I am just going by the scores of how-to videos showing how to do the job.... around the water jacket holes on both sides of the timing cover and water pump, they
say to use a thin smear of RTV gasket maker ON THE GASKET to help it seal better. Not using a big glob or anything. I have BOTH products on hand....gasket sealant (permatex) and RTV gasket maker (blue).

 

It's easy with the special tools
Using the bolt and washers they give you with the pump is VERY difficult and will NOT install the pulley all the way onto the shaft

 

there was no way in halifax that pulley was going on with a bolt/nut combo. I sent you a msg btw (private)....but it failed to send as your inbox is full.

 

Sorry, I cleaned out my inbox after their notification
Here are a few pictures of the tools I use
The shaft bolt size is different on the ZF pumps that came after the C2 and old Saginaw pumps
The Matco kit does them all that I have seen Chrysler GM, European, anything with a pressed on pulley

These three were about 150 bucks total back in the 90's. That top one is a Ford OTC special tool just for the new 4.6l ZF pumps (have a smaller metric thread in the pump shaft)

This Matco kit does everything I've worked on so far

 

 

ill clear it out lool

Edit: that wasnt to me lol

 

if you even accidently pierce the RTV gasket maker and get it near your truck i will personally show up to your house and tar and feather you

RTV is not ever to be used for a gasket sealer. im glad you have gasket sealer, which is to be used with a flat paper gasket. flat gasket carriers with o rings and wire reinforcements shouldnt use either.

 

get this, my son (nashville) just bought an 89 Ford F-150 with the 5.0L (manual trans) that looks EXACTLY the same as my truck, color, features, trim. he is going
thru it now. 95K miles on it. has the same set of oil/coolant leaks, pinion seal leaks, etc. but looks like a VERY solid rust free survivor.

 

steering box removed, cleaned, resealed, repainted and re-installed. Lines cleaned up very nicely. about to dig into the front cover work now.
slow...wifey to-do list takes priority.

 

todays progress....getting at er....

 

a question for the experts lurking....should I replace this timing chain set?

 

that appears to me ready for a timing set

 

one of the mounting dowels that the timing cover / gasket fits onto for positioning is missing. one came out with the dowel inside the timing cover. do they
sell these anywhere?

EDIT: found a pair on the jungle website. drilled the old one out that was stuck in the timing cover. came out reasonably easily.

 

judging from the amount of black RTV that I scraped off the oil pan where the timing cover meets it, the previous owner applied a
liberal amount of it to make it seal.

question on affixing the 2 pieces of cork gasket and the round rubber seal that goes around the lower part of the timing cover.
I've seen videos where people will secure with RTV the cork to the bottom of the timing cover off the engine along with the rubber
seal with RTV were the cork meets the rubber. they then let that dry and then put a blob of RTV in the 2 corners of the edge of
the block where it meets the oil pan and some on the pan where the rubber/cork meets.

what do yall think is the right way of going about this? am I overthinking it?

 

i dont think it needed to come out.. but if you stick them in the block thats the better spot for them

About the cork thing , i would not use cork if I were you, unless you just mean getting the gasket to seal to the oil pan portion of the seal. you should really do the oil pan if it leaks at all, simply because black rtv and cork sounds like a very short term combination for leak free. i say this because "youre in there" but you may have to lift the engine to do so, so i get it.
I would defer this to @Hit Man X @manicmechanic007

i found this on another thread about a 5.0 timing cover job