i have a 98 dodge ram with a coolant leak. i thought maybe it was coming from the thermostat housing but its not. i checked heater hoses and there dry but if i look underneth where the leak is it looks like its coming from under water pump or above it . i also noticed that it dosent leak that much when running but soon as i shut the motor off it starts leaking alot from bottom. could it be bad water pump? its not running hot. any ideas?

 

Lumpy,

I have a 97 and had a similar issue with mine a few years back. I started to smell coolant everytime I walked in front of the truck but could never locate the sorce until it started to leak. The leak was coming from the (Water Pump Gasket). Since the gasket needed to be replaced, I installed a new water pump to prevent future headaches down the road.

 

Your water pump has a weep hole on the bottom which is designed to do that when it needs replacement (i think thats why they put it there anyway). Replace the pump

 

+1. New water pumps are only about $45. Make sure you replace the water pump by pass hose when you do it too. They are only $5. You will probably break the old one when you try to remove it.

 

I should add: when you replace the pump, make sure that the fan stays in the vertical position--as in: DO NOT LAY IT FLAT doing so allows the heavy fluid stuff (technical name, I know) that is inside of the fan clutch to bleed down and contaminate the bearings, thus ruining the fan clutch and making your engine overheat because the fan wont spin as fast as it should when it needs too.

I ruined three of them on my old chevy (first vehicle, and the mother of many, many, many learning experiences) before someone imparted that little piece of vital information on me

 

I have the same problem but my frist one , it was the battery that died on me , jump start it but had very hard time with the crank, do u think my battery is dead cuz it didnt replace for 4yrs, so driving hme frlm a freinds house, bout a mile the truck just shuts down and i rolled it to my apartment and part it, then in the mouring i saw coolant leak so i guess its coming from the water pump!!

 

Water pump, freeze plugs, tstat housing, radiator, bypass hose. Can't tell. Gotta dive into it!