Did a water pump years ago, before I had the Brickboard as a resource. That time, I used Volvo parts. No problems.

Did another a year ago using aftermarket parts, and it started leaking from the top seal after 6 months. This last time, I used silicone spray lubricant on the top of the seal, to help ensure that the seal didn't bind against the head when levering the pump into place while installing. When I took it apart, I see that the seal did distort - the top part is angled toward the front. It seems that it didn't slide back where it should have, but stuck against the head instead.

What lubricants are safe to put on this seal? The spray silicone says it's safe on rubber, but based on the last result, I'd like to try something else. Is lithium grease OK? How about Vaseline? I saw someone here say bearing grease, but I would have thought that this would degrade the rubber. That's about all the lubricants I have handy.

Also, I take it that the seal against the water pump, is in the bottom of the channel, right? There are nicks in the shoulder around the outside edge of this channel, but I'm assuming that these won't matter, providing the seal is indeed in the bottom of the channel.


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David Armstrong - '86 240(350k km?), '93 940T(270k km), '89 240(parts source for others) near Toronto