I messed up!

[amillion]

So, my 40 gal electric water heater blew the fuse last night. I flipped it back on and it didn't work. So I started researching, and came across a reset button, pushed it, still no heat. Then I tried turning down the Thermostat, did the bottom elemant, then went to do the top one. Well, little did I know, my model don't have a top element. So as I was unscrewing the 4 bolt cover (that went straight to the tank), and water started spraying everywhere! Didn't have time to worry about screwing the bolts back in corner to corner slowly. Well, I guess I should've! Now the top right bolt won't screw down all the way, and of course with the shut off vavle on, water leaks right through it down to the lower element. So I've drained the tank, everythings off, and my faucet is still on but no water. Do I leave the faucet open till I fix it, or is it too late for that? The 4 bolt cover? Is it permanatly stripped? How can I fix it? Also it didn't have a gasket, should it? What are the part names so I can get the right one? Do they sell 4 bolt covers w/o that hole in the middle? My last question, did I just screw up irreverably (please say no)? I'll be waiting with my faucet on, Thank You for taking the time to help.

[amillion]

Wonder why every single other question in this forum has an answer? :wall: Is everyone just trying to be nice and not tell me I need a new one? What if I just buy a new element for the bottom, and use the old one to fill in the hole at the top? It's been 3 days now, can anyone at least tell me if I can turn off my hot water faucet yet? Will stand by. Thanks! :coffee:

[Ejbogusch]

Amillion what I would do is to make sure the water is turned off at the heater. If the water does not turn off 100% from the heater's inlet valve then turn off your home's main shut off. Make sure the power is off to your heater before you do this. Then you have to drain the water from the heater.

Check the condition of the elements, replace if needed. Then you need to remove the blank element cover that is leaking, Clean out the bolt threads and replace the bolts and gasket/o-ring. If you haven't discovered what tripped your breaker originally then you need to inspect the wiring in the heater to see what caused the short. This is a lot of things to do and I guess that is why nobody posted an answer. With all respect if you are confused what is what maybe calling a plumber would be more prudent.