Valkyrie

...well, at least a coolant leak is easier to find than an oil drip, since all you've gotta do is turn crank it up and see where it's coming from...

The bad news being that it was coming from the water pump housing's gasket (RTV...not the RTV's fault, really).

...which means I had to take off every pulley and object attached to the front of the engine, including the OMP lines... well, they were kinda leaky anyway so this is a good chance to replace them with fresh grommets (I've been waiting to install a new 5-hole grommet, but need to pick up some new one-hole ones).

I considered going ahead and getting a new pump, since mine is slightly corroded, but seeing as how I need to get it running... soon... I can always put a pump on by itself, without removing the housing (it's easy by comparison).

...I also need to by a crowbar to put my alternator and air pump back on... I just knew I should have picked one up months ago.


I will have to suggest, never apply a "bead" of RTV like the package says. Just apply a bunch of small blobs and smooth them out into a nice, even film.

rx7 FC TII

iTrader: (3)

ya i learned to apply rtv the hard way..... it sounds like you have alot of fun ahead of you...good luck...if you need some help and if youre not too far then give me a shout

Valkyrie

I've already got it off and back on.

But I need to pick up some new grommets for the OMP, and a crowbar before I can finish putting everything back together.

This also gave me a good chance/excuse to replace my water hose wire clamps with worm gear clamps (the kind you put on with pliers tend to get weak after you take them off a few times, so it's a good idea to replace them).

Valkyrie

God damn... I spent all of two days trying to fix and it STILL leaks... WORSE, even.

Now it leaks from a different spot on the housing, despite the fact that I know damn well that the RTV had more than enough time to dry.

I didn't notice any cracks or anything... besides, if that was the case it would have been leaking from there in the first place.

Lesson one... it's a good idea to not put everything back on before you confirm your fix did the job (meaning, run it with just the basics... just the alternator and water pump, without the fan).

micah

I just bought a can of this stuff:
http://www.permatex.com/products/aut...sket_Maker.htm

A guy recommended this stuff over normal RTV because it held up a lot stronger and cures much faster. I tested a little of it on a couple pieces of metal.. Seemed a LOT tackier and maybe a little thicker. Just an idea.

Also.. Best post title ever.

Valkyrie

I would, except I don't know of Car Quest (the only parts store within bicycle distance) carries Permatex stuff.

Note to self: Super Black RTV... good for oil pans... Baaaad for water pumps.

OTOH... Red high-temp RTV... good for water pumps (if you apply it right...although it worked just fine until a few days ago) BAAAAAAD for oil pans.


BTW, I was actually drinking Blue Moon at the time, not Red Stripe (although their commercials are great...).

Also, while I was at it, I had to pull the OMP because one of the holes had damaged threads, (the feeling when a really important bolt won't go in until you force it, and then suddenly gets looser while you're tightening it... not so much fun) so I had to spend another 45 minutes putting a helicoil in it (god, once you buy all these tools, it starts to get easier... makes me glad I spent so much money on a drill and drill bits, rather than using my dads all the time)...while trying to keep all the debris out.

I guess I'm gonna have to put some super black RTV on the OMP line washers this time, since they aren't new... and this time I can properly apply some to the back of the OMP, since last time I sort of just smeared some on in the dark, which didn't seem to really improve the situation much.

micah

Good luck with all of that.

Valkyrie

I was doing this all in the rain BTW

micah

Valkyrie

Another useful lesson I've learned is that, when you're gonna take the air pump off, it's 10X easier to just unbolt the bracket from the w-pump housing...because the bolt and spacer that hold it on the bracket are PITAs.

TehMonkay

iTrader: (-1)

Mazda trix sells the paper gaskets and they had it to me in 3 days.

Valkyrie

They also won't ship to my apartment because it's not my billing address.

On the other hand, the Mazda dealership here is too far to go by bike.

NZConvertible

I used a wire wheel on both mating surfaces and gaskets from Mazda, and had zero leaks. If you need RTV you're doing it wrong...

Valkyrie

You obviously need RTV if you aren't using paper gaskets

javrosario

iTrader: (5)

Hey by any chance did you remove the two very thin washers? Those are meant to be there for when you put a gaske on. Take those two washers located on the upper left studs.

NZConvertible

That's what I meant be "doing it wrong". IMO anyway...

Valkyrie

Well, I think I've finally learned the lesson as to why you shouldn't torque the with a liquid gasket before it cures for a while... especially when you aren't following the instructions because they're a pain (trying to draw a bead with one of those tubes is a PITA...). Strangely enough, only my tube of Ultra Blue actually said to wait before torqueing. The others just said "don't overtighten it."

So I went and bought some The Right Stuff (20 dollars a bottle! Oh well...)... it's a good thing the instructions say to torque it as soon as you put it on... not to mention it's an aerosol, so drawing a nice bead should be easy.

NZConvertible

Why not just buy the gasket? Then you won't have any of these probelms or need to follow any procedure.

jl1rx7

iTrader: (1)

dude good luck! I have been in your spot before! At least you are at you house so you can at least work on it! One time i had a leak like that out in the booney's of east tennessee. Then i tried rtv, didnt work at all. Glad I had two gallons of water in the car to get me home.

misterstyx69

iTrader: (142)

RTV is good in a Pinch.What I also found real good was MAKING a Gasket..The old fashioned way..with a Ball Peen Hammer..It was one of the Best things that I "retained" from back in my HIGH school days..I get some gasket Paper and Tap,tap tap..done.In my Opinion it saves money.You don't have to Wait for the Dealer to get it in.Works real well too.

Valkyrie

Because a gasket takes days to come in, and can only be used once.

Also, it's a 30 minute bicycle ride to the local dealership (and 30 minutes back). On the other hand, I can spend 10 minutes applying TRS and have what seems to be a perfectly good gasket (so far at least... I didn't use it on the pump itself since it wasn't leaking with just the RTV).

Either way, The Right Stuff did the trick... but now I've got other...issues.

(besides the fact that I had to buy a battery charger to get a full charge, since my car always floods if you don't drive it for 3-4 days...and then it procedures to run rough for an hour or so... don't know why)

NZConvertible

But how many tries did it take to get that? This whole thread seems to be about how it didn't work. Plus your thread title blamed a gasket that wasn't even there. It was RTV that failed (twice). Seems to me that if you'd ordered a gasket it would've been fixed just as quick without all the hassle.

I hear so many stories of sealants not working, I just thought people would rather put a little more effort into getting the right gasket and eliminate the risk of redoing jobs unnecessarily. Just an observation.

Valkyrie

Paper gaskets are great... when you already have a couple of spares on hand.

RTV works well enough when applied correctly (the first one lasted 6 months even when applied wrong).

The Right Stuff seems to work even better (although it's a little messy to apply since it's thick)...

Either way, I'm going to buy some paper gaskets in sets for the next time something like this happens...