality is the bolts are not suppose to seal anything that is the gaskets job. If the gasket is leaking there is no short cuts to the repair, It is a redo, Make sure the gasket area is 100% free of any build up and that the bolts are torqued to spec and tightened evenly.

if i remember right on the 3.8 there is one bolt that coolant comes out the bolt hole when you take it out. dont remember which one.

see if this helps any, i did this a while back for someone else

Is that a 3.8L or 3.4L?

It seems to me it might be the timing chain cover... I think you can actually see the gasket for that back in those pictures. It just seems to always be some kind of coolant leak with this car.

its 3.8 for a 2000. engine is from a 2006 la crosse that i stripped and put all the outer suff from the 2000 on it.