'97 Coolant Leak

[Smith1000]

I have a coolant leak that is dripping from the back of the main shaft. It appears the coolant is coming from just behind the damper as it is leaking between the plastic cover that covers the crank and cam sensors, behind the damper on the front of the engine. There is no coolant in the oil. The car has about 215,000 on it. I confirmed it is not coming from the plastic elbow behind the alternator. The leak is lower. It does not appear to be coming from the water pump, although I cannot see directly below the pump. It is not streaming down beneath it.

If it sits all night, after starting, it will leak noticeably. I believe it will then stop after a period of time. I let it sit for a period of time and restarted. It did not begin leaking again.

I believe it is either the water pump--although it doesn't look like it is coming from the water pump, or the lower intake manifold. The LIM gasket has never been replaced. When the LIM leaks, does it typically leak externally, or internally, or both? In my case, there is no coolant in the oil. Is there any other place it could be leaking from? Thanks.

[HotZ28]

Typical symptoms of a water pump front seal leaking out the weep hole on the bottom of the pump. It will look like it is coming from many places due to the belt sling. Replace the pump.

[Smith1000]

Thanks. That's probably it. I'll take a closer look on Saturday. I replaced the water pump when it had about 75k. It has been down the road since then though.