Water pump gasket and bolt sealants?

[jcs67stang]

Hello.

Preparing for some garage work this weekend and am looking for some guidance regarding sealants.

1. Water pump and timing chain cover bolts: hi-temp thread sealant, anti seize, etc?
2. oil pan studs into block ... plain old oil, locktite blue, nothing?
3. any bolt going into aluminum ... anti seize?
4. any other recommendations?

Regarding timing cover and water pump gaskets...use gasgacinch on both sides of the gasket, line it up and bolt it down? Use some sort of rtv? Other recommendations?

Thanks!
JC

 

[Horseplay]

Any bolt that is goes into a water jacket should have thread sealant on the threads. Not a silicone sealer. If you have to use one for "added insurance" just put a little on the very top threads under the bolt head. Silicone sealer will take a long time to finally dry where it does not get exposed to the air and is not meant to be used as a thread sealer anyway.

I would recommend blue Loctite for oil pan studs only. Not head or others. There is minimal torque on pan bolts/nuts to make me comfortable they couldn't back out.

Any bolt that goes into aluminum is at risk for corrosion issues. Use a quality copper anti-seize on the bolts.

For the gaskets used in water pump and timing chain cover use a VERY thin layer of a good silicone sealer just around the water ports. As long as the machined surfaces are in good shape a basic gasket is more than capable of sealing the rest of the area off. The silicone is just insurance.

 

[jcs67stang]

Any bolt that goes into aluminum is at risk for corrosion issues. Use a quality copper anti-seize on the bolts.

Thanks Terry. I do have some aluminum anti seize on hand, will that work or does it have to be copper?

 

[Horseplay]

I've always used copper and everyone I know does as well as opposed to aluminum. My head tells me copper is best when the situation has aluminum and steel parts coming together...not exactly sure what it is all based on but likely years of sharing tales and listening to experts. I do know copper best in high heat situations like header bolts into aluminum heads, etc.

 

[Patrick Stapler]

The situation is called faying surfaces of dissimilar metals. You are trying to accomplish two things, sealing, and anti-corrosion...which will lead to leaks. Epoxy primer can actually be used in these applications. Epoxy primer with hardener (activator) can be used for applications where you don’t intend to remove the fastener. It is actually recommended where the use of stainless steel is in contact with aluminum because it also prevents galvanic corrosion. My personal opinion is where regular steel is in contact with steel or aluminum, Permatex Aviation Form-A-Gasket works just fine.