Today I completed work on the timing belt and water pump replacement.

I did not use any RTV on the water pump gasket, which is how the install is advised to be done in the Blau Parts video, and which is something I’ve also heard recommended by other owners.  I made sure to torque the water pump bolts to 10 nm, then had the engine sit overnight.  The next day I checked the bolts again to make sure the gasket had not compressed and that 10 nm was still on there.

One of the bolts on the harmonic dampener had been close to being stripped when I removed the bolts, but Blau Parts kit includes two of these, just for this possibility, so I ended up using one of their replacement bolts when I put the parts back in place.

I also re-installed the exhaust manifolds with new gaskets and nuts.