I just use a sharp wood chisel to remove the bulk of any gasket material, then maybe a solvent like acetone to do a final clean. Just be mindful if it's aluminum and try not to use a chisel that has a bunch of nicks and burrs on it.

why waster products on dissolving the old crud if it scrapes off,, But I'd use something as a final wash to make sure it's oil free too.

If you want to hand lap mating surfaces I just use a thick chunk of glass with a bit of oil on that and a full sheet of wet or dry paper, then I can sand a bit on a waterpump flange etc and see it's flat and clean.


im nt sure what differences you may see in your 900 but this pertains to the redblocks in the 240 or 740 cars..


the waterpump seals to the underside of the head where there are O rings and also to t he back side against the block. make sue that when you tighten it you dont pull the bolts tight against the block and restrict it from moving up enough to put pressure on those top O rings. you'll see when you do it , you are basically pulling it in two directions so the sequence matters.

I often just make up the gasket myself but you can buy the right one and I'd make sure you have the O ring as well..I'd use a non hardening permatex on both sides of that paper gasket to make sure it doesn't leak, but there are lots of choices of products.

a lot of times if you go buy a rebuilt waterpump it comes with a pretty inferior looking cardboard gasket. It'll work but I will often just make my own from a better paper and often they are curled up and dried up from sitting around. You can wet them down if you like.

you may want new belts and if the belts are off kilter sometimes you may choose to change the rubber doughnut things, they wear out and cause the alternator or or power steering or AC ump to sit off kilter.

pull the long bolt out of the alternator and they should pretty much fall out. they may wear a bit oval over time or just go hard or mushy.

when those rubber parts wear they cause the belt not track properly and that causes noise and belt wear.

with the belts off you can go do the timing belt and you can also do the seals behind the timing belt.. since you are draining water you may want to do a rad flush and renew the antifreeze or you can reuse it.. all that is optional of course.

if you have a 16 valve engine it might be different..

in my experience, I'd say there may not be a long period of time between you seeing a little weeping, or a slow drip and a full blown leak that puts the car down, So the repair is something I'd do sooner rather than later down the road and not a job you want to do at the side of the road.. if you do run it out of water and cause the head to overheat, you may be dealing with a head gasket issue next.