Water pump, quick (ok long) question

[555Ron]

Hi,

a few months ago i installed an aftermarket waterpump. After completing installation i find i have folded the bottom of the gasket near the belt tensioner. Ok, no worries. Back to store, ask for another gasket. "Ohh, we don't sell them, we only sell pumps" Can't you just take a gasket out of one of the pumps and ask the supplier to give you another one... "No".

 

Ok, over to Subaru for a gasket. Installed it, but now i find coolant dripping from the covers. I've removed the two sides but i don't have a socket to fit the main crank pulley to get the middle cover off which obscures the view. When i reinstalled the gasket, i used a gasket remover but it wasn't perfect. Should a get some sand paper and smooth it out. I mean, it was pretty darn good. The other thing i did was not tighten the bolts too much, maybe that? Or dirt has become trapped in the gasket...?

 

The other thing i thought was maybe the pump doesn't quite fit the gasket (I can see the gasket poking out above the pump), as it doesn't fit in with the timing covers. I am very seriously considering buying a genuine Subaru pump. I am a little pissed at the mob who sold me the other pump.

[redskin]

Ron, did you use sealant when installing the gasket? It may well be loose bolts if you didn't tighten them to much as the alloy of the block will expand as the engine heats up and if these bolts are loose they can become more loose due to the different expansion rates, you should be torqueing these down to factory specs. You can also buy gasket paper in different thicknesses from your local auto shop so make your own gasket by tracing and cutting, good luck.

[azsubaru]

Subaru gasket, aftermarket pump? - could be a mismatch, although unlikely.

 

I agree with redskin on the fix.

[KStretch55]

Another method that works very well for intricate gaskets is to lay the gasket material (cardboard, cork, etc.) over the part hold it tightly in place (small parts like thermostat housing can be done with just your hands, but something like a water pump may require some spring clamps or something), then tap around all the edges of the part with a small ballpeen hammer. Take your time and be careful, don't tap so hard that you ding the part. Just hard enough to cut the gasket material. With a bit of practice you can make an exact outline of all the little nooks and crannies.

 

Definitely use gasket sealer on a water pump and be sure to properly torque the bolts.

[MilesFox]

make sure the weep hole isnt dripping. seen re-man do it right out of the box. jb weld after 2 gaskets

[idosubaru]

put some sealant....sure-tac or something, cant' recall what it's called. something made for water pump type gaskets. no need to slop it on. the sealant will help keep the gasket in place as well and keep it from folding over or mis-aligning.

 

water pump bolts can be very dirty and caked with oil, dirt, old sealant...etc so i'd make sure they and the bolts holes are clean and torque them down to the specs. that could very well be your issue.

 

i have bought aftermarket water pump gasket individually before. www.thepartsbin.com i believe sells them for some applications.

[555Ron]

Thanks guys. I'll do it at home this time and know where everything is, give the bolts a thorough clean up unlike last time.

 

I've got an old school torque wrench, i'll give it a whirl. I'm using loctite aviation gasket sealer on the gasket. I'll get the inner cover off tomorrow and see whats happening. I'm a little concerned it might be the HG where the water is coming from.

[Marck]

DO NOT TORQUE THE WATER PUMP BOLTS!!

 

Listen, get a genuine Subaru gasket, use Blue RTV Sealant or aviation sealant, and get some brand new waterpump bolts. When you tighten the bolts down, just tighen them down by feel in a criss cross patern. If you use a torque wrench, you are almost guaranteed a broken or stripped bolt or even worse a stripped bolt hole in the block. Then you will be starting a new thread about helicoils. I speak from experience. I tried to torque these bolts to spec given by the Haynes manual (cause torque specs for these bolts are not even given in the Factory Service Manual) using a 3/8 torque wrench and one of the bolts snaped. I got lucky that enough of the bolt was sticking out of the block to carefully unscrew it with a pair of needle nose pliers. I learned that the FSM doesn't give torque spes for these bolts for a reason.