93lt1M6z

so i am about to sell my car on the fact for the last 2 weeks i have had nothin but problems. i FINALLY got my ignition right with a new opti from parts lady. problem is....i put a new water pump in while i was doing everything. it idled for 15 minutes after i was done...was fine. drove it to work in the morn...was fine. driving to lunch i blew the passanger side gasket. i thought maybe i screwed up and it slipped while i was putting it in. put in another set last night....drove 60 miles after wards. was fine. today...blew the damn gasket again. i have been using felpro. anybody have bad luck with em? i have to pull the pump again and make sure it aint warped or nothin where it mounts

ss.slp.ls1

iTrader: (36)

I have done the opti/water pump replacement many times, on many cars. I have always used the Felpro gaskets, no sealer, torqued to 30ft.lbs and have never had any problems. Something is wrong if you are blowing gaskets. Are you thoroughly cleaning the gasket surface before you put the new gaskets on? Are you using blue thread locker on the wp bolts?

93lt1M6z

im not using the locktight..never have...and never had this issue. yes it is clean...had to other techs at my shop look at it and verified. i have done this a number of times as well and never had this issue. I am using a sealer on the gasket putting it in. i forget the name but my boss told me to use it. used it on a customers LT1 and no problems. its weird.

ss.slp.ls1

iTrader: (36)

Well there might be a chance that your sealing surface of you WP is warped. The only thing I would try next is to use a different water pump.

93lt1M6z

that was my thought. im going to try that next week. figured i would see if i can tell my putting a flat edge on it.

I8ASaleen

iTrader: (9)

It never hurts to put some RTV on the backside of the gasket to the mating surface b/c sometimes if there is a warp it will compensate for it.

93lt1M6z

i was using a sealer similar to it when i installed it both times

shbox

You don't use Loctite, you use thread sealant.

multmigs

iTrader: (2)

This is the correct info, maybe the leaking is actually coming from the bolt holes first not the gasket. you should be using the white thread sealer similar to the stuff the plumbers use, if you look at any bolts that go into water jackets as supplied by GM they come precoated in this stuff for obvious reasons. I'd take a good look at the 6 bolts you have, make sure they aren't rusted away in the thread areas, this could cause a leak also BTW, clean them up with a wire brush and then use a good amount of the sealer on them and reinstall. The idea of checking the waterpump straightness is a good 1 also, and of course take a good look at the block surfaces make sure there isn't any old leftover gasket material or something else on there.

RamAir95TA

iTrader: (2)

multimigs is absolutely correct.

Run the stock water pump bolts through a wire wheel, clean them up good, and coat the threads with thread sealant. The bolts extend into the water jacket and WILL leak without it.

I've never seen a warped water pump flange. The stock waterpump is a beefy piece, especially where it mounts to the block. I've always installed my gaskets dry and never had a problem. Just make sure both gasket surfaces are squeaky clean.

Smokinlt1

I've always used RTV on both sides of the gaskets. Instead of using thread sealer I just the RTV I have left over on the bolts and have never had a comeback at the shop. I will also say that we use Ultra Black RTV regardless if the gaskets come with the little tube of RTV. That crap they send with the gasket just gets tossed in the trash. I'm not saying that we use the correct technical procedure, just pointing out another method.

shbox

RTV is not a good thing to put on bolt threads that go into coolant passages. Any excess RTV can get into the cooling system and cause clogs, because it does not break down. Use the right thing-thread sealant.

I8ASaleen

iTrader: (9)

Holy crap, when I get my car back I hafta coat the threads on these bolts! I just cleaned them up and slapped them back in. Oh well, it doesn't even run for more than 5 mins. where it's at anyway.

Smokinlt1

That would be true if you put on too much, I just dap a little on the bolts then spin the bolt on my fingers to get rid of the excess RTV. Good catch, I should have been more descriptive.

multmigs

iTrader: (2)

This is 100% correct, take any engine building classes and this is in the textbooks....

And if you read the directions that come on the FELPRO gasket set for water pumps or intake manifolds it clearly states to install dry gaskets on a cleaned surface. The best thing out there for this problem is the 3M red scrubby disks that you use on a drill.... takes everything off in 2 mins follow with some brake clean on a rag and ur done...