Reassembly issue w p/s pump

I finally received pretty much the only remaining 6 in long top mounting bolts for sale anywhere.

It threads through the entire 5.5 in channel and then gets a support bracket and nut to secure it.

I can thread it in by hand about 3 inches in. It gets tight fast and tighter as I ratchet it, hoping it's a rough patch.
Nope.
Have to ratchet it almost all the way out.
Matching die shows no damage to the bolt threads.

It doesn't seem physically possible to cross thread a fastener or the hole 50% of the way in. The only thing I can think is that someone put a mess of loctite in there and that it is solid as a rock.

I did not see any colored remnants when I backed the bolt out but then again I didn't get very far into where it would have been.

What dissolves loctite?
Brake cleaner?

I really don't want to have to disconnect the pump from the car and drain the system and put this in a vice to try to run a mega long tap I don't own through to cut out whatever it is in the threads.

Or can I use a combination of heat and a suitable solvent or extraction method to melt it and get it out, maybe even just by doing it on a 45° angle?

No, I am not going to heat it with a torch while spraying brake cleaner....

Advice?

Thanks

 

I would just try some heat first, derf. Any type of solvent may be flammable. Do you have a short bolt with the same thread? If so, remove what's in the way (if possible) take your torch and heat the hole and then try running the shorter bolt in. Just take your time. If it starts to bind, back it out and use some more heat.

 

Thank you sir.
Since this is a through hole, I'm going to check with the same bolt from the other end. If it won't thread I'll know it's buggered. It's only threaded at the far end for attaching a support brace over it and then a ock nut. But the hole is threaded all the way through to ensure it remains centered when it comes out the other end and you tighten it down with the nut. Don't know if I can find a long enough matching thread bolt at home but that's what home Depot is for. I can buy a used pump off eBay but I assume the seal will be bad from having been used and then dried out for who knows how long so then I'll be rebuilding the pump. Not hard, just more aggravation. Knowing it's threaded all the way through, I may get the longest bolt I can that matches the buggered threads and have it supported from just the support bracket end. I don't think it will move around given the heft of that bracket, and the threads should keep things somewhat aligned. There is another beefy bracket at the bottom that bolts in through the pump so I should be okay if I have to half-*** this.

I looked down through the hole and passed the thin screwdriver all the way through. There's nothing in there except ****ed up threads I do believe. It was a bitch to get out. Now I know why. That is a super strength bolt so maybe it can withstand the obscene torque that would be necessary to fight it through those threads, but I did pretty much zero damage to it trying to get it through the beginning of the messed up threads so who knows. I would have thought it would have cut new threads for itself the equivalent of uncross threading, but if it is still on steel as in hardened steel, maybe not.

Out to the garage

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood

I really do like finally getting under the hood and doing something significant. I know I bitch a lot but I'm a very high strong guy and a perfectionist so when I don't approach things intelligently I bash myself, and when simple things go awry, the frustration level rises too quickly and I have to fight to keep thinking rationally. That's the difference between someone who does this for a living and a DIY person like me. Keeping your cool and focus and energy on solving the issue instead of wasting it on frustration and self-criticism.
That's part of the reason I like it so much. It forces me to operate in a different mental mode. I can't say I'm anywhere near there yet, but I have gotten better.

Enough sermonizing.

You guys are an invaluable part of my life.

 

I do not understand why the entire length would be treaded. Are you sure that it is not threaded at each end? Is this a stud that screws into the head? I looked up SC2 power steering pumps and brackets and cannot find any good pictures that describe what you are dealing with. Looks like it mounts behind the head near the intake manifold.

 

There is the pump, the pump bracket to which the pump is mounted and the pump itself. In addition to the above there is an upper and lower support that attach to the pump at the top and the underside of the bracket at the bottom.

The bolt I am discussing is the one at the very top, 12:00. It is several inches long and goes through the bracket, through the pump, out the other side, where the remaining threaded end passes through a slot in the top support. A lock nut is them put on the threaded end of the end of said bolt. The other end of the brace bolts to the manifold.

Only the very end of this very long bolt is threaded.
Indeed you would think it would just slide through but it does not. The entire length of that opening which is part of the power steering pump assembly is threaded.
When I initially posted, I thought the issue was that the threads inside that though hole were clogged with loctite or similar.

I have since determined that the boat itself was defectively threaded. The threaded portion would not pass through an 8 mm 1.25 die. All of the other power steering bolts do. It was not even close to 1.5 nor another size.

I I verified that at least at the ends of the through hole that a properly manufactured 8 mm 1.25 thread bolt went in as far as it could simply by hand.

I then ran a long bolt, with the threads just at the end, through the 8 mm 1.25 die. I was able to clean up the threads rather easily. I think they were off pitch. The only place this was not true was at the very tip.
I took the long bolt and tried to install it again. It went much much further by hand but then started to bind up. I stopped and backed it out to find that the end was now missing The ridges of what used to be the first few threads.

Hi then ran the long bolt through the die again. Threats were roughed up a bit but the end was a mess and there was nothing left to thread.

I'm betting they planned to use fully threaded bolt but then did not. So they were left with the threads in the power steering pump but still had to get the threaded end through the hole. Which means threading it all the way through the hole.

So now I am left with tapering the end of the bolt so that the missing threads cease to become an issue. If it still won't thread all the way through, then somebody wrecked those internal threads and they'll have to get another pump. As far as I know I purchased the last top long bolt available.

 

There is the pump, the pump bracket to which the pump is mounted and the pump itself. In addition to the above there is an upper and lower support that attach to the pump at the top and the underside of the bracket at the bottom.

The bolt I am discussing is the one at the very top, 12:00. It is several inches long and goes through the bracket, through the pump, out the other side, where the remaining threaded end passes through a slot in the top support. A lock nut is them put on the threaded end of the end of said bolt. The other end of the brace bolts to the manifold.

Only the very end of this very long bolt is threaded.
Indeed you would think it would just slide through but it does not. The entire length of that opening which is part of the power steering pump assembly is threaded.
When I initially posted, I thought the issue was that the threads inside that though hole were clogged with loctite or similar.

I have since determined that the boat itself was defectively threaded. The threaded portion would not pass through an 8 mm 1.25 die. All of the other power steering bolts do. It was not even close to 1.5 nor another size.

I I verified that at least at the ends of the through hole that a properly manufactured 8 mm 1.25 thread bolt went in as far as it could simply by hand.

I then ran a long bolt, with the threads just at the end, through the 8 mm 1.25 die. I was able to clean up the threads rather easily. I think they were off pitch. The only place this was not true was at the very tip.
I took the long bolt and tried to install it again. It went much much further by hand but then started to bind up. I stopped and backed it out to find that the end was now missing The ridges of what used to be the first few threads.

Hi then ran the long bolt through the die again. Threats were roughed up a bit but the end was a mess and there was nothing left to thread.

I'm betting they planned to use fully threaded bolt but then did not. So they were left with the threads in the power steering pump but still had to get the threaded end through the hole. Which means threading it all the way through the hole.

So now I am left with tapering the end of the bolt so that the missing threads cease to become an issue. If it still won't thread all the way through, then somebody wrecked those internal threads and they'll have to get another pump. As far as I know I purchased the last top long bolt available.

 

Check the bracket where the bolt goes through on the backside and make sure it's not slightly off center, derf. MAYBE that's what effed up the threads on the end? I'd offer to run to the junkyard for you, but that's a 150 mile round trip for me to the closest Pull-A-Part. And traffic in Birmingham SUCKS. Maybe if you needed some other parts to go with it, I'd make the trip for you. Put on your thinking cap, but make sure it's small stuff that I can ship to you. I really don't mind making the trip because I love junkyards, but I have to be able to justify being gone all day to the Mrs. They don't show any 95's in the yard, but they do have a 93 sedan, five speed. Would that be the same p/s pump? Do you know if the SOHC and DOHC use the same pump? They have a 99 and a couple of 2003's. Not many Saturns in that yard at all. Unfortunately, they don't mention whether or not the 1.9 is an SOHC or DOHC. All they say is 1.9 engine.

 

Is this what you are dealing with?

 

Thank you for the offer, Rube.

The real issue here is that the bolt needs to be threaded its full length to make it through the entire passageway and out the other end.

The original bolt is somewhere in my ****ing garage behind something, inside something. I'd be done two weeks ago if I hadn't misplaced it. Pretty funny cuz I have all the other bolts for the power steering.

I did more reading on the internet and apparently the replacement bolt not being correct for the application is a known issue. The pump maker kept changing the design back and forth so for some pumps, the bolt I bought is fine. For pumps with full threading, it is not.

I added three full threads to it this morning before declaring my die worn out.

So I am just going to source an M8 x1.25 x however long and use that. High strength bolt of course.

Too long for home Depot etc. I think dorman makes them for Napa under private label but I'm sure I can find them at a place like tractor supply or McMaster carr.

Other peoples' solutions involve taking off the pump, putting it on a drill press or in a vice, and drilling out the threads so that it is a non-issue.

I'm sure I'll find the bolt in about 6 months inside my bin of Ford parts whose lip was slightly open when I had the parts sitting on top of it. You know that sounds really perfect. I'm going to go look in that bin.

Anyway, time to order and wait or drive and seek.

Thanks again for your offer.

 

Look at this picture, the pump appears to be threaded from both sides not all the way through. If the bolt only clamps the assembly together. I would remove the threads that are not needed in the pump. This would simplify assembly and you could use a grade 8 SAE bolt. 8 mm and 5/16 are very close in size. Zoom the picture to see the bolt holes.