I've just removed the water pump from my '98 V90. After removal of the top shroud and close inspection, I became suspicious that the slow leak this car has had is very possibly due to a gasket failure, and not the pump itself. Upon removal of the pump, I believe I have confirmed this. It appears to me that coolant was leaking past the bottom dowel pin. There's quite a bit of discoloration in this area, and the rest of the gasket is its normal green color. The water pump itself is in excellent shape, but since I've already bought a replacement, I'll go ahead and install it. Keep the old one for an emergency spare or something.

The old gasket, which is green and the clay/paper type, was mounted dry. The new gasket is rather thin fiber. I plan to mount it dry as well, but I'm wondering if it might not be a good idea to use a bit of sealer around the two dowels.

Any thoughts on this? If you would use sealer, what sort would you go with?