Well I was giving the 1500 a once over yesterday as I had it in a shop to drain the rear end, This is what I found and I am worried about what this bolt holds? Any ideas? Its a 1995 Dodge Ram 1500 5.2 V8 Magnum. Its on the front of the engine by the way

 

At first I thought water pump, but it looks like an accessory bracket. I can't be sure without looking at mine though and my truck is about ten miles away right now. Have you at least tightened it?

 

I looks as though that picture is taken from the bottom? I went out and took a pic of the bolt I suspect it is, using the donor 360 I have in my garage. That bolt is one that holds the timing cover on the block.

You can see it in the middle of the frame, just below the water pump inlet.



That bolt does need to be tight, but the water pump will actually securely hold that same timing cover in place. If it's not leaking then the gasket probably hasn't even freed itself from the block face.

Just tighten it down and forget about it.

 

Yes its taken from the bottom up. I have not tightened it as of yet as but will be doing so as soon as I can get the garage again if not sooner. Thanks for the replies. What would cause it to back out?

 

That's hard to say. I don't see that kind of thing often but it's possible that engine vibrations can cause that. Another possibility, if you're not the original owner, is that a previous owner performed a little work and just forgot to tighten that bolt.

When you begin the process of tightening it, first see if it's finger loose or if it's really in there good. If a previous owner was at fault, the bolt may be too long, it may be cross threaded...heck there could be a broken bolt under it. Just never know and it's a good idea to investigate as best as you can before you just start torquing it down.

I can pull the one on my donor engine and tell you how long it's supposed to be if you need a reference length.

 

Yeah those water pumps bolts are different lengths. I guess the ones that go back through the timing cover or to the block are longer.

It is not hard to get confused and mess the bolt pattern up.

Unless you have some crazy vibrations that bolt shouldn't come loose. If it was vibrations you probably need to check some other stuff.

 

You can crack a block by putting too long a bolt in the wrong place up there...If the bolt is sticking out and tight it's the wrong bolt.

 

If it is, in fact, the wrong bolt, throw a few washers under the head-- a temporary solution. As for why it backed out (assuming it IS the correct bolt), it was probably not torqued correctly; could have been the previous owner, or a shady mechanic.

Check the FSM for the correct torque value. Autozone rents torque wrenches for free, requiring only a deposit.