snoz

I would like to install my water pump today. I've been cleaning the mating surface of the block for a bit now. There are some marks left by the previous gasket that are difficult to remove. The surface is smooth to the touch. I've been using a Dremel with a cup wire brush on it today. I'm afraid if I try to remove the remaining marks I'll do damage to the block. Let me know what you think.

GlenL

Not sure about "enough" but I'd get the face where the gasket set all shiny. There'll be discolored pits in the metal but there should be no gasket or sealant stuck to the metal when putting the new pump on.

Careful razor work followed by a scotchbrite pad with lacquer thinner does the trick.

dr bob

Reason number one not to use any gasket sealer on the engine side of the water pump gasket.


There are some spray gasket remover products that help a lot with situations like this. I've never used them though. I do keep ScotchBrite kitchen sponges in the cleaning products bin in the garage. K is always 'borrowing' new ones from my utility sink and replacing them with used-up stinky versions from the kitchen, though. Anyway, the sponge sits under my hand-cleaner dispenser that I keep filled with Dawn dishwashing detergent, So when I need to clean something I have the sponge with dribbles of detergent already infused. Add water., and go to town on whatever the project might be. Like your water pump gasket face there. It doesn't take much work if you can get to it before you use any Dremel brushes or wheels on the old gasket. The wheels are a great idea if you are darn sure you will be able to get everything off. Otherwise, the heat just melts the remaining stuff and welds it to the aluminum gasket face. I'd go after that surface with the Scotchbrite sponge for a bit, working to void scratching the aluminum any more than necessary.

928 at last

The Permatex Gasket Remover worked well for me last time around.

Adamant1971

+1, and some light sanding. That is not clean enough.

snoz

Thanks for the info. I was getting nowhere with the Dremel. I had tried Scotchbrite pads before but not with lacquer thinner. That really seemed to do the trick. I'm not quite done cleaning yet, but this is much closer than I was.

GlenL

Almost there!

BTW - There are a lot of Scotchbrite pads available. Those pads borrowed from the wife probably aren't the coarsest available. I know the ones I get nest to the sandpaper display are much coarser than what's by the sink..

Mongo

I think as long as the surfaces are smooth, you should be fine installing the gasket. I have never put a pump gasket on dry and have always used a MINIMAL AMOUNT OF SEALANT. No leaks ever...

dr bob

I **ALWAYS** put them on dry, and don't have leaks or the deposits that these pictures show. My issues with putting sealants on the pump gasket are exactly the ones these pictures show. I don't ever want to have to scrape or sand or grind on the machined sealing face to get a gasket surface clean again. Once a surface is gouged by an errant scraper or scratched by a razor blade, you are doomed to using sealant there forever. Keep it clean and smooth, and you can fit a factory gasket there as was done by Hans and Fritz originally, no worries.

If you feel you MUST use a sealant, choose a non-hardening product like Hylomar or Honda/Yama/Kawa/Sead-DooBond. Otherwise the only way to get the pump off again is to split the gasket as you try and pry the pump off the locating pins. That leaves you with half a gasket glued to the block and half still glued to the pump casting. Scrape and grind to get it off? Too much fun for me. At least with non-hardening sealants you stand a chance of cleaning the block faces without resorting to tools that might damage the sealing surfaces.

My too sense. I've done a few water pump replacements on delicate/expensive blocks, with no issues when assembled clean and dry with the correct gasket, and careful use of the torque wrench on the bolts to avoid warpng the pump casting or squishing the gasket unevenly.