Thread: G'day. Water Pump installation.

I am the less than proud owner of a 1999 Discovery 2 V8 auto. I bought it cheap ($3800 with 138K) as I gave my run-about car to my daughter who has return to study at Uni. I wanted something "interesting" that I could work on. Little did I know what I was getting into. This is my first Rover vehicle but I always wanted to try out their V8, either a P6 or a Range Rover Classic. Price and lack of availability preclude either so when this Disco became available, I bought it. The truck has the centre muffler replace with a straight pipe and it sound great, but does tend to drone around town. We enjoy driving it long distances having clocked up 5000 km in 9 months, but it has not been without its problems.

I have spent almost as much fixing up problems with the truck as what I paid for it.

So far, I have done the following:-

New trim around the windscreen (one blew off when passing a semi).
New Tie Rods and Drag Link (+wheel alignment).
New Plugs and Leads.
New Air Flow Mass Sensor.
New Brake Master Cylinder.
New front and rear brake discs and pads.
New braided braked lines.
New Oxygen sensors.
New shock absorbers (front and back).
New wiper blades.
All new radiator, hoses and thermostat.
Replacement Coil Pack.
Automatic transmission services with filter changed.
All fluids changed, including diffs, transfer case, ACE and power steering.

I took the car to a mechanic friend of mine to check it over. He diagnosed three extra things:
Front prop-shaft uni joint badly worn, oil pump very noisy and strange ticking in motor.

I am in the process of replacing the oil pump and the Prop-shaft uni. While I have removed most of the front of the engine, I am also replacing the water pump. Which brings me to my questions.

1) Do I use just the supplied paper gasket or coat the gasket with a light coating of sealant or use a sealant on its own?
2) Should I replace the water pump bolts? The are partly corroded but clean up reasonable with a wire brush. I plan to run the bolts through a die and re-tap the holes in the block to clean the threads.
3) Should I use thread sealant on the three longer bolts that go through the water jacket?
4) Should I use "copper grease" anti-seize or just thread locker?

Any help would be mach appreciated.

I got a second hand front prop shaft from TRS and fitted it. I attempted to initially repair the Double Cardan joint but couldn't split the joint. The replacement looked in better shape so I am happy, apart from the cost. Fitted the water pump using a smear of blue sealant. Replaced the oil pump but someone had butchered the thread on the high pressure pipe. Ended up taking the brass fitting from the old pump and, in conjunction with a small file, massaged the thread and got the fitting attached. Then removed the brass fitting from the new pump, got the thread started, then re-attached the new brass fitting plus hose to the pump on the engine. It took multiple attempts before I finally got the brass fitting in line so that i could screw it into the old pump by hand. Replaced the serpentine belt and coolant tank at the same time. So far, no oil or coolant. I used the Nulon pink stuff in the radiator, which also helps to show leaks.

Anyway, thanks for all your help and advice.