water pump seal

int77345

int77345

Active member
Any one ever have trouble getting a napa water pump to seal perfect on a 345. To me the gasket that comes with the pump looks thin and cheep......
 
Water pump gasket thickness determines to a degree, the "clearance" between the impeller and the housing volute. We have much info regarding that subject here on the forum! The oem gasket is a vegetable fiber material (nowadays usually a fiber/rubber composite) with a thickness of a nominal 1/32".

I never use any sealer of any kind on the water pump and gasket combo. But I do use something like pipe dope , permatex #2, or hylomar on the mounting bolt threads to seal the penetrations against coolant leakage which is common.
 
I used the fel-pro gasket from napa, no issues with it leaking.
They were like $2 so I bought a few spares, as they had to order them. They are the thin ones, as micheal pointed out are the correct gasket to use. There blue in color and made of some type of composite paper.
 
Welcome to the krew here dave!

Dave has been in engine cooling hell for a looooong time with a sii he bought new and has been highly upgraded over the years (a fresh 392 is just part of the puzzle). His story nearly perfectly parallels lou's "engine temp" story as I told him on the phone a few days ago! And lou's rig was dam near new when he snaked it back in the stone age!

Dave can tell his own story if he ever hazza mind to...but for now we're just tryin' to make it play nice. Dave's a tekkie/gearhaid too so he follers directions real well and doesn't get impatient. Hopefully he'll have some positive numbers to report soon, but since his rig is snowbound in denver now, he May havta wait for spring runoff to finish the testing.

And he's just verified pump impeller clearance to eliminate one more variable and is using a "custom" pump gasket I sent him for testing purposes.
 
Welcome dave!! I still keep a copy of the FI wiring pdf you made in my Scout in case of troubleshooting is ever needed.
 
Thanks for the welcome guys. Craig, I'm very glad the FI schematic was helpful to you. I consider it part of my "pay it forward" philosophy.

I'm finishing up my flex fan install tomorrow. But now I am re-considering a retrofitted flex mount for the $$$ griffin. Gonna try and get it done with the radiator semi-installed (fool that I probably am).

My gasket sealer(s) are all dried up so I'm sealing the water pump mounting bolts tomorrow (after a trip to the store) and then test for leaks (don't want to be accused of hijacking the thread here). I need to get this cooling chapter closed so I can move to a borgeson steering joint upgrade (Jeff, I'll be calling soon to order).

Its often said, but that still isn't enough, of how super it is to have resources like you 2 and fellows like Jeff, bill usn, and many others for support, advice and experience.

Thanks greatly!!!!
 
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