That torque spec on the drain pump was lyin to me

So I was working on a Whirlpool washer last week, the old direct drive ones with the pump right underneath. Everything looked fine, new pump, new gasket, but it kept leaking right where the pump meets the housing. I torqued that bolt to the manual spec, 80 inch pounds, twice, still weeping. On the third try I just said screw it and gave it an extra half turn by feel. Dry ever since. I checked with an old timer who does these in his sleep and he said the gasket seats better if you lube it with a tiny bit of dish soap and torque it warm, plus those specs assume a perfectly flat surface which most of these old tubs are not. I always trusted the numbers, but after that I started checking the mating surface for warping with a straight edge first. Has anyone else found that factory specs dont always work when the plastic gets brittle or the mount points are worn? What do you do, just wing it or are you making shims?