1991 Buick Park Avenue (standard). 3800 V6.
Repair= took off old water pump and scraped off old gasket. Put on
new pump and gasket
Question = I have a 1991 park ave. I only paid $800 for it and put a
ton into it; brakes and lines, power steering pump, alternator, coil
pack, ignition module, tires...Then my water pump went out. My
boyfriend and I took the old one off which looked original to the car,
scraped off the old gasket and cleaned it really well. We put on the
new pump by following the directions that came with it. We put the
belt and motor mounts back and put it all back together. But its still
dripping antifreeze. Then someone told me we were supposed to use
a gasket sealer around the new gasket... I really dont want to have to
take it all back apart because I'm getting a new car in a few weeks. Is
there anything i can seal it with from the outside?
Answer: You should have not needed to use sealer since the water
pump has an actual gasket. What is probably leaking, if it's coming
from the water pump area, is coolant from the bolt holes. Some of the
bolts need sealer on them as they pass into water jackets. You could
try removing one bolt at a time and put thread sealer on it and
reinstall. Let sit for a while and see if it still leaks. If it does, you either
ripped the water pump gasket during the install, or have a leak from
some other spot such as the intake gasket, coolant bypass, etc.