Block leaking coolant

[SleightOHand]

Hey all, long time lurker, first time poster. My Festiva (the Mighty Festiva among my friends) is an '88 carbed 4-speed with 214k miles. I've used others' posts to fix my previous issues, but this one looks serious.

I've got a coolant leak coming from the lowest pulley on the passenger side. It's slow when the car is stopped but it's a pretty steady drip when running.
For reference, this is where you're looking:


The first picture is after sitting all night, the second is with the engine running, and the third is right after I shut it off. These are from underneath the car; oilpan on the right.






I'm assuming I'll have to take off all the belts and then there appears to be a cover on the side of the block. And somewhere under all that in the ~5 inches between the inside of the fender and the block I'll find the leak? And hopefully it's not a cracked block. I haven't seen any oil in the drips, nor any coolant in the oil though, so I'm doubtful it's quite that bad.

I hope someone can point me to something simpler.

I've got to get to work across town in about an hour (~10 miles roundtrip) and I figured I could limp it, but a trip to LA tomorrow (~100 miles roundtrip) would be out of the question.

I would really appreciate any help. I can clarify points or add more pictures if needed. I really love the Mighty Festiva and I want to keep her on the road for a few more years. Thanks in advance!

[TONYCASH]

You might want to put your location.

[doylerl]

Leaky water pump? How is the temp. running?

[SleightOHand]

I'm in southern California, about 50 miles north of Los Angeles.

The temp gauge has always read low. It used to hover just over the C even on long trips. When I drove it yesterday it was about a quarter way into the "normal" range after just a couple miles. Is the water pump located down there? Is it an easy repair/replacement?

[FestYboy]

it's youre water pump, there's no coolent passaged in the block below that point. replace the pump AND your timing belt at the same time. if you're mechanical, it'll take you about 1.5 hrs to do the whole job.

[WmWatt]

there's a hole for the coolant to leak out to indicate when the pump is worn.
sounds like that may be your situation.

[SleightOHand]

Things were progressing smoothly until I got to the crankshaft pulley. What's the trick to getting those bolts out? I've got bruised knuckles and 4 tight bolts. The haynes manual suggests taking off the starter and wedging a screwdriver in there, but that seems hazardous. Anyone got any tips?

[FestYboy]

an impact driver... either hand, electric, or pnumatic. i usually go after them with a breaker bar and pop them loose a bit and then use a wratchet.

[WmWatt]

A 13/16 wrench will hold or turn the crankshaft while you loosen the pulley bolts. (Remove spark plugs to eliminate compression.) I worked from underneath. To drop the pulley I had to put a pry bar in the engine mount and give the block a shove. There was not quite enough clearance between the block and fender for it to drop out on it's own. I used the Phillips head driver in my socket set to take out the two screws on the inner pulley.

The water pump pulley can be held by squeezing the belt in one hand or by wedging a long screw driver between the heads of two bolts while loosening the third.

[WmWatt]

P.S. There's not need to loosen the crank shaft bolt as Haynes claims to remove the timing belt. Just take off the pulleys.

[SleightOHand]

I got the outer pulley off. A buddy held the pulley with a strap wrench and I popped the bolts with a breaker bar. Now the little screws are killing me. They seem to be in there just as tight as the bolts were, so I'm off to home depot to get a stripped screw removal bit. It's frustrating to be so close but so far.

[SleightOHand]

Also, does anyone know the size of those screws so I can replace them?

[SleightOHand]

The screws are M4-.7 16mm for anyone's future reference.

Also, would it be advisable to check the fit of the water pump by filling the radiator and checking for drips before putting the various belts and such back on?