Oil Pan Prep 3

Phone has an issue. Forgive the blurry pics.

Someone somewhere said to flatten any raised bits on the pan with a hammer and dolly. So I did that:

Installed the balancer cover seal and coated it in assembly lube:

 Phone is acting really weird:

 Here's something strange with the water pump bolts: I ran them through a die to clean them up, and they all have a gash running across the threads. Before it was a solid mass like that's where the factory put the water sealant. Not sure if I need to replace them.

 

 All four water pump bolts and all seven balancer cover bolts - 3 long and 4 short. I cleaned them with soapy water and a brush after running them all through the die, then I dried them off, dipped the threads in clean oil, and stuck them in the box for painting.

Another shot of the balancer cover. I picked up the balancer installer (loaner) from Autozone. It was only $45 and I have 90 days to return it for a full refund. The book says to loosely attach the balancer cover so that when the balancer is installed, it can center properly in the seal. In other words, don't torque it down until the balancer is installed.