Subject: Help Needed with Water Pump Issue on Fully Built Evo 8

Hi everyone, I’m working on my fully built Evo 8, which is running what I believe to be an Airtrek long block purchased off ebay. Engine was built after. Everything in the build is brand new, but I’m running into an issue with the water pump. I’m currently using a 2.4 Outlander water pump (part number: MD978552), but the hub seems too short, causing the pulley to rub against the Evo 8 timing cover. I’m also using an Evo 8 pulley. Am I using the wrong timing cover or pulley for this setup? Right now, I have a spacer on the pulley to address the clearance issue, but there’s a very slight wobble. I suspect this is causing a small leak.

I’ve seen other Airtrek builds that don’t seem to have this problem, so I’m trying to figure out what I might be doing wrong. I’ll post some photos of the engine from before the full teardown and build. Any advice or insights would be greatly appreciated!

I have read many forums pointing that the outlander water pump which I believe to be the correct one. Am I running into a unique issue or am I missing something here? Thanks in advance for your help!