Timing Belt 101

[ricematthews at msn.com]

Konstantin:

>The flange where water pump was attached is corroded. After I sanded the
>surface it still has pits. What to do?
>Is there any stuff I can apply on the flange under water pump seal to seal
>better?  What people do in such case?

I recently did mine and though I was able to get a relatively smooth
surface, I wondered the same thing.  The built in O-ring gasket should even
out some roughness, but if it's bad, a little Permatex Ultra Blue might do
the trick.

>should I replace cam seal, which does not leak,  when I do timing belt job?

I replaced mine, but I needed to since I replaced the lifters too.  I
wouldn't worry about irreparable damage to the cam or head like Dennis had
suggested, but I did bugger the first replacement seal I tried to put in
(that's what I get for working after dark with insufficient light).  I also
didn't have any luck with the camshaft seal puller that came with the Blau
tool kit that I rented (different one than for the crank seal), so I ended
up pulling the cam again to remove the seal that I buggered.

To end this long tale, I would recommend against replacing it now.  Mine
wasn't leaking and I'm sure it was probably original (155k miles).

-Mark