Coolant leaking from my baby!

[Tishabet]

Hi guys,
So I'm losing coolant. I realized a few weeks ago that the resorvoir looked low (below the minimum mark) and filled it to the max mark. Over time (about a week) the coolant slowly dropped back down, and my heart sunk. I was really worried about the old coolant/oil mixing problem, but fortunately my oil and coolant looked (and still look) perfectly healthy.
So then about a week ago I parked in the garage here at work, and the next day was parking and saw a little puddle of coolant in the spot next to mine....hey, didn't I park in that spot yesterday? I wasn't positive, but when I looked at the coolant level it was now below the low level, more like 1/2 inch below the bottom "seam" where the top of the coolant tank meets the front.
So when I got home I topped it off to the "high mark." Now, for the next 2 days my girlfriend drove me to work, but on the third day I had to take the 944, and decided to check the level before I started the engine, since the dissapearance of my coolant had been weighing heavily on my mind.
Well, it was down to about the same 1/2 inch below the seam level. That is, the coolant dropped to the same level over 3 days without the engine being started. I top it off with a 50/50 mix of coolant and water, since at this point I've topped it off enough with water that I'm worried the mix is out of ratio.
So last night I'm at the gas station, and check the level again. 1/2'' below the seam again! Argh!
I once again top it off.
Now, to this date, I had never actually seen coolant dripping out of the car, although I'd looked from above the engine.
This morning, I parked the car here at work, and having topped it off last night I decided to have another look at the level. Once again, 1/2'' below the seam. That's over about 28 hours and maybe 40 miles of driving. CRAP!
And there's more....this time, I can see fluid dripping from under the car. About a drop every 5 seconds. It's coming off of the skid plate/protective plate thing under the engine, that panel you have to remove to get at the belts and such from underneath. Anyway, the fast (5 second) drip is coming from the driver's side front of that panel. But there's also a slow (maybe every 25 seconds) drip coming from the front dead center. So since I have plenty of light and a little time I do my best to find where the leak is coming from (all the time hoping it's not from the pump!). No matter how hard I look, I can't find the leak. The only slightly suspicious thing I found was a little bit of what appeared to be coolant ON TOP of the water pump, in a little indentation at the top of the pump just in front of where the hose attaches at the top. However, the coolant there is in a little "cup" in the metal, and it's only about halfway full and looks kind of old/evaporated/dingy.
I know that the only real way to find this leak is to take off that skid plate and find where the drip is, but in the meantime I am totally worried for my car. If it's coming from the pump, am I totally screwed? I have new belts on, just about time for their first 1500 mile tensioning. Are they garbage if they have coolant on them? How much will it cost me in parts/my time to replace a water pump (I've already dissected the car down to it in order to change belts).
Thanks for any advice or words of wisdom!

[theFONZ]

Try removing the airbox and maybe other things to see if you can see more. A small leak when the car is off will look white and powdery after it is dry. If you see that try and follow where it came from. Look next to the cam tower in the front of the engine, there is an opening there.

Keep us posted

[Tishabet]

I will do that as soon as I can get some garage time.
I toppped off the resorvoir this AM after parking. will check it at lunch to see how much I've lost.
My poor 944!

[Zero10]

Hmm, I think my water pump is leaking at the housing, not the shaft, caused a leak all over my passenger side steering boot. Caused a drip in almost exactly the same location with the skid plate on.
Could be your lower rad hose is leaking at the clamp on the water pump, but that is a long shot.

[bearone2]

you have a leak, how many times did you say that in your post.

you seem to be aware of the protection plate, remove it, get the car up on ramps, jack stands and with it running see where the leak is coming from. looking for white/green tracks indicating a leak or the leak itself and start up high on the radiator.

i had a leak less than what you describe with nothing hitting the ground. it turns out there was a small crack under the fan switch which i tried to jb-weld and ended up replacing the radiator.

check hoses, the nipple into the radiator from the exp tank, you just gotta look or pay someone to find the leak or just keep adding water.

[VINMAN]

Sounds like your water pump, dude!

[Tishabet]

Originally posted by bearone2
you have a leak, how many times did you say that in your post.

Sorry bearone, I know I overemphasize. What is JB welding? I do my own oxyacetylene and tig welding, but jb is one I'm not familiar with.....
Of course I have a leak. I'm just hoping and praying it's something easy (read: something I've tackled before) like a leaking hose or a clamp that has worn through something, rather than my pump
I have to retension my timing belts this weekend anyway, so while the car's apart I will try to locate what's leaking and whether the pump looks suspect. I'm just worried about my car making it to this weekend before something traumatic happens, and also worried about the consequences to my wallet and usability of the car for the next week if on Saturday afternoon I discover my wasserpump is shot and has soaked my new belts in coolant for the last few weeks.
I sure hope it's just a hose......
In the opinions category, my car has 67k on the odo....if it IS the pump, isn't this awfully early? I thought I had read on this board that the pump is a good preventative maintenance item to replace when changing the car over to its third set of belts, around 80-90k. Am I mistaken?

[bryanthompson]

VINMAN --
Dude! is your avatar from Office Space? That rocks! One of the best geek movies of all time.

[VINMAN]

Originally posted by bryanthompson
VINMAN --
Dude! is your avatar from Office Space? That rocks! One of the best geek movies of all time.

Yep! Thats when they were beating the crap out of the copy machine.

[Tishabet]

So tonight I went out to the parking lot to drive home, hadn't had a chance to visit the car over lunch. Anyway, since there had been such a rapid drip when I left it there 10.5hours earlier, I figured I'd be pretty low.....nope! level was spot on the maximum mark, right where it had been when I parked this morning. WTF? This is so weird......
Anyway, I'll keep you all updated if anything happens, and with any luck will have the entire front end of the engine disassembled on saturday and hopefully will be able to pinpoint the leak.....

[divezic]

This might just be a bad reservoir cap opening too early.

Only one way to find out. Crawl under her and see.

[rob83944]

You might have a leak from the front left side of the radiator where the hose meets the radiator (drivers side). Mine leaks a little coolant when it gets cold out, but during the warmer weather there is no leak.

You said in your first post that it leaked when the car was parked without driving it, so it may be this type of leak.

Cold is when the temp drops below 10 degrees F.
Warm is anything above 10 degrees F.

From my other post, we replaced the read axel haft shaft outside in the driveway when the temp was about 20 degrees last weekend.

[Tishabet]

Originally posted by rob83944
You might have a leak from the front left side of the radiator where the hose meets the radiator (drivers side). Mine leaks a little coolant when it gets cold out, but during the warmer weather there is no leak.

You said in your first post that it leaked when the car was parked without driving it, so it may be this type of leak.

Cold is when the temp drops below 10 degrees F.
Warm is anything above 10 degrees F.

From my other post, we replaced the read axel haft shaft outside in the driveway when the temp was about 20 degrees last weekend.

Thanks for the advice, I'll put this on my short list of likely spots.
I too thought it was sort of weird that I'd be losing coolant without the engine running....I mean, the system isn't even pressurized. But you never know.
FWIW, the coolant loss started during our crazy cold snap out here in the northeast, we were seeing temps of 9-10 below zero. Still, a leak is a leak and I've got to fix it, since this car is my daily driver and that includes the winter.
My problem in terms of working on the beast is more time than weather or location, I actually have a garage I can work in but currently I'm employed by a startup and I'm usually on the road by 7:30 and back home around 7-8, hard to find time to do even the most basic of tasks during the week. The weekend, however, is my wrenching respite

[Zero10]

While we're talking about leaks, what's the cheapest place to get a front seal, timing belt and water pump (perhaps oil cooler seals) kit?
Looks like it's almost time for mine.
Unless I can track down the leak to somewhere else (I am starting to doubt it)
I have checked 944online and vertex, where else should I check?

[divezic]

Sorry for contributing to a hijacking of your post, Tshabet, but for Zero10, try Pelican Parts and www.***********.

[Tishabet]

Originally posted by divezic
Sorry for contributing to a hijacking of your post, Tshabet, but for Zero10, try Pelican Parts and www.***********.

No Problem! You never know when I'm going to need the same info

[Zero10]

I thought maybe it was sort of related?
Sorry. =(

[Tishabet]

So.....
It's the water pump. Sob!
So now I have several questions:
If coolant hit my new (1500 miles) timing and balance shaft belts, do I need to replace them? Or are the OK?
Do I really need the flywheel lock to replace the pump? I mean, I've done belts without the lock.....if I dissect down to where I take off the belts, is that enough dissasembly to remove the old pump and install the new one?
And last but not least.....
What's my shopping list for this job?
1) New pump (rebuilt? Brand new? what are the opinions?)
2)New thermostat
3)enough coolant to fill the system
What else? And where is the best place to get this stuff? Is Pelican the way to go?
Darn, was really hoping it wouldn't be my pump.
Anyway, advice and info greatly appreciated! Thanks guys!

[TheCooler]

Pelican offers pretty decent prices. Might aswell put new seals on if you havent already.

[Tishabet]

Cool, that sounds fair. Does my 89 NA fit the standard turbo pump?