water pump gasket

[cuda hunter]

Should I use rtv on my water pump gasket? 
The one I pulled off didn't have it. 

[JonH]

NO

[GoodysGotaCuda]

I always use a skim coat on each side of the gasket. Never a problem.

[cuda hunter]

Ok, so a NO and a kind of.

Is there a reason to not use the rtv?  Mostly curious. 

[usraptor]

I use the "Right Stuff" gasket sealer on all my gaskets.    Works great and better than having to go back and pull off a part to fix a leak. 

[hanksemenec]

My favorite from the shop days https://www.permatex.com/products/gasketing/gasket-sealants/permatex-indian-head-gasket-shellac-compound/ coat the side attached to the pump nothing on the other side to the block. This keeps the gasket in place when installing. I had to service machines when they came back from the field and appreciated not having to scrape the hell out of the block.

[cuda hunter]

Funny, I just picked up an indian head from my stocks.  Was wondering if I should just use that on the water pump side and then you chimed in. 

I have rtv's but don't have any of the right stuff.  Haven't used it before. 

[hanksemenec]

Indian head stays tacky and does not dry out. Aircraft gasket maker is another one. I hate rtv and removing the stuff, unless the assembly calls for it. You can coat both sides, but it is a crap shoot which part the gasket sticks to when you are removing it.

[Mrbill426]

I have been using Indian Head Shellac for decades; it is old school but perfect for water pumps, thermostats, fuel pumps and the like.  It is good for filling in little imperfections of mating surfaces; just a film will do you fine because too much will end up where you don't want it.  And as mentioned keeps for years in that little brown bottle; just clean the cap threads when you close it up 

Funny, I just picked up an indian head from my stocks.  Was wondering if I should just use that on the water pump side and then you chimed in. 

I have rtv's but don't have any of the right stuff.  Haven't used it before.

[cuda hunter]

That's what I used.  It's what I had sitting there.  And it's years and years old.  Still worked just fine. only put it on the pump side.

[YellowThumper]

Answer to your question really revolves around the condition of the sealing surfaces. Yes definitely on or around surfaces with heavy corrosion pitting. All surfaces clean and flat none required other than the tack to keep it on location.
My timing cover port holes are bad... I use sealer around them and a thin smear around the rest on that side.