Engine Assembly: Water Pump

I noticed a small problem with my oil pan: the threads were pretty much gone from the drain plug hole. I do not want to risk it opening during driving so I'll have to fix it before installing the pan. Perhaps by welding a nut to the inside of the pan.

I let the pan wait and installed the water pump in stead. It had a small problem too. I had opened the back plate to inspect the insides but it seemed that the gasket there was not included in any of my kits. Neither is it included in my friends "complete engine gasket set" so I had to visit the parts store to get it. Just remember to get it separately if you plan to open the pump...

To seal the back plate to my cast iron pump, I spread some Hylomar on the gasket surface...

...placed the gasget on it and added more Hylomar to the other side...

...and installed the back plate. To make sure it was located correctly and to give the sealer time to dry, I added a bunch of bolts and tightened them to squeeze the gasket in.

After letting the back plate settle, I removed the bolts and installed the rear gasket. It had to only seal the water passages so I added Hylomar around them and set the gasket on it.

Finally I placed the pump on the front cover and located it with the bolts. I used new locking washers on all and torqued them to 15 ft-lbs. Pump installation done!