Water Pump????

I am a newbie and can do basic stuff on my truck........It is a 1998 silverado,135000 miles, I have coolant seeping from the weep hole of the water pump.....Can someone give me step by step instructions for correctly removing the old one and installing a new one????
How hard is this job for the do it yourselfer???
Can I drive the truck with this seepage or will it just blow out all at once????
Thanks for all the info in advance.........I enjoy this forum and have learned a bunch, just dont know if I have the right equipment or tools for this water pump job..................the engine is a V8 305...............also should I change the radiator hoses and heater hoses now with the water pump???????

I did mine on my 97 not long ago. I searched the forum and found
most answers to my questions. It took me awhile but easy enough.
The only tough part was keeping the gaskets lined up when putting
new one on. I didn't move my alternator.
Basically, I disconnected neg. battery cable. Removed fan shroud.
Drained coolant. Removed belt. I used a strap wrench to hold fan
pulley while I popped the big nut to unscrew fan assembly from pulley.
(not reversed) There are 2 hoses going to manifold. I can't remember
if I had to take off one or both. Also at least one electrical connection
to disconnect.
4 bolts to pump. Scraped old gasket...and so on.
Let me know if you need more details. You may want to search forum
as I am just trying to recall this from memory.
I replaced my lower hose while it was easy to access. Many
will suggest the thermostat too but I didn't feel like it. Mine
has been working right on cue.

ONE MAJOR THING TO WATCH OUT FOR IS TAKING OFF THE FAN CLUTCH, ITS NOT FOUR BOLTS LIKE THE EARLIER 90s chevys, depending how tight the the fan clutch is on the water pump you may need the special tool to get enough leverage to spin the fan clutch nut off the pump; i had to take my whole assembly (water pump and fan together) to Auto zone to use their fan clutch tool, it was a pain. the post before me must have got lucky with that strap wrench cause i tried that with no success. if i were you i would call around ahead of time to see if you can loan the tool before you get into this. I ended up buying the actual tool on ebay for 50$ cause i figured i could use it again and i like tools :). as far as the rest of the project goes, remove fan shroud, fan, drain the coolant (now is a good time to drain and flush coolant service) by removing lower rad hose(may want to get some new hose clamps, the oem ones are a pain, the kind that you tighten w/ screw driver)new lower rad hose maybe?) . remove 4 bolts on water pump, clean gasket surface on the block very well, you dont want to do this again later. put the new pump on using a litttle WP RTV and the gaskets. also put some rtv on the treads of the bolts to the WP. reattach hoses.

I did this on my 98 z71 k1500 this isnt really too hard as long as you have the right tools at the right time

oh ya, the hayne's manual for this truck is about 20$ on amazon its a good investment if you work on your truck often,
godd luck

if it is leaking from the weep holes, it need to be replaced asap or the weeping will turn into an all out leak, there is a seal behind that weep hole that leaks when its about to go. dont wait to long to change this. also on a 98. i would change everthing that relates to draining the coolant like: the coolant, lower and upper rad hoses, clamps. good time to do this.. its not too big of a job, but if you are a newbie i would plan on taking the entire day to get this done right,
Murphy's law#1 if something can go wrong it usually does

Thanks for all of your insights..............very helpful and just giving me loads of CONFIDENCE that I can do this myself without any major problems........Goodyear wants $290 and Pepboys wanted almost $400!!!! I did rent the fan pulley tool, actually they refund the rental fee totally when you return it! not bad for Pepboys!! LOL! Anyway I will post later on and let you guys know how I made out..........I am going to change the upper and lower hoses and maybe my drive belt while I am at it................This is a great informative forum and thanks again for all your comments.....

ONE MAJOR THING TO WATCH OUT FOR IS TAKING OFF THE FAN CLUTCH, ITS NOT FOUR BOLTS LIKE THE EARLIER 90s chevys, depending how tight the the fan clutch is on the water pump you may need the special tool to get enough leverage to spin the fan clutch nut off the pump; i had to take my whole assembly (water pump and fan together) to Auto zone to use their fan clutch tool, it was a pain. the post before me must have got lucky with that strap wrench cause i tried that with no success. if i were you i would call around ahead of time to see if you can loan the tool before you get into this. I ended up buying the actual tool on ebay for 50$ cause i figured i could use it again and i like tools :). as far as the rest of the project goes, remove fan shroud, fan, drain the coolant (now is a good time to drain and flush coolant service) by removing lower rad hose(may want to get some new hose clamps, the oem ones are a pain, the kind that you tighten w/ screw driver)new lower rad hose maybe?) . remove 4 bolts on water pump, clean gasket surface on the block very well, you dont want to do this again later. put the new pump on using a litttle WP RTV and the gaskets. also put some rtv on the treads of the bolts to the WP. reattach hoses.

I did this on my 98 z71 k1500 this isnt really too hard as long as you have the right tools at the right time

Hell I left the belt on and used a 15 inch cresent smacked with a hammer. Worked like a charm.

Ok guys finished up, really was not that bad as I thought, renting the fan clutch tool was worth it!!! Changed the pump, upper and lower hoses, pump bypass hoses, serpentine belt, all that plus 2 gallons of DEX COOL for under $160.........a few scraped knuckles and about 3.5 hours of labor, not bad for a newbie.........LOL! Take Care and again.....THANKS to ALL!!!!!!!!!!

Congrats...i did mine about last august...took a while but wasn't too bad....glad it wasn't too tough for ya.