Water Pump Gasket Question

[stickk]

I bought a new water pump and coolant filtration kit for the truck. Got some time yesterday to tackle the job. Every thing went together fine, refilled the coolant, took it out for 10 miles or so and there weren't any leaks. This morning I left for work, stopped at the corner store, peaked under the truck and the darn thing is leaking coolant. It is very difficult to pin point the area because the fan is blowing it all over the place.

Anyway, one thing that entered my mind was the WP gasket. It is a totally different design than the one that came off with the old pump. Think braces, like on your teeth. The main body of the gasket is probably half the width of the oem and then there are a hundred or so nipples on both sides of it to assist in holding in the groove for installation. I'm thinking that there isn't enough material there to get a good seal.

Anyone seen this type of gasket before? Had problems? Thanks.

[Codum]

I had the same problem. Not sure about the gasket design, but mine leaked too. When I took it apart I thought the same thing, not enough gasket material to make a good seal. I them compaired the water pump to the factory one, it looked like the groove for the gasket was deeper on the aftermarket one. Compaired gaskets old vs new and appeared to be the same. I just applied RTV sealant inside the groove then put in the gasket bedded in the sealant. No more leaks and it's been 75,000 miles or so.. I made sure the RTV sealant was good for use on water pumps, Blue I think? Good luck!