I have a 97 Cherokee Sport. I had replaced the thermostat a month or more ago. After that i had troubles with the t-stat housing sealing up right. I replaced the housing and thought it was still leaking. Got a new gasket and put the gasket and rvt on and let sit for a few days while out of town. Added coolant today and let it run, it started leaking again. It was dripping from the bottom of the engine. After looking more today It looked like it was leaking from the Bottom large hose on the water pump near the bottom pulley. I put a new hose clamp bc that one didn't seem to be tightening enough. AFter doing so it still leaked. I originally thought it was spraying out of the hose up and running down, but after further inspection it looks like its leaking from somewhere in the middle/back side of the water pump. It is up in where i can't see exactly where it is coming from. But it is dripping down on the hose. What would be the cause of this? Is the water pump going out?
It isn't coming from the weep hole on the top of the pump.

Thanks

 

The weep hole is on the bottom of the pump......

 

Leaks are hard for us to help you with. Gotta get under it (preferably with it raised up) and perform a thorough inspection with the best light you can get you hand on.

How old is your radiator? Not at all unusual for the "seams" on the sides of the radiator to start leaking and for the coolant to snake down and around.

You'll find it. Gotta put your time in.

Keep in mind that coolant migrates and where the leak drops onto the ground is not always where the root cause of the leak is.

Good luck.

 

I looked at it pretty closely. It does not appear to be coming from the radiator. the only place i see anything is up inside on the back of the water pump. I looked as good as i could and could not see the exact spot it is coming from. It is leaking to the drivers side and that is where it is dripping. It is leaking basically straight up from the large hose on the bottom of the water pump.

I have heard with weep hole it is just a small leak, this is coming out enough to be a pretty solid drip from a couple places.

 

The weep hole has nothing to do with the size of the leak. The weep hole is +/-1/4" in diameter. If just a small amount of coolant is leaking past the pump seals, the leak at the weep hole will be small (as in drops)....if a good amount of coolant is leaking past the pump seals, a 1/4" hole will pass a lot of coolant.

 

it is a pretty large amount of coolant leaking out. I would say when it started leaking around half a gallon came out after i got home plus it was leaking on the way home. It was coming out enough to make a solid stream.

So good chances the pump is bad? Is the weep hole in a location that you can see it?

 

What you're describing sounds almost exactly like a leak from the weep hole in the water pump. You can't see the weep hole itself while the pump is on the engine, but when the water pump goes, coolant runs right down the lower outlet and down the hose. If you climb under there and shine a light up that bottom hose, you'll see something that looks more or less like this:


(Stolen image of leaking water pump.)

That "weep" hole can pass a surprising amount of fluid. Sometimes it's more like a pee hole. I had a catastrophic failure that sprayed out everywhere like a diarrhea hole. Sounds like yours is pretty far gone.

The good news is that water pumps are not expensive or difficult to replace. Might as well do a full cooling overhaul. Do a good flush and replace your hoses, thermostat and radiator cap while you're at it.

 

How old is the radiator and fan clutch? The water pump and fan clutch r really easy to replace when the old rad is out of the way.

 

That weep hole is there for a reason...it is a tell-tale that your water pump is about to go. Replace the pump and the leak will go away.

 

Yep. You need to pay attention to it.

 

That is exactly where my leak is coming from. I plan on replacing the water pump today!

 

Hint, hint.

 

I agree do everything at once I redid my whole system saturday and if it wasn't nasty, muddy, and cold (and I did lolly gag a little) it would my have taken long at all. Took a few hours screwing around

 

Replaced my water pump today. No leaks as of now. My big problems was after driving to work it sits outside all night and leaked a lot. I will find out in the morning if the problem is really fixed.

Also I had antifreeze smell coming through the vents for awhile now, I assumed it was the heater core going out but after changing the water pump I don't smell it anymore. Is it possible that could have been the issue? Also the heat was warm but not super hot. When I first started it today after replacing the water pump that was the warmest it had ever been. But then later when I drove it again it didn't seem to warm up as much.

 

Double check your coolant level with it cold.