Replaced the water pump and now have a mysterious leak that's pooling coolant right above the new pump. Figure the timing cover got tweaked when breaking the pump bolts loose (fortunately none of them sheared).

I've heard that it's best to get an OEM timing cover (vs discount auto store brands) so as to minimize the chance of fitment and leaking issues, so I was wondering if this Ford Racing cover would work well. Should I be replacing the timing chain and gears while I have the cover off (277k miles)? Thanks for any advice.

 

Rock Auto has one from Dorman that's $60. It'd do just fine. It's also made out of aluminum. The timing chain and gears at this point wouldn't be a horrible idea if you're already at it.

 

Not sure what you did to get the pump bolts out, if basically unscrewed em IE; you didn't have much trouble didn't beat on em? It probably just needs a new gasket between the cover and block now, nothing wrong with the cover it has on it.

Not uncommon/unheard of for the timing cover gasket to spring a leak after disturbing things by changing the pump mounted in the front of it leaving it in place.

 

The water pump was original, lots of play in the bearings. It was a royal PITA to get the bolts out, I was scared to death of shearing them in the block. So what I did was sprayed the hell out of them with penetrating oil, let them sit for an hour, then carefully wrenched on them with a long 1/2" ratchet, giving them a firm tug left, then right, then left again several times until they broke loose.

The reason I wanted to replace the cover was I'd heard that rotting coolant passages could cause it to leak even with a new gasket.

I'm planning on using Permatex Right Stuff to make gaskets for everything, I learned my lesson the hard way with the water pump and thermostat gaskets not sealing right with the included paper gaskets. I cleaned all the surfaces off, removed the premade gaskets, and used a thin bead of the permatex, which eliminated all the leaks I was having with the paper ones.