water pump bolts

i think i may have found the cause of my coolant leak



notice how there is black crud around the spacer on the engine side?

that bolt is as far in as it will go, but the spacer still spins easily, which means to me that the bolt has bottomed out and it is not pressing the gasket against the timing cover

does this hypothesis make sense?

i guess to fix it, i'll have to pull the bolt out and cut about 1/4" off the end.

either that, or get a spacer that is a tiny bit longer, or make spacer a little shorter and put a washer in there to take out the slack.

getting that bolt out is sure to be fun ... there is like no space there, so i'll have to take the fan out ... i sure hope i don't have to take the radiator out ....

whatever i do, i'll have to be careful not to change the orientation of the alternator such that the belt no longer lines up properly.

i'm thinking cutting the threads and making it so it doesn't bottom out is the best approach

yes/no?

well, at lunch today, i took out the fan and the overflow tank and was able to get to the bolt. it came out without incident and i just so happened to have a washer that was EXACTLY the right size so i slipped it on and tightened it all back up. the spacer is now really tight and the bolt has not quite bottomed out.

also, the alignment of the alternator did not change and there is no belt problem.

so far so good ... i haven't seen any dripping yet, and there is no puddle under the car

i may have just saved myself about $250

2 days and 100 miles later, there is still no leaking ...

that must have been it

phew