Hello All,
I am looking to replace the water pump on my 2004 Super V8, but I am concerned about the bolts shearing off when I attempt to undo them, does anyone have any experience replacing the pump or able to offer any advice to prevent the bolts from shearing?

 

I replaced mine just recently and had no problem whatsoever.

My new pump had a metal impeller as opposed to plastic on my old one.

 

Some pumps are like the OE design - a one piece pump with the factory type steel and rubber laminate gasket. They look like the one in the photo. Cheap replacements use a paper gasket and are of a two piece design. I've had premature failures of the two piece types and particularly the paper gaskets. I used an ACDelco pump recently that was of the proper design.