I am in the process of changing out the water pump and thermostat on my 99 XJ. I finally got everything apart and started removing the thermostat gasket. I'm pretty sure it was the original because it was caked on there and extremely hard to get off. So I was using one of those throw-away snap blade knives (with the real thin blade that bends easily) along with a steel wire brush (pretty soft bristle that don't hurt your hand when rubbed against) as well as a nylon brush and some 1500 grit sandpaper. Somehow, there is some pitting under the gasket..... Will I have problems with this? Is there any way to fix it? Thank you for any replies.

 

If you apply a bit of appropriate RTV (for thermostats, water pumps, etc), that will fill in the "pitting" and give you a good seal.

Shouldn't be a problem.

 

Alright. Is it normal for there to be pitting in that area? I can't see how the tools I was using could have done that....

 

Are you the original owner? If no, then it happened with the previous owner.