Bill Stoneberg Posted April 20, 2016 Share Posted April 20, 2016 My 1960 Electra developed a water pump leak. No big deal you say, well that a misnomer. First getting the pullies and fan off took a Big Hammer. Same hammer had to be used to take the harmonic balancer loose. Then, of course I broke a couple of bolts that her the water pump on and they were not the little ones. They are still welded to the block. Getting the cover off was a PITA, it took many heat cycles and lots of PB Blaster to break the rust loose in the bolt hole. So if any of you heard massive amounts of words your mother didn't teach you and screaming, you now know why. Time to order parts. I am glad this happened at home and not somewhere on the way to Allentown. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NC-car-guy Posted April 21, 2016 Share Posted April 21, 2016 Definitely feel your pain! I think we've all had those days! Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60FlatTop Posted April 21, 2016 Share Posted April 21, 2016 (edited) Every Buick water pump change was like that for me from my teen's until I was in my early 50's. At that time I met a woman who practiced magic and she taught me about my ancient Irish heritage. I gave her a car when she needed one and she promised to send me good luck. I have changed two Buick nailhead water pumps since. They took 1/2 hour each. I'm not saying there is a connection, but.... Bernie Edited April 21, 2016 by 60FlatTop (see edit history) 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NC-car-guy Posted April 21, 2016 Share Posted April 21, 2016 6 minutes ago, 60FlatTop said: Every Buick water pump change was like that for me from my teen's until I was in my early 50's. At that time I met a woman who practiced magic and she taught me about my ancient Irish heritage. I gave her a car when she needed one and see promised to send me good luck. I have changed two Buick nailhead water pumps since. They took 1/2 hour each. I'm not saying there is a connection, but.... Bernie There you have it Bill, you need voodoo! Clip a small bit of the seat stuffing and send it with a die cast model of the car to Bernie, he'll get you fixed up! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buick5563 Posted April 21, 2016 Share Posted April 21, 2016 I've been torching stuff, myself. At a certain point, you don't care if something blows up as long as the bolt comes out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Stoneberg Posted April 21, 2016 Author Share Posted April 21, 2016 Well I didn't blow anything up and I got the bolt out finally. Garage is a mess, the battery tray is full of various tools. Time to clean while I wait on parts. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buick man Posted April 22, 2016 Share Posted April 22, 2016 …. Usually heat bolt to cherry hot red, then slightly tighten then slightly loosen all the while doing this in patient repeatable fashion. Curious though, why did you find the need to pull the harmonic balancer off to change the water pump ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buick5563 Posted April 22, 2016 Share Posted April 22, 2016 7 hours ago, buick man said: …. Usually heat bolt to cherry hot red, then slightly tighten then slightly loosen all the while doing this in patient repeatable fashion. Curious though, why did you find the need to pull the harmonic balancer off to change the water pump ? I imagine one of the bolts was in (behind) the timing chain cover meaning he had to remove the cover and balancer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Stoneberg Posted April 22, 2016 Author Share Posted April 22, 2016 Mike is correct, the bolts that broke went through the water pump and timing cover and into the block. hey were both rusted big time. One was almost welded to the timing cover. Heat and PB Blaster finally loosened them up. I was happy because Iw as not wanting to rill any of them out. That would be a serious PITA. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60FlatTop Posted April 22, 2016 Share Posted April 22, 2016 The 1/4-20 cap screws that seal the flange of the pump snap off pretty easily.The reaction between them and the aluminum cover is aggressive. In the mid '80's when I did my Riviera the first time I replaced the stand grade with grade 8 black Allen head screws. Those screws are a little more resistant to corrosion. They are still in the Riviera. The '60 had no corrosion and the screws had a light oily coat. I didn't change them. I also have a Heli-coiled and freshly painted timing chain cover hanging on the wall; a Murphy's Law part. Since the topic came up I wouldn't be opposed to take a few minutes and loosen and lube those 1/4" bolts just for GP. It's been ten years. I do stuff like that sometimes. Bernie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Stoneberg Posted April 22, 2016 Author Share Posted April 22, 2016 Good plan Bernie, The little bolts came off fine, though I noticed one had been broken at another point in time. I use Anti-sieze on all the bolts when I redid my Rivera and when I had to take it apart again, I had no issues. Obviously, that was not done to this cover. But this gives me chance to do some painting and cleaning which was not in my original plans. Hope to meet you in Allentown and see your FlatTop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60FlatTop Posted April 23, 2016 Share Posted April 23, 2016 When I changed the pump on my '60 I painted the crossmember with satin black ValSpar polyurethane. I like that paint a lot. While the radiator was out I had it checked and cleaned. I gave the radiator shop a blank check but they said the core was fine. When they painted the radiator I requested the heat transfer paint only on the tanks and core. They did the brackets with the urethane so they have the satin finish they came with. I also had the "Don't stick your fingers in the fan" decal copied and made by a sign shop. It came out looking like no one had touched it. My whole life is a series of "not in my original plan"! Bernie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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