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I actually thought they may fail without warning so I'd replace it if I saw any water coming out the weep hole. I had one or two experiences where they did fail quite suddenly so Ill often just change it if I move to a new old Volvo ;-) I haent' seen one drip for a long time, but I've had relatively few waterpump failures.
If I use a sharp wood chisel I don't find myself gouging into the aluminum, Just like using a razor blade it just takes some care to not dig in and the chisel can't be all nicked or it'll scrape. I do some woodwork so I know how to sharpen them up nicely, that helps.
a dremil may not be so bad but I'd be careful with a die grinder as it may eat a hollow in the aluminum. I have one and can fit cutters and it will do amazing things like cut slots in thick steel plate, but I keep that thing put away. I think they are the most dangerous tools made. They have no guarding and so much speed and power, you can loose a whole lot of your own meat in an instant. If I use one Ill use two hands held away from me and anticipate the thing catching on stuff and moving abruptly. face shield and safety glasses. Its one tool I have such great respect for that Ill often find some other way rather than using it.
I use a non hardening permatex sealant, its a lot like tar or window sealant, I think it's gasoline compatible. I find I dont like RTV just because I hate dealing with the stuff, Its hard to dissolve. if oil is present it wont stick, Lots do like it and there is probably no issue with using that product, I know it's common.
depending on where these pits are maybe its worth returning , if it's just a dibit I might just use JB weld , its ok for that, its just filling a hollow and not part of a mechanical structural part. I'm sure you can return it , just an inconvenience, if time matters.
If the coolant looks green and fresh I just put it through a coffee filter, you can replace as you like. and you can use a rad flush..
be careful about pets, i make sure I get mine back int a bottle where my cat can't get into it. maybe they changed formulations but pets can die a horrible and painful death from it and evidently it isn't very bad tasting to a pet.. maybe cats are more fussy than dogs but i dont take chances with that. I'd hate to kill someone's pet just because I walked away and didn't look after that.
often when I go to buy coolant I find they sell it watered down so they are basically selling us a bunch of water. I think it's just a sales gimmick. I suppose it prevents people in hard water areas from using tap water. I try to look for the undiluted stuff.
you can check the thermostat and it's gasket. I dont know if you can buy just a new gasket, probably. the gaskets go crumbly in time. if you want you can boil it in a pot with a thermometer and watch when it opens. they usually aren't so expensive anyway. I think you need a gasket there as well,
if I want o remove a stud Ill often lock two nuts together, in a pinch I can usually cut a bolt off or run the threads down further with a tap, the OEM studs are probably decent quality if you use a bolt I'd use a decent grade and not a low grade stove bolt. I think sometimes I just hate going shopping or waiting for an order so then I may use a workaround like that if that's all that's holding the job up. I'd look at those studs and make sure they aren't rusted thin or anything. most often i can salvage a stud from something else.
the gasket material you can get in big sheets and then I'd just lay that over the housing , take a small ball peen hammer and tap around the bolt holes until they poke through, insert some bolts so the gasket can't reposition and then use the ball end of a tiny ball peen hammer to cut the gasket by tapping all around the edges. often just marking it that way is ok, then use scissors to follow the line that transfers. you dont need to bash anything hard just lots of gentle taps.. If you make your own you can choose a decent quality of gasket paper. they may sit in the box with the waterpump for some years before being sold, sometimes they are a bit twisted up and hard to manage or just cheap material.
I bought a gasket for under my rocker cover, gee the thing was so thin and hard to place, the gasket was probably all shrunk and hard and twisted. bolt hole pattern didn't fit too well. I had to wet it to get it in place. I think I fought with it and used it anyway but the OEM ones might be a lot better than the one I got. It may have been something from Rock auto and maybe I just got one made to Chinese quality standards.
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