22re water pump gasket BITCH

[deutschman]

Yeah I'm going to do it dry. I have never liked the rtv way.
Last time I did it I must have not cleaned and dried all the surfaces well enough. There is one spot that is very hard to get to and that's the spot that is leaking.
I'll just take more time doing it this time I guess.
Could I use a very flat object and put some very light grit sandpaper on it to kind of clean the surfaces on the block a bit better? Just very light pressure.

[deutschman]

Yeah I'm going to do it dry. I have never liked the rtv way.
Last time I did it I must have not cleaned and dried all the surfaces well enough. There is one spot that is very hard to get to and that's the spot that is leaking.
I'll just take more time doing it this time I guess.
Could I use a very flat object and put some very light grit sandpaper on it to kind of clean the surfaces on the block a bit better? Just very light pressure.

[Stanley Rockafella]

Ok.

There's a reason why a gasket coated in RTV is easy as hell to remove. A paper gasket should need to be scraped off, not peel off. I say again, a properly used paper gasket will out last one that was hacked up with RTV every single time. I'm not a hobbyist mechanic, and I didn't just come up with these thoughts out of thin air. I found out the hard way, even after a few long time mechanics who tought me, told me the same thing and I didn't listen.

I agree tho. I did a w/p on my 97 Escort. Only used the paper gasket and sealed like a charm, despite being partially torn from a failed first attempt. After that it sealed permanently

[marshallnoise]

The Right Stuff. Paper gaskets are a bitch to work with.

[ELVA164]

Maybe there's a scratch in the mating surface? Take a close look and see if everything is clean and level. Sanding shouldn't be necessary but you could use some fine grit soaked in brake clean followed by a non-fuzzy rag. I'm an RTV fan on the race cars but they're also worlds apart from this stuff, so...

[deutschman]

Thanks for all the input guys

[Das Delfin]

I had a 3vze and there's a part on the top end of the cooling system you have to take off to do the timing belt where they say to use blue rtv to seal it, but on the m20 I used only a paper gasket. Just make sure you get the surface absolutely flat with a razor blade, then take a break and go back in again to make sure you didn't miss anything. A blade will pick up on any imperfection but sand paper will only make it harder to remove

[dirty30]

Use Toyota FIPG for the waterpump, throw that paper gasket in the garbage. These 22re motors are too old to get the perfect machine finish needed for that paper gasket to seal right.

[deutschman]

Welp I did all the work today. I think its going to hold. The old paper gasket was stuck to the water pump nicely, but came off the block clean.
So I cleaned the living hell out of both the block and head surfaces. Also the gasket I got wasnt paper but some sort of blue rubbery composite shit.
I also found a small leak on one of the heater hoses, and installed a aftermarket overflow tank because I didnt trust the OEM one.
I think I might finely have the situation under control.
Next is a GM alternator upgrade for some more amps ;)