Paper gasket or silicone for water pump?

[PatrickGMC70]

I'm in the process of tracking down a S - L - O - W coolant leak on my truck. Everything is new, which is why this is particularly frustrating. Long sorry short, I was getting tired of the drain, fix, refill, still leaking approach, so the water pump is now off. (I'd thought it may have been a slow leak from the back cover of the pump.)

In mounting the pump back to the block, I have a set of the paper/cardboard gaskets, and which I used originally. But I was wondering if these are a weak link, or if they're a tried and true way of sealing this spot. So before I threw it back together, I thought I'd ask whether there's a consensus about using the standard gaskets or gray silicone (or both). When I took the pump off, the gaskets were wet, but I'm assuming that was just from the process of taking it out and the coolant that was behind the pump.

The only good news is that after all of this, my problem should be solved (unless I put something back together wrong) because everything else has been checked and rechecked.

Thanks!

Patrick
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