Waterpump gasket is leaking again!

I've had to replace the small waterpump housing gasket twice in the past 3 months.
The first time I noticed it leaking, I took the waterpump housing off and replaced the gasket which was broken at the top. It ran fine without leaks for about 3 weeks, then I noticed another leak from the same spot.
The second time I replaced it the gasket was leaking from the same spot, I bought new studs, washers(including those thin spacers), bolts and nuts, and secured the studs into the front iron with plenty of red thread lock. This worked for about 2 and a half months now, but again today I find that it is leaking quite badly!
Is there anything that would cause this gasket to split at the same spot 3 times?

All of the spacers are in the correct place between the iron and the housing, all bolts and nuts were torqued correctly according the service manual, there are no cracks in the iron or housing, and I'm not sloppy with my repairs.

Thanks,

Charles

 

check the surface on both parts where ts leaking. they need to be nice and smooth. maybe one of them is messed up causing a leak?

 

I used emery paper on the housing to take off the gasket material the first time it came off. The material on the iron came off in chunks and didn't look to require any sanding. The second time it came off, the gasket came off in one piece and didn't require any sanding on either part. I didn't alter the shape of the mounting surface with the sanding, so I don't think this is the issue. You think I should look to get it resurfaced by a machine shop?

 

yes. always make sure its flat.

 

If you used the spacer and cleaned off the old gasket, that's step one.

When putting the pump in, you should use Aviation-form-a-gasket:

http://www.permatex.com/products/Aut..._Sealant_a.htm

Put it on the mating surfaces and use a new gasket.

It works really well and is available at most auto parts stores.

 

Thanks Nick.
That exact product is the one to use? No.3?

 

I always use some kind of gasket maker or black silicon. Which ever is in the box at that moment.

 

Sounds like your using no sealant with the gasket... I used mazdatrix's sealant gavanchi or something like that, worked great.

 

Yeah, I think it's the only "Aviation Make a Gasket" they make - the pot I have says "3H" but I think it's all the same stuff. I'd be surprised if you found more than one type in the autoparts store!

You don't need a ton of it, just put a bit on each metal surface and the gasket in the middle. Also be sure you have the right gasket, and it matches the bolt pattern of the water pump and the iron - the FB, S4 and S5 use different pumps that are similar, but. different.

You can see them on the Mazdatrix site

FB:



S4:



S5:

 

Wrong gasket. I'm talking about the one that goes between the front iron and the housing, not the housing and the pump. Its the bean shaped one with the piece across the centre.

 

Ahh - no worries. I used the sealant on that one too - same procedure, different gasket!

 

okie doke! I'll order the gasket tomorrow for a tuesday arrival and get it in by the end of the night tuesday. Thanks everyone.

 

Well instead of paying for that Aviation Gasket stuff I got a tube of Mazda's gasket sealant silicone from work, cuz I'm cheap like that.

I got home from a friends house this afternoon a little bit inebriated and decided I would work on the car, but when I started to screw on the waterpump nuts without the actual waterpump on I decided I should probably wait until I sobered up a little bit.

 

Sobered up yet?

 

Yep, but I overtightened one of the OMP bolts (for the lines, not the OMP itself) and stripped the threads, so I'll wait to pick up a new(used) one instead of using some sort of helicoil if they are even made that small. I guess the threads were weakened somehow because I was using a mini-ratchet and I certainly wasn't putting much force into it.
I took some time to complete a bit more stuff as well while the front of the car was taken apart: I installed new stock Ex. Manifold heat shields, replaced the secondary butterfly valve thing on the front of the TB because it was sticking, inspected the BAC valve, replaced the pulsation dampener, and wired in a seperate switch + fuse for new LED bulbs in the j-spec FTP's running at 12V from the headlight switch.
I got the waterpump torqued on properly with the sealant + gasket in place so at least that will cure fully before the rest of the reassembly continues.
The work will have to wait until Monday because I'm off to Ottawa for the weekend.
After I'm done, I'm going to 'borrow' the Mazda rotary pressure tester from work for a weekend and do some tests, as well as check the timing, and I need to try to find where a ticking noise is coming from. It sounds like the bell housing for the tranny when I used a soundscope but someone told me it sounded more like a vacuum leak. I made sure its not coming from inside the engine , but I'm hoping I don't need to take the intakes apart to search for it.
Thanks for checking up though! lol