Water Pump

[thaxman]

OK, so I'm doing the water pump tomorrow (If the dealer is open for a new t-stat) The current mileage is 186K, the 1st 99K were all highway from the 1st owner. We use it mostly stoplight to stoplight, & it burns no oil, and all fluids remain at proper level, almost maintenance free.
So question is: Timing belt done around 125K, so while I have the belt off to do the pump, its a no brainer, but what else should I do as well?
In another post I mentioned that I had to drive it a good 2 miles, then another 3 miles & then a final 3 miles with what I assume is a frozen water pump, so all the heat remained in the block. How likely is it that I cracked something & what should I look for? I did find a VERY thin film of oil or another oily substance floating at the top of the coolant when I topped the radiator, but is this OK? The oil looked water-free.
Any help would be appreciated. Originally I hoped to get to 200K before retirement, but after this work, I expect the car to hold out to 225K, or its 18th birthday.

PS. 2.2 NA, Auto, FWD

[thaxman]

BTW, I know the autos are weak, will it hold out as long as the engine?

[Legacy777]

Really you need to check the coolant for hydrocarbons. You may just be better off just doing a visual inspection, doing the work, and seeing how things are. Other thing to try is a coolant system leak test.

[thaxman]

OK, just finished, & its up & running. It seems to be running really well - over about 3 mi. & temp was fine & the heater core pushed out hot hot air. When I came back to burp it again, there was almost no air despite being on a good incline. So I am confident that it was just the pump. So here's what I need to know now:

Funny thing about Tucson, AZ, is that there are Subarus everywhere, but I could find no indy Subaru mechanics to do the last timing belt change. So I let an "all Japanese makes" guy do it & it seems that he used an impact to put everything back together. All the timing belt cover bolts that went into the plastic back cover were pulled thru & the bolts that went into the block - 1 at the oil pump & the other right next to it below the power steering pump - were cross-threaded in the seats, but the bolts appeared OK.
Of course, any guy who wants his 2.2 to last forever would have pulled all the sprockets & gears & done the oil pump & replaced the whole timing cover setup, but I plan on doing a turbo switchout to the Legacy777 degree, so I am hoping for about 20-40K miles.
Anyway, obviously I ran into problems during reassembly. the end covers are now RTV sealed to the plastic back covers & the main front cover. Does anyone have a better suggestion short of replacement?
And now for the real problem: The bolt seat either on or above the oil pump broke in half. I have no bolt for the cover above the crank pulley. And as for the other stripped seat, well I imagine it will be unusable after the next disassembly & it appears to be in the passenger side block. So does anyone see this NOT holding for a good couple years if the car doesn't see any real tough duty or water/mud/dirt?