I think I'm suppose to have a shim where the gasket is not. But I didn't see one when I removed it when doing a rebuild. Manual says a shim, and I know S4's have them, but what about S5s???

 

I searched and there are mixed results. Just wondering because I'm using a new front housing and thought how do I determine if I need the spacer? I looked at my teardown pictures and the old housing looks like no spacer.

 

if its all S5 it shouldn't need shims. the point of the shims are to make the water pump even with the gasket installed, as half the water pump isn't supported by gasket.

to check, put the water housing on without the gasket, just by hand. if it is flat, it needs the shims. if it is not flat, or if it would be flat WITH the gasket it does not need shims.

its easy to use the OEM shims, however since they are just the thickness of a compressed gasket, you could use another gasket, or find a washer that's close to the right size. its not super critical it be exact....

 

Thanks for the info