Water pump replacement - Two more questions

[ElNormo]

Success! Water pump is off. Now, two more questions. Okay, actually three...

- It appears my leak was due to the water pump gasket having completely disintegrated. The pump has metal impellers, can it just be reused with a new gasket? Is there any reason to buy a whole new unit?

- Anything else I should replace while it's all apart?

- In trying to take a peek at my aux water pump, I noticed the plastic cover over the heater valve is stuck on. I tried to pry it loose, but no luck. It seems that it's somehow attached to the bolts underneath. Any idea why it's so secure? Did I do any damage trying to pry it loose?

Thanks!

Norman

[dennyg]

I would change out the water pump and thermostat. Why risk failure and overheating? Also the small hoses are cheap and easy to replace. Make sure you inspect them well if you are reusing them. I just replaced this last weekend. I used some gray atv along with the stock gasket. I didn't use this compound on my other E34 and I will have to do it again because it is leaking.

The aux heater cover is held on by wire clips half way down the post it lays on. Not sure if there are three or four but a small screw driver will be able to reach them. They are horizontal in grooves. Just keep an eye out if they fly and have a magnet ready to reach them if they fall in hard to reach places.