I'm in the process of installing the water pump in back on the car,thanks to all the post on here I have read all the Do's and Don't, my question is do I have to,should I, or i shouldn't put any type of sealant on the screws,I have read elsewhere that you should and that you shouldn't but this applied to different cars, I can't find anything on a Oldsmobile 350.. Any help will be appreciated, I just don't want to tear it down twice because of a leak

 

The Olds chassis service manual says to use some 1050026 sealer or equivalent on the pump to hold the gasket in position and use some oil on the bolts. Torque the self-tapping bolts to 13 ft-lbs., and the 5/16" bolts to 10 ft-lbs.

 

Okay.. Thanks, I got the right sealer for the pump but no torque wrench, Autozone loans tools so I'm on my way,hope they have one if not I'll have to go buy one

 

I think you have that backwards. Torque on the 1/4" self tapping fasteners should be LESS than on the 5/16" bolts that thread into the block.

FYI, the reason why some engines require sealer on water pump or head bolts and some don't is because some engines (like brand C) have bolt holes in the block that open into the cooling jacket. Olds uses blind holes so there's no need for sealer. Now, the two bolts holding the thermostat housing on an Olds do go into the water crossover, so sealer is not a bad idea there.

 

Thanks, that's why I asked this question, I remember when I replaced the thermostat the bolts where all rusted so I got new ones but on the water pump they came out nice and clean, ok.. So I should torque the small bolts to 10 ft-lb and the lager ones to 13 ft-lb.. Thanks again

 

When running a tapping screw back into a hole, turn it backwards until you feel it click.

 

Professur, that's exactly what I did at first they seemed to want to go in crooked then I just applied a little pressure and turned them backwards till I felt a click and "BAM" they went right in

 

[QUOTE=joe_padavano;589018]I think you have that backwards. Torque on the 1/4" self tapping fasteners should be LESS than on the 5/16" bolts that thread into the block.

Joe, you are correct, I copied what was in the service manual without doing the thinking. I didn't have the 1972 book, so I looked in the 1973. It appears on page 6K-7 and surely is in error. So I cross checked in the 1970 book (page 6K-9). That one says 13 ft-lbs for the self-tapping bolts and 20 ft-lbs. for the 5/16" bolts. The rest of the instructions are the same. I suppose newer doesn't always mean better. Thanks for catching the flub.