Which water pump/sealant on the O-rings?

[seanjenn]

Looks like a new water pump is in my future.
GW Auto Parts offers three different brands.
Meyle-German I assume
Graf-made in Europe
Hepu-not sure
All are new and well priced but which is best?
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1987 GL Sunroof
2.1 4 spd

[Rubber Tramp]

I bought one from VC for my 1.9L

in the middle of an SVX conversion right now and don't need it...

PM me and we can work out a deal

it's a hepu
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1985 SVX powered Westy - soon to be converted to syncro


http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=382910
^^^Rocky Mountain Westy SVX rebuild and conversion^^^

[stormforge]

I've put in 2 Hepu's (which is a German company -- no idea where they make them). Replaced the first one after 1000 miles. Van Cafe says they don't see many failures so maybe just a fluke? The external finish of these pumps was not terribly good -- rough machining and no deburring... I spent some time cleaning up the 2nd one before installing it. Hopefully they do a more careful job on the internal sealing surfaces.

Cheers,
-Bill
'89 Syncro

[Wellington]

Hepu is considered the best. The secret to a long life of a wasser water pump is to not over tighten the belt.

[seanjenn]

I was searching around late last night looking at how folks installed their WPs, I have my own methods but am always open to new ideas. I believe, in one of Ben's responses he had a link to somebody's 1.9L install(very good) and in one of the steps the guy mentioned putting a "paper thin" coat of sealant(he used ultra copper) on the gaskets as well as on the o-ring after o-ring is installed into the pump.HMMMM.
I agree with a paper thin coating on gasket material as long as it's not rubber, but I've never used sealant of any sort on any o-rings. I usually apply a little silicone grease to help it all go together smoothly and that's it. Also I've been using Permatex Ultra Grey for years and have had zero failures. Let me know what ya'll think.
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1987 GL Sunroof
2.1 4 spd

[seanjenn]

[jjdeluxe]

Can I use Dielectric Grease on the o-rings of the water pump?

2.1L

GoWesty Pump
https://gowesty.com/products/water-pump?variant=41426717376677

Napa Dielectric Grease (Silicone)
https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/BK_7651190

I guess it really boils down to whether the o-rings are made of real rubber or silicone rubber. I understand some silicone lubes dissolve silicone o-rings over time.
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1990 Syncro

[jlrftype7]

[DanHoug]

[MarkWard]

We usually have a tube of Victor Reinz sealer open. Due to the quality and fit of aftermarket parts, I find myself using a light “film” of sealer on assembly. It doesn’t seem to hurt and in my mind helps.

[E1]

So that does sealer work on any kind of seal, then?

I tend towards less complication, and especially less crap to carry.
_________________
1984 Westfailure/2.1 Digijet/5.43 Ring & Pinion/Peloquin/D-rated BFG KO2s
AI has spoken to further illiteracy, to steal, to cheat, and to replace humans

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Subtracting weight makes you faster everywhere." — Colin Chapman

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[Wildthings]

If the sealing surfaces are less than perfect, which is common with 30+ year old vehicles, I tend to coat the entire O-ring with a thin smear of RTV silicone. Off hand I can't remember ever having a failure when I did this.

[DanHoug]

in a proper, machined, o-ring groove, a lubed o-ring that can slide around is ideal as things thermally move plus the initial squish on install. while Japanese motors have many of these nicely machined grooves, VW and their OE suppliers don't have that level of detail... they are typically rough, sand-cast captive grooves whose texture needs additional sealing help.

probably the ideal sealant in those scenarios of rough texture grooves, (I'm lookin' at YOU, waterpumps!) is Hylomar that remains plastic and yet is gap filling. RTV works but i hate the cleaning the residue off on the NEXT installation.
_________________
-dan
60% of what you find on the internet is wrong, including this post.

'87 Westy & '89 Westy both 2.1 4spd

Past projects can be found at--
www.thefixitworkshop.com

[djkeev]

I'll say it yet again,
Hylomar Blue is an amazing sealer.
Non hardening yet sticky.

https://hylomar.com/us/universal-blue/

I've never had an Oring failure that I've applied Hylomar on.

Tough to find locally but Amazon has it.

https://www.amazon.com/Hylomar-Universal-Non-Setting-Silicone-Jointing/dp/B07NJHZJQQ
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