EDIT: Yup, it was the water pump going bad, all fixed now.

 

I have a slight coolant leak (drip, drip, drip, very small puddle when the car is idling for a few minutes in one place). It's coming from the thermostat / water pump area as far as I can tell. Is this usually where the weep hole of the water pump will drip when that's going out, or is it likely something else? Here's a photo:

 

 

Thanks in advance... haven't been on the USMB for a while, I missed this place

it may be the water pump seal

Mileage?

 

my 96 obs was doing the same thing but also had a sort of grinding noise when running... which was the waterpump.

 

Does your waterpump sound loud or quiet?

Sorry, should have provided more details...

 

138,000 miles or so, original water pump.

 

It doesn't sound bad, I was under the car with my head 6 inches from the engine while it was running, didn't notice any howling or screeching or that sort of noise. It's a 10+ year old Subie, so it's not like it's a quiet smooth engine , between the heat shield rattles, tapping valve noise, etc.

 

My local mechanic is probably gonna look at it on Friday, I do some work on the car but don't feel up to the task of water pump replacement, just trying to get a feel for what it might be, in case it's something easy I could try out.

 

Thanks for the feedback.

it could also be the bypass hose... i had a subie that i thought the water ump went, it was dripping just like you said, it turned out to be the bypass hose

 

EDIT: wait.. mine was a turbo, no sure if the 2.5 will have that too

Indeed it was the water pump, my mechanic put a new one in and fixed some seals on the oil pump as well as some timing belt idle pulleys that were starting to make some noise.

 

So, if you get a small coolant leak in this area, definitely consider the water pump as a culprit. Thanks for the feedback guys

Indeed it was the water pump, my mechanic put a new one in and fixed some seals on the oil pump as well as some timing belt idle pulleys that were starting to make some noise.

 

So, if you get a small coolant leak in this area, definitely consider the water pump as a culprit. Thanks for the feedback guys

 

With the new timing belt pulleys and water pump do you notice the engine sounds much quieter when running?

 

Mine is so quiet now that it's hard to hear it running when sitting inside the car. :up:

My wife claims it's noticeably quieter now, I don't notice a lot of difference but yeah, it does seem quieter and smoother running. Or it could be the placebo effect of having just spent a lot of money and wanting it to be quieter