Removing water pump

Keep going. The o-ring in now holding it in place. Don't be scared to give it a few good taps with a plastic hammer to get it the rest of the way out. Just be sure you are coming out square to the housing, else it won't budge.

 

yup long flange. See here for some perspective.
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Squirt a little WD40 around the inside of the flange and try turning it a bit

 

Get the nuts started on the studs, then holding the pump cartridge with one hand, give each of the nuts a few raps in rotation with the plastic hammer, with the main body hanging down.

Pre-loosening with WD-40 as Dave suggested is also a good idea. At some point you'll get some space between the two halves, and you can put plastic spatulas or dry wall mud spreaders in between and use that to help pry them apart further. Make sure you pry in two spots, 180 degrees from each other as Howie said, else it'll get catty-wampus and stuck.

 

While you're at it, check the two electric "helper" water pumps tucked in behind the engine.

One of mine had failed without me knowing it.

 

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/456-550-575/274613-550-waterpump-rebuild.html

 

I don't think it matters! The 355 and 550 have interchangeable pumps iirc. Ferrari sourced parts and pumps all over the map. I have seen 3 different versions of this pump so far and I'm not a proshop. Each of these cars cooled just fine. There are some who believe that our systems are marginal. While I do live and associate most with California cool climate people I am more inclined to believe that those with issues have other system problems often bad radiators. That said I don't live in triple digit ambient temps. Others say their oem systems are in good condition yet marginal in cooling. They have tried simple fixes to gain a few % better cooling without much real success. Sludge and gunk build in radiators and lower cooling efficiency no matter how well they are maintained. Time with fluid in them kill them. There may be very poor headroom in our OEM radiators which may be why some have issues in hot climates and others in cool climates don't. So while you do want good water pump efficiency a couple of vanes are not going to be the cat's meow. What is needed is a superior radiator which has the overhead capacity to survive some years of natural build-up and still cool the car.

 

I agree 100%

 

No. The nuts are nylock.

 

Did you strip the stud in the engine or did you strip the nut on the stud?

To get off take out all nuts. Wedge a spatula between the WP and the engine gently toward the stripped stud. Twist the spatula to put pressure on the WP so it wants to come away from engine and unscrew the stripped stud at the same time. This will encourage the stud to come off. use NO pressure on the rachet toward the engine. You want some pressure to encourage the WP away from the engine and that will bring the stud out.

Then go to Thread kits company and buy the kit to repair the engine side with a timesert.

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If you need help I have been bribed before with chicken wings.

 

It spatula does not work cut the nut off with a cutting disc. Air tool and 2-3" disc and if that does not fit use a dremel and 1" disc. Then WP comes off stud and you can grab stud with vise grips or collet puller and back it out and then heli-coil, timesert etc.

This is a pain but not a disaster. You wrench long enough and you will have to do this one of these days. Sometimes as a newbie you cause the problem sometimes not your fault you inherit the problem. Either way you gotta fix it.

 

Another option is to take a thin blade screwdriver or stout knife. Since stripped you can hammer the blade between the nut and the WP case. It will move because it is stripped. Wedge the nut away from the motor as you unscrew the nut. An air tool really helps because it is fast unscrew and puts less pressure to also turn the stud.

 

Do exactly as fatso says. I would first try as he said, remove all the nuts and apply outward pressure to the pump, while unscrewing the nut. The force Of the body of the pump against the nut will help push the nut over the galled section of the stud. If the stud is pulling, the same thing applies. Repair as stated..not a big deal, don't sweat it.