Any need to use gasket dressing on thermostat or water pump gasket?
 

Just want to make sure I do it right. Pedro and Wayne Dempsey don't mention it, so I assume the answer is "No," but would appreciate confirmation from someone with experience. Thx.

I did not do it when I DIY'ed a new pump and stat about 2.5 years and 35,000 miles ago. I have not had to top up the coolant since, so I would therefore surmise that neither is leaking!

Just make sure all the surfaces are good and clean and use new gaskets, obviously!

If you look at the gasket, you'll see a U shaped channel on it. That channel will be compressed when you tighten the bolts and seal the unit. No gasket sealant is required, but you do need to toughly clean the mating surfaces.

Your thoughts about reusing the spring-type hose clamps?

I bought all new spring clamps. They are considered one use clamps. If you really must, you could reuse it, but I personally would not recommend it unless you have no choice (like you are stuck on the road and need to get to a garage).

FWIW, you don't have to use Porsche spring clamps. I bought all OE ones, but many use the standard hose clamps you can buy at any auto parts store.

I reused all my original spring clamps and hoses. Did the work at 85k miles. Now on 120k miles.

I can't see any reason not to reuse them. They are robust bits of metal. There was nothing wrong with my clamps. They were not corroded.

Don't use any gasket sealer. As knowels said, the factory gasket has a section that compresss and provides a perfect seal, If you goober sealant on the gasket, it can squeeze out and clog the very tiny coolant passages and lead to a cracked head.

As far as the clamps go, I'm sure the spring clamps will be fine, but they are a pain to deal with, I relpaced mine with worm gear clamps.

Thanks for all your comments!

I am guilty! I am guilty! I admit that used gasket sealer (the shame!) on my new water pump and low temp t-stat. I am a product of what my dad taught me back in the day when cars needed new water pumps yearly.

I still check the gap on spark plugs too. I gotta start to realize that its not 1974 anymore.

Do you gap the points as well? :D

You must have serious skills or an old wire core gap checker to be able to gap multi-electrode plugs. :)

But I'm not laughing at you, when I started looking at the early model Porsche 911 that I really like and realized that all the air cooled models actually have distributor caps, points, etc. and then it hit me ... most likely really bad A/C ... that I began to wonder if I'd have to rethink my future purchase!

Same for me! I almost freaked when I saw that my '88 944 Turbo had a distributor cap and rotor! I hadn't changed those PITA's in many, many years.

Those were the simple days of points, rotor and cap. I built street rods and used Mallard dual points distributors, Flame Thrower coils. Easy to work on em, just climb with engine if your driving a Ford Galaxy, Chevy Impala or a Plymouth Fury. I could rework a whole engine for about $800 bucks.:cheers: