Digging Out Old Mr. Gasket

[gtmax]

Murphys Law 2.67 " The problem bolt hole is always the most difficult to get to." The bottom bolt hole on the timing cover for the water pump is: A, worn to the point of stripped. ,B Filled to the bottom with that nasty silicone insta gasket material. I am farly sure that I have got enough good threads left down near the bottom to use a slightly longer bolt to get to them. So the question is ...How do I get that old silicone out without distressing those old aluminum threads even more? Re tapping is the last resort because really don't want to muck with the crank pulley. Any tricks tips or random thoughts?

Max

[baz]

get some wire (coat hanger will do ) and hammer it flat on the end then bend to 90 deg (mind you fingers it will get hot ) and cut down to 2mm then file the sides sharpish put some more bends in to make a crank and use to ream out the silicon like an old starting crank the edges will let you cut in like a drill and the bend will let you pull bits out

[gtmax]

Sounds very do-able! Thanks I will give it go tonight.

Max