Hi.
Ordered a water pump replacement, as it is wobbly and noisy. Will not drive until replaced to avoid additional damage.
It is not leaking, it is not loose pulley, the pump shaft is the wobbly one. Any special considerations and things to check during replacement ?
Should silicone be applied to the gasket ?

 

Check the fan, shroud, and radiator to make sure they're undamaged by the misalignment.

 

Use some non-hardening permatex on the gasket for the new WP.
Make sure it is not the fan clutch which has a wobble too.

If the WP has wobble, the bearing inside are gone.

 

Put some of that the non-hardening sealer on the water pump bolt threads as well.

 

1. Be careful removing WP bolts, some have snapped one off and made it a much more fun project. Also keep them in order.

2. Innards may look like this, when it wobbles it scrapes off aluminum, which then circulates in the coolant. A flush may be in order.

3. You will be money ahead to replace fan clutch ($60 Chevy crossover in the tech section) at same time. With clutch holding hands with the wild pump, over the zillions of revolutions in their service to the engine, the new pump won't like the out of balance vibrations from the old clutch and the old clutch won't like the smooth operation of the new pump.

4. Always a good time to consider a new thermostat (180 for me).

 

use black RTV to seal the gasket and the bolts that the rave say go into the water jacket, not all the bolts go into the jacket.