I am about to replace my timing belt together with the pulleys and water pump on my 2.2. The kit is branded "SKF". Should I use some kind of silicone sealer on the water pump gasket during installation or should it be installed dry? Its a black metal gasket, so I assume this one is coated with some kind of sealant material? I got conflicting advice around this.... LR workshop manual states nothing about this, so I assume it should be installed dry !?! Any advice?

should be fitted dry and bolts to correct tourqe  2009 FL2 S now gone
2011 FL2 HSE AUTO
2012 FL2 XS AUTO
2000 Kawasaki er 5

Hi, I have recently taken a water pump out of a block which had been in for less than 10,000 miles. It had been leaking slightly, and had a thin track of rust under it. This was a new one dealer fitted. So I would put a thin coating of Hylomar myself both sides of the gasket.

This is a coincidence as I've been looking at the online instructions for the Gates kit that I received this morning.

WRT the water pump Gates state:

Caution! If a coolant pump is fitted with seals/sealing rings do not apply liquid sealant.

Would it be right to assume seals & gaskets are one and the same?

Are there any Online instructions for SKF, with Gates its via a rather neat QR code on the box?

I used the gates kit, no sealant on gasket, no leaks a year on. Do be careful when fitting the gates water pump as there is a small drain bolt at the bottom. Mine was not nipped up when I initially installed it, so I did have a minor leak till I figured out where it was leaking and nipped it up.

Its amazing how manufactures unlearn engineering practices. The two materials in contact are dissimilar metals with different coeficients of expansion. Without a flexible sealant temperature change will at some time cause a leak under pressure. When assembling parts on aircraft, we used a flexible sealant called Thyakol to stop corrosion and leakage. A better solution would be an O-ring seal in a machined groove.

Having just changed an engine in a Freelander 2, I am amazed at the lack of engineering skills employed in the design and fitment of parts, especially the lack of space for maintenance of simple parts. To get at the Starter and Alternator, remove the whole filter housing and the Power Steering Pump. The vehicle is designed to last 100k miles and then crush it. THe under side is not rust proofed either. My other 2009 car has now trashed its differential, another poor design. What was wrong with locking centre diffs. and limited slip diff. axles? they worked fine in earlier Landrovers. I doubt that the Haldex Coupling was any cheaper to manufacture.

I was a Quality Consultant in a former life, so I consider I am qualified to comment. In another life I machined a large section of the Cern Large Hadron Collider, funny old world, isn't it?

Funny how my honda has 180K and only ever needed brakes, tires, and a new clutch. The new clutch was last year...

Thanks Grimdog, I've checked the drain and it's is good to go.

Happy days

Was wondering this myself. Think I'll use a smear of hylomar or similar. My other question is bleeding the cooling system afterwards, is there any special procedure? Landrover - turning owners into mechanics since 1948

2014 Orkney grey Freelander SD4 GS.
2004 Zambezi silver Discovery 2 Td5 (Gone)
1963 Surf blue Morris Mini Minor Super de Luxe (my little toy)

As mentioned earlier, there are conflicting advice around this everywhere. Haynes and LR workshop manual states nothing. Dayco video states sealant. SKF documents do not states anything clear around applications with metal gaskets, only for water pumps with an O-ring and paper gasket. As its only a metal gasket (or should we call it a shim??), I am tempted to use a tiny smear of RTV sealant on both sides.

Last edited by MRRover75 on 9th Sep 2021 6:01 am. Edited 1 time in total

Jagracer wrote:

Its amazing how manufactures unlearn engineering practices. The two materials in contact are dissimilar metals with different coeficients of expansion. Without a flexible sealant temperature change will at some time cause a leak under pressure. When assembling parts on aircraft, we used a flexible sealant called Thyakol to stop corrosion and leakage. A better solution would be an O-ring seal in a machined groove.

Having just changed an engine in a Freelander 2, I am amazed at the lack of engineering skills employed in the design and fitment of parts, especially the lack of space for maintenance of simple parts. To get at the Starter and Alternator, remove the whole filter housing and the Power Steering Pump. The vehicle is designed to last 100k miles and then crush it. THe under side is not rust proofed either. My other 2009 car has now trashed its differential, another poor design. What was wrong with locking centre diffs. and limited slip diff. axles? they worked fine in earlier Landrovers. I doubt that the Haldex Coupling was any cheaper to manufacture.

MRRover75 wrote:

As mentioned earlier, there are conflicting advice around this everywhere. Haynes and LR workshop manual states nothing. Dayco video states sealant. SKF documents do not states anything clear around applications with metal gaskets, only for water pumps with an O-ring and paper gasket. As its only a metal gasket (or should we call it a shim??), I am tempted to use a tiny smear of RTV sealant on both sides.

As jules states above, I can't see how that's not a good idea.

I've been looking into this for the best option to progress and the reason why not to use sealant in some instances is detailed here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qO5ggJt3cwo

It looks like the metal gasket I've been supplied may well have a NBR coating or similar, it certainly is coated with something.