I have a clutch fan and one of the bolts from the clutch to the pump are rounded off.. because of the shape I don't know how to get to it to remove the bolt.

I'm thinking it would be easier to just remove the water pump, is it possible with the fan still attached?

edit:

and are the aftermarket pumps from AutoZone any good? I know some of this aftermarket stuff if junk compared to what's on the truck already.. you can get one for like, $19..

or is it worth it buying a performance pump? I've noticed water flow is sorta weak in this truck, but I'm not sure if I'm expecting something I shouldn't.

 

It should come out without removing the fan. I haven't had any trouble with Auto Zome pumps. I got a new aluminum high volume pump off ebay & it was a lot cheeper than Summit, Jegs sells any brand for. It did make a difference in the cooling system, but you should get a high flow thermostat to go with it as well.

 

I believe one ot the bolts will be blocked by the water pump pulley.

 

if that's the case, any tips on getting the rounded bolt out? it's the clutch to pully bolt, so I have almost no clearance.

 

Are you talking about 1 of the 4 small (1/2" IIRC) bolts? If so, a vise grips might get to it. If yer talking about the gigantic nut, it's left hand thread.

 

The pump will come off with the fan on, just went out and looked one over, no problem.

 

im having a bit of trouble with one bolt, for the alternator bracket.. it's slipping with my 3/8 wrench and im going to end up rounding it off..

was able to get most of the bolts though.. going ot check it over tomorrow in the daylight to see if I can get that one. I didn't think the bracket bolts would hold the pump in, but the lower one went straight through to the block.

and I tried vice grips today, it's not going to get the bolt.. I wish they had a wrench sort of like those bolt removers I could hammer onto the bolt. I might even try a smaller wrench like a 3/8s to see if I can grab onto it. I'm still going to have to worry about it once I get the pump off, would rather not have to cut the clutch to get to my pristine 7 blade fan.

 

1/2" bolt head, next size down is a 12mm...Sometimes it works hammering it on. 3/8" bolt head, next size down is a 9mm. a 6 pt. wrench is better than a 12 pt. and a flare nut wrench is better yet.

 

flare nut wrench? I had no idea such a thing existed.. it definitely would have worked prior to me rounding it off completely with the vice grips.

I really am new to all of this. A lot of the problems I'm running into are because I'm inexperienced.. i'm a fast learned, but I've had a lot of 'first' problems with different things and it's taken me a long time to figure some of it it out. Broken bolt head, rounded bolt in a hard to reach position, rust-welded bolts, etc.

 

Hey uh, how will I know if my pump is worn when I pull it? I can't do the $140 Edelbrock right now but I will buy a new $30 OEM spec from AutoZone if I need to, even if it might be 90% the flow it should be.. I don't want to replace it for no reason though