Coat water pump bolts with something?

[vs ute III]

So I am in the process of changing the water pump on VS V8. On taking the bolts out some of them have a black liquid that is really smelly.
I don't know if this is a coating such as grease or if it is coolant that has become very hot over the years.
Also on the ends of the bolts is a white goo that may be some sort of silicone. The same white silicone is between the spacer plate and the gasket, however there does not appear to be any silicone between the gasket and the block, just gasket and it came off fairly cleanly.
So do the bolts come into contact with the coolant and if so should I smear a bit of RTV sealant on the bolts? The Gregory's manual does not say any thing about a coating on the bolts.

Also, the Gregory's says to use RTV on both sides of the gasket but as noted above , there did not appear to be any RTV between the gasket and the block. Is RTV the best or could you use a non hardening sealant such as permatex aviation?

I want to get it right as it is a #@&* of a job and I don't want any leaks. The last water pump I done was on a 186, what a breeze that was, it was also a long long time ago though.

Thanks for any advice.

 

[losh1971]

On my old early V6 I've used both RTV or Aviation. Both worked well. Aviation was a bit neater. I had a garage do it once and they used either Aviation or Holden sealant.

 

[BlackVXGTS]

Replaced the water pump on my wife's VS Clubsport around four years ago. Used sealant, but can't recall whether or not it had a spacer plate. Didn't notice any issues with the bolts, but then the engine has had a few new pumps over the years. One tip is to make sure that you do up the clamps on the water pump heater hoses really, really tight after you replace the pump. They are notorious for causing leaks that are difficult to diagnose and often lead people to suspect that the gasket itself is leaking.

 

[Immortality]

RTV on the bolt threads as they go into water jackets and what ever sealant tickles your fancy on the gasket.

 

[OldBomb]

Gasket goo. Don't think it'll cause a water pump to fail though? Nowadays they advise you not put anything.

 

[DavesSV6Tonner]

Avoid silicone like the plague is my motto unless you are fixing a leaking roof or shower recess to your house.
I use Permatex non-hardening gasket goo on alloy parts.
An old diesel mechanic friend of mine who worked for Shell scoffed at me for using the Permatex.
He said a light coating of bearing grease on any paper gasket is all that is required.
AFAIK none of the water pump bolts on the Holden 253/308 go into a water jacket.

 

[vs ute III]

Thanks for the tips. Might get some Permatex water pump and thermostat housing gasket maker, using just a thin smear.
BlackVXGTS- yeah noted. In fact they were really hard to remove from the old pump and the clamps had really compressed the rubber, so much so that I am thinking of replacing both hoses.
I am thinking that it may be easier to slide those two heater hoses on before fitting up the pump as you don't have much hand room to push them on when the pump is in place.

 

[krusing]

Gasket Cement (Permatex)
(aka: gasket goo)
Used it on all my water pump bolts over years,
Never ever had a leak.

Permatex is possibly the black stuff on your bolts you mentioned.

 

[BlackVXGTS]

.......AFAIK none of the water pump bolts on the Holden 253/308 go into a water jacket.

Agreed, this is a V6 only issue. The Holden VR/VS Workshop doesn't mention sealant on the bolts for the V8, but does mention that sealant be used for the V6 water pump installation. For the V6 It also says "Do not apply sealant to the first 1-2 threads of each bolt".

 

[Immortality]

Can ya tell I do more V6 pumps than V8....