Hi,

I was working on the Rover today... and there was slight traces of coolant on the oil pan I have traced back to the Water Pump (i think). Here are the photos... the Rover had HG about 9000 mi ago, shouldn't be that and temp never above 194

Looks like a small leak from this little hole on the water pump. Only other symptom has been a squeal on cold startup. I replaced the tensioner and idler pulleys about 5000 mi ago. The water pump seems to be original to the truck... I have ordered a water pump in anticipation of that being the issue.

Am I on the right track?

 

That little hole leaking is definitely water pump failure and time to replace.

 

Definitely... Replace the water pump and gasket

 

the purpose of the weep hole is to let you know that the seal in the water pump is gone

 

Yep, time for a water pump. Consider yourself lucky you spotted the weep hole doing its job. I've read about others where it wasn't caught early and a wobbly water pump shaft and pully caused a lot of other problems (think fan explosion).

Plan to replace the fan clutch when you replace the water pump. If you don't it'll likely fail soon. See this post in a related thread. Might want to read through the thread while you're there.

The best water pump to buy is the Airtex with a brass impeller. It's on sale right now for $110 from bputah.com.

 

Yup agree with replacing the water pump. Might as well replace the fan clutch while you take it off. My water pump bearing went out breaking the serpitine belt. Hardest part about replacing the water pump is getting to it, screws come off and scrap the gasket off gently.Also Make sure the gasket has a good sealant! Just my .02

 

Water pump gasket is supposed to go on dry... I wouldn't add a sealant. You could do a light coat of spray on gasket to help make it stick while you line up the pump and install the bolts.

One of the bolts on the right of the pump pulley goes directly into a coolant passage, so make sure to put sealant (I used loctite blue) on that bolt.

 

Not to add too much more work to your list, but you may want to consider re-sealing the timing cover as well. Coolant passes through that part as well. Considering it will be exposed once you have the water pump off. It will be a good chance for you to inspect the oil pump and timing chain.

 

Good point. It does add quite a bit of time (at least for me) because you have to drop the oil on as well to get the cover off.

 

Yep. To get the oil pan of you are supposed to remove the crosmember beneath it, if it doesn't come off remove the long suspension link beneath it instead. Worked for me. That's how my D2 started. Everything you do has a laundry list of "might as well do it while I'm there".