Aluminum Oxide Corrosion around water pump gasket?

[WillsYoda]

I've got Aluminum Oxide Corrosion around my 1mzfe water pump gasket area (on the engine side), and it is leaking coolant. It is the white "powdery" oxidation typical of aluminum.

I just replaced the water pump with an OEM pump/gasket and did not get a good seal. I did not get the surface on the engine side 100% smooth. I think I was not aggressive enough in removing all the oxidation. I just used a scraper and razor, which isn't ideal for oxidation apparently.

Some people use Aluminum Jelly, and others just use a scotchbright pad. Any recommendations? How should I remove the corrosion to get a smooth surface and a good seal?

 

[Trav]

Scrape it down with a razor and use a red scuff pad, don't get too aggressive and score the aluminum with the razor.
Use a thin bead of Hylomar or RTV on both sides of the gasket.

http://www.amazon.com/Hylomar-Universal-...+universal+blue

 

[BubbaFL]

Scraping gaskets on aluminum parts with a steel razor blade is dangerous - it doesn't take much to ding the surface and then you won't get a good seal.

Use a roloc wheel on a cordless drill - take your time, don't be too aggressive. You don't want to start removing aluminum from the surface.

http://amzn.to/22KmwQk

http://amzn.to/1RHwxCm

I'd coat both sides of the replacement gasket with black RTV to fill imperfections in the sealing surface.

 

[SumpChump]

Excellent advice.

 

[kschachn]

What coolant have you been using? Just wondering, when I've changed out the pump on my 1MZ-FE (most recently at 322,000 miles) there hasn't been any corrosion to speak of.

 

[daman]

Air die grinder with a red abrasive wheel, does a wonderful job with out removing any alum. Use it all the time when I replace gaskets.

 

[KrisZ]

I had good results with the plain old 100 or 80 grit sand paper. I just made sure not to put any marks that were perpendicular to the gasket/seal.

 

[WillsYoda]

Originally Posted By: kschachn
What coolant have you been using? Just wondering, when I've changed out the pump on my 1MZ-FE (most recently at 322,000 miles) there hasn't been any corrosion to speak of.


I've only used Toyota Red. The corrosion is just at the top of the pump surface. It pushed out the gasket a little. Maybe some salt water seeped in there somehow.

 

[Trav]

Originally Posted By: daman
Air die grinder with a red abrasive wheel, does a wonderful job with out removing any alum. Use it all the time when I replace gaskets.


Just don't use these things when any part of the engines internals are exposed. Because of the damaging abrasives given off by these disc i don't use them on an engine.
You can use a scuff pad on the WP but not on internal gasket surfaces. A plastic razor blade is best but if your careful a steel blade can be uses at a shallow ange without digging into the aluminum.

Quote:
Sample From General Motors: TSB 00-06-01-012D
NOTICE
Do not use abrasive pad/bristle devices to clean the gasket surfaces of engine components.
Abrasive pads should not be used for the following reasons:
• Abrasive pads will produce fine grit that the oil filter will not be able to remove from the oil.
THIS GRIT IS ABRASIVE AND HAS BEEN KNOWN TO CAUSE INTERNAL ENGINE DAMAGE.
Abrasive pads can easily remove enough material to round cylinder head surfaces. This has
been known to affect the gasket’s ability to seal, especially in the narrow seal areas between
the combustion chambers and coolant jackets.
• Abrasive pads, wire and abrasive rubber finger wheels can also remove enough metal to
affect cylinder head, block, oil pan rail, and intake manifold runner flatness, which can cause
coolant and oil leaks and air leaks. It takes about 15 seconds to remove 0.203 mm (0.008 in)
of metal with an abrasive pad.
• Abrasive pads, Abrasive rubber fingers wheels & wire wheels with high speeds grinders
produce air bourn debris that can travel throughout the shop contaminating other work
being performed outside of the immediate work area.

 

[WillsYoda]

My plan now is to...

1. Remove the oxidation slowly with a hand scotchbright pad and razor. There is little room to work, so a drill isn't a good option. My precision skill with a drill isn't good anyway.
2. I'll put two clean rags into the two waterpump hold to prevent debris getting in, and clean thoroughly.
3. Use Silicon waterpump RTV to seal it, since the surface isn't perfect.

Sound good?

Thanks for all the advice!

 

[Trav]

That's fine just be careful with the razor, work in one direction only at a shallow angle. I use them all the time with zero problems but I forget sometimes I have 45 years of experience.
A plastic blade is better, you can find them at AA.

http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/dorma...CFYNkhgod1f8I_g

 

[WillsYoda]

Originally Posted By: Trav
That's fine just be careful with the razor, work in one direction only at a shallow angle. I use them all the time with zero problems but I forget sometimes I have 45 years of experience.
A plastic blade is better, you can find them at AA.

http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/dorma...CFYNkhgod1f8I_g



I'd never even heard of plastic razor blades. I'll pick some up. Thanks.

 

[kschachn]

Originally Posted By: WillsYoda
Originally Posted By: kschachn
What coolant have you been using? Just wondering, when I've changed out the pump on my 1MZ-FE (most recently at 322,000 miles) there hasn't been any corrosion to speak of.

I've only used Toyota Red. The corrosion is just at the top of the pump surface. It pushed out the gasket a little. Maybe some salt water seeped in there somehow.


Could be, yes. FWIW this is what mine looked like the last time. There were a couple of small areas of corrosion as seen in the picture but it flicked off easily. There wasn't really any pitting and I also have used Toyota red since new.

 

[WillsYoda]

Originally Posted By: kschachn
Originally Posted By: WillsYoda
Originally Posted By: kschachn
What coolant have you been using? Just wondering, when I've changed out the pump on my 1MZ-FE (most recently at 322,000 miles) there hasn't been any corrosion to speak of.

I've only used Toyota Red. The corrosion is just at the top of the pump surface. It pushed out the gasket a little. Maybe some salt water seeped in there somehow.


Could be, yes. FWIW this is what mine looked like the last time. There were a couple of small areas of corrosion as seen in the picture but it flicked off easily. There wasn't really any pitting and I also have used Toyota red since new.

Nice pics. Mine has way more corrosion on top. I don't know why. It is really hard white stuff all over the top edge. It was maybe 1mm deep corrosion sticking out of the metal. I gently scraped it down quite a bit, but not to where it is on your engine. I didn't take any pics, though.

 

[Merkava_4]

These maroon colored 3M Scotch Brite pads are a mechanic's best friend. I use them on everything from metal prepping to pots and pans. When I'm using them on gasket surfaces, I like to use them with WD-40 (actually SuperTech spray lube). On pots and pans combined with Purple Power, they make an extremely effective cleaning solution for burnt up fry pans.

If you have pitting left on the gasket surface from corrosion damage, and the gasket you're using is paper or cork, you can coat the gasket with Permatex 2-B and that will take up any surface irregularities.

 

[WillsYoda]

Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
These maroon colored 3M Scotch Brite pads are a mechanic's best friend. I use them on everything from metal prepping to pots and pans. When I'm using them on gasket surfaces, I like to use them with WD-40 (actually SuperTech spray lube). On pots and pans combined with Purple Power, they make an extremely effective cleaning solution for burnt up fry pans.

If you have pitting left on the gasket surface from corrosion damage, and the gasket you're using is paper or cork, you can coat the gasket with Permatex 2-B and that will take up any surface irregularities.

I did just this much today: I carefully cleaned the engine-mating surface where the waterpump connects. I used the maroon 3M Scotch Brite pad, and the dark gray one too. It got the corrosion off pretty well, and exposed a little pitting right along where the rubber (on the metal gasket) sits.

Now it looks very much like kschachn's picture above, except a little pitting that is maybe 0.05 mm deep in a spot or two (or even a little less deep). It doesn't look too bad. I'm actually torn between just putting the new aisin/toyota gasket on as is, and using a little permatex waterpump rtv silicon sealant.