Hello everyone,

Please forgive me if this is a tardy mistake as this is my first project. I am removing the water pump on my 89 FC3S and have rounded the bolts. According to the Hayne's manual, you must keep the belts on so as to prevent the pump from spinning whilst removing the bolts, however, mine spins anyway (?). I was wondering if anybody has another method that they have used/would try using to get them off. On other cars, I have seen a bolt in the middle of the fan but behind the metal strip in Image 1, it appears to be round. I am replacing the fan anyway, so can cut through it and drill them out if need be - that's my next plan.

All suggestions are welcome, I appreciate your answers & time! Thankyou!

Please see pictures below:

 

Hi guys,

Just tried it again but there's no way I'm getting them off without a 3-inch grinder and substantial mess. Can anyone please recommend me a method of removing them without complete destruction?

Thankyou

 

oh i don't know, i'd try vice grip pliers.

 

Small visegrips or maybe try one of these...
https://www.inspireuplift.com/Damage...945473e6936208


Cutting them off might require a new pulley.

And grasping the obvious, I might invest in hex-end wrenches and hex sockets for the future.

 

First off I only have experience on the S4 water pump which is slightly different, so this might not be fully applicable. The water pump itself should not spin when you try removing the rounded bolts, the fan will spin mostly freely however. For an alternative way of keeping it in place you can insert a bar between two bolts you are not working on and holding it with that, works fairly well but you most probably need a pair of helping hands to hold it.
Did you try using a short rounded nut remover? There is very limited space to properly put it on but it might be possible. Another alternative that would work just fine on the S4: grind off the nuts, the four bolts that hold the fan are just four bolts, nothing super special. I suspect the S5 is the same but you might want to wait for confirmation. Afterwards you can slide the fan off, get the 4 bolts out that hold the pulley, which reveals the 4 bolts that you can then replace if needed.

 

Thankyou very much everyone, sorry for the newbie question!