I'm sure everyone is familiar with the so-called "instructions" included with Fel-pro gaskets. Well, I was in for a surprise!

I'm part of the SCC (Serpentine Conversion Club - Right, Wrong or Pointless, We're Doing It Anyway), and picked up two of the reverse rotation v6 pumps - Flowkooler even had one! Of course, it uses a different gasket than any of the three Fel-Pro normally provides. I can't find the water pump gasket by itself, but I did find a couple, and only a couple, of v6 timing cover gasket sets - for $5 each!. One was just like any other felpro set.

But the other? What a joy.





Not only did they talk about trimming the front seal, not only do they show the actual Olds timing cover shape, they drew a picture of an Olds v6. Note the '83 copyright date.

Whoa. The 80's were a different time.

 

Cool, but their illustrations are not quite correct for an Olds motor. The drawing under step "B" shows the oil pan extending out in front of the block. On an Olds motor (V6 diesel or V8), it does not. The Buick V6 is like that, but the front cover is a casting, not a flat plate.

The wings on the rubber seal that need to be trimmed are actually sandwiched between the pan and the block when you install the pan after the front cover. The oil pan side rail gaskets have little notches that the rubber seal fits into. This is the whole problem with doing this in the car.

Of course, the real problem is step 8 - place the cover in position on the block. Clearly this was written by someone who has never actually tried to do this.

 

man thats no lie.

 

The "olds" v6 is a buick motor the water pumps are not the same as an olds v8

 

The Olds Diesel V6 was an Olds motor that shared front cover and other key dimensions with the Olds V8. The Diesel V6 was the only Olds motor to use a reverse rotation water pump and serpentine drive, which can be retrofitted to the Olds gas V8.