Hey Folks, I have a weird issue here putting the pump back on my 240. This time (so far) I have no leaks, but the issue I have are the bolts themselves. I put Permatex Thread Sealant with PTFE on the bolts, tightened hand-tight, then tried to torque them. All bolts I can only get to about 15ftlbs with my old needle-style wrench, and past that it feels like they all want to keep on turning. I removed the top bolt, cleaned all the sealant off, and threaded it in and it bit in like a normal bolt. To be on the safe side, I tried another waterpump bolt from a previous job, and it had the same result when putting on sealer. All bolts seemed to look just fine when I installed them, and they were removed just to deal with a leaky gasket while doing the timing belt and cam seal.

I rolled my cam seal somehow when installing nearly a week ago, and parts are coming tomorrow. The car has been stuck taken apart here since Wednesday, and it's my only car.

 

I'm curious as to why put sealant on those bolts? When the pumps were put on during engine assembly Volvo did not use any sealant or locktight - because it's not needed in that application. (the water pump gasket keeps coolant from being able to get near the threads)

 

Interesting. I actually don’t know where I got that info from, it’s just scribbled into my repair manual off to the side but it’s in my handwriting. Last couple times I’ve done this pump I used it as well.

Should I clean it all off and reinstall the bolts dry, or use maybe a little blue lock tight? That’s in my notes as well.

 

My shop has probably installed thousands of those b21/23/230 water pumps - When I would install them I would rub the gasket with silicone (rtv) and install the new bolts dry. (I'd rub the top seal with silicone also - made me feel better or perhaps slide in easier.)

 

I would consider getting a bottom tap and tap the holes just to make sure they are clean. Also try to clean out and of the sealant you used as this could be a problem with blind holes.