94 Deville - Water Pump stripped bolt and stud issue
 

I have a 1994 Cadillac Deville 4.9 although, some of this information likely won’t matter to you, and maybe it will be useful in helping me here. It’s the FWD sideways engine.

I started off with a typical water pump exchange. At the time I was having a problem getting any help because of extenuating cir***stances … so the person who helped me spent half the day on the removal and almost the same on replacement.
He didn’t look up the amount of pressure that needed to be put on so likely that’s why what happened happens.
The pump of course was not secure enough and still leaked because it appears one screw was stripped.
I took it off (I had the next few days off work) and attempted to put better gasket sealant on it (the pump) thinking that’s why the leak was still near the bottom. When I put the pump back on I noticed immediately the stripped bolt. At this point a stud also got stripped. This bolt and stud are the exact same size in thread. I do not know the size though and I would like to know these sizes for reference purposes if someone has this answer.
So the stud stripped … I put JB Wield as I was advised that this would hold the 10 – 15lb of pressure a stud would need. Well, you guessed it … it didn’t work. And, another stud stripped.
So, now I have 2 stripped out studs (they have a cap looking thing at the end of it) and 1 stripped hole ( for the bolt ) …. I guess the advice here that I need is this … what size up in tap should I go ( I have a ¼-20 and bolts but, since everything is metric in the area I should keep it that way eh? ) … if you think I should drill before I tap please tell me what kind of drill to use because my 90 degree accessory and 3 90 degree drills will not fit ( yes I have already attempted in case I decided to go ahead with the ¼-20 bolts). I will try to come up with some pictures if it will help – hopefully I was descriptive enough. Thanks in advanced for ANY advice – I have been without a car 2 ½ weeks and we only have this car – so yeah…
-Brian

Not sure I understand where the stud or threaded holes are that are stripped. The places that usually strip are where the pump bolts up to the rad hose housing.
If that is the case, you might try a self-tapping, larger sized bolt for the threaded hole that is stripped. In some cases, you can get to the rear of it, and add a nut to the bolt.
As far as the studs...I'm just not clear on which ones are stripped. Can you get a pic?