Antifreeze Leak

I know this is not the F150 forum, but you guys are far more helpful than the F150 group and since a Ford is a Ford and most things are common, I thought I would ask:

I see an antifreeze leak from under the main pulley at the bottom of the engine. It is minus 30C right now (yes I am in Canada) and I heard an awful sound earlier this week that sounded like a bearing issue, but it would go quiet after about 30 seconds after start up. Obviously there is an issue, but too cold right now to deal with it so I just avoiding using the truck right now, but does anyone know for sure that this is water pump? And is it problem if I drive it? I was planning on paying close attention to the antifreeze level and the engine temperature until I can deal with it...

The coolant may not be dripping from the source of the leak. It can run along an edge and drip from another location.

However, if coolant is leaking from the area near the main pully, then it's not a leak in the water pump bearing/seal, but something else. My guess is that the front cover seal is leaking. You might be able to keep it from leaking with some stop leak. I had a problem similar to this on my Windstar a year or two ago. I used just part of a bottle of stop leak and it has not leaked since.

I am not sure how the motor is on the F150, the 3.8L motor used in the windstar, and up through 1995 on some cars was FORD's first crack at the "front cover"...from what I have read a couple places.
FORD had problems with the gasket that they used on the front cover of the 3.8L motor, which they did catch on to and improved the gasket in later years.
The older units had the gasket break down and leak.

Now, a leak out is not so bad......but a leak that goes INTO the motor can cause major problems as the coolant does not permit the oil to properly lubricate.
You can take a sample of oil from the crankcase and send it in to a place like Blackstone Labs to have it tested.
They will tell you if coolant is getting into the motor oil.

If the leak is not real bad.....you might get lucky with Stop Leak in the coolant.
I did that a number of years ago with my 3.8L in my windstar, and it stopped the very slight leak that my front cover gasket had.....and it has held for a good 6+ years.
The stop leak did NOT solve my leaking lower intake manifold gaskets.....which have been replaced.
Lower intake manifold gaskets are another weak point on the 3.8L motor.....which FORD did improve the gaskets for.
This means that one should only need to do each of these repairs 1 time.
I would give all the other leak suspects a good looking at.
As mentioned, the leak is not always where you see the coolant....it can run there from someplace else.....or be blown back there by air as you go down the road.
So look up....and also look forward for any leaking at the radiator......hoses and hose clamps, water pump, base of radiator (drain cock) and the over flow bottle and hose to the overflow bottle.

The awful sound sure does sound like a water pump bearing failure, but the noise should continue, not stop if it was that. A rough grinding sound would be the wp. A one time sudden crack like sound could be a lot of things popping or cracking open, leaving one with a sinking feeling. A normal wp failure will leak at the weep hole and/or the shaft. I wonder since you have -30 deg temp, what you heard was related to something that was froze up and then releasing. Is your af strong enough for those low temps?

yah I tested it and it was good to minus 45. I suspected maybe it was something frozen up that would release as it warmed up. I heard it again, but similarly, it is only momentary. It has warmed up again, but I have not used the truck. It was up to zero today, so maybe I will take it out for drive soon and see if the noise went away and maybe get back under it again (on blocks this time so I can have a better look. I will post what I find when I get to it.. Thanks