Hi yall I bought me a 2007 jk rubicon from Idaho falls two weeks ago the previous owner told me the water pump weeps. He gave me a new one in the box with the purchase of his JK. Anyways today I got around to replacing weeping water pump, and broke two of the water pump bolts. After watching you tube University. I found if you hammer a socket onto broken bolt shaft add a little heat than it comes right out. My question is why not go back together with water pump studs not bolts? Than in the future of ever doing this again which it will need to be replaced again. Just remove nuts instead of the possibility of breaking bolts off again. Has anyone tried this? Pros cons? Am I dumb in thinking this will work let me know please!

 

I have replaced bolts with studs on many other things before, usually when the bolt screws into aluminum because I get concerned that over time the aluminum threads are weakened. Of course it works, just be sure there is enough room to pull the part over the studs without hitting something before it clears the studs. I like studs, among other things they are great for aligning gaskets
If you install studs I’d put them in with Loctite, if you use red Loctite it may require excessive force or require heat to remove so I usually use blue myself. If you don’t use Loctite often the stud starts coming out and then effectively you have a bolt.
Don’t use SS studs, often SS is weaker than regular steel. Grade 8 is probably overkill and if you snap one grade 8 is tough to drill

There are many ways to remove broken bolts, if your lucky enough for some bolt still sticking out I usually use a vise grip, heat and penetrating oil is good, work it back and forth to get it loose, sometimes tightening slightly works, just be careful not to break it off flush. Penetrating oil takes time like hours, I like PB blaster but a half and half mix of acetone and auto transmission oil supposedly is the best.
Be VERY careful with easy outs, if you snap one of those off you have a real mess, nothing I have found can drill out an Easy out and easy outs are so hard they are brittle.
Oh and a tiny bit of anti-seize on the stud threads will help prevent them from rusting over the years and ensure easy removal. Anti-seize on the outside threads, the ones that go in the engine get Loctite.