am replacing water pump on my 1987 F250, 302 engine. at the very bottom of the mounting surface on the engine is a small gap on the facing of the mounting surface, maybe 1/32 inch wide and half as deep. i've never heard of a gap like this being normal, but i never did this on 302 before. is it normal, is it something i should try to plug with gasket compound or something else? there had been slow leak in coolant, but all the hoses on this truck are old and i never saw any one place it is leaking. i was just replacing the pump as preventive measure since i have the front open to replace rad support, now found this.

i'd post a picture but can't figure out how to do that

barry

 

use a source like photobucket then use the [img] tags (photobucket auto generates the proper code, usually 4th option listed under your picture(s)) and select (auto copies) and past in your thread

 

My truck has that gap too - I think it is normal. I did not seal that part when I changed the water pump last time on my truck.

 

The more i looked at it, the more i thought it might be normal. the way the gasket and mounting faces are set up, to intake and outlet ports are isolated from this center area that includes the small gap.

i was able to upload the picture tho, will continue to work on that.

in meantime my real problem is i may have broken one of the studs when taking off the old pump. saying "may have" because the length of the threaded portion on the stud in question is almost the same as one of the other ones serving same purpose (holding on both the water pump and also supporting the power steering unit). but it isnt gripping any threads, it is stopping about 3/16 short of where it should. the end has that broken off look but the length is about right. i dont know if the tip somehow broke off after i'd unscrewed it about 3/16 ", if i got dirt jammed in somehow, some combination of these, something else? i will do a little more looking to figure out whats going on, but in meantime if anyone has input, that is appreciated. if it is broken, might be easiest to get a slightly larger diameter stud and cut new threads for it.

barry