RAD HELP PLEASE!!

If the head is leaking, it'll obly get worse over time. I have the same problem with my 96. Only, mine will leave a puddle right on top of the water pump after it has sat for at least a day. Leaks very slightly internally near one of the cylinders when i've been driving it for awhile.

Clean it off with simple green, let sit a few, then rinse with high pressure (cover coil pack ). clean it off so you can find out for sure where it is leaking from. It's hard to tell if it's all dirty, and who knows how long it has been leaking. Could be the pump, but you wont know till after you clean it off. iIt could be coming from the water neck (where the thermostat is), or it could be from the lower intake/cylinder head area.

I would get the leak fixed before investing in any mods. The longer you let it go, the worse (And more expensive ) it'll cost to fix .. unless you plan on doing it yourself.

Save your $$ for the head gasket repair as the 3.8 liter V6 is bad about blowing head gaskets.

Coolant leak.

By 2001 I believe they had sorted out the head gasket problem. However your first check should be a cooling system pressure test. If the leak is at the pump you should be able to see it with a mirror & a good inspection (Dont get caught in the serpentine belt). My son had a moderate leak ( about a pint or two a week) for several months. Finally I found put the pump was leaking, so replaced it & after refilling with new coolant started it up & when it got up to temp it started leaking much worse than before. It got worse with heat & pressure. I crawled under it & found the leak to be at the front face of the engine behind the pump housing where the long studs attach to front of the engine. I re-torqued ALL of the water pump nuts & the leak stopped immediately. Take care because there are different sizes of studs & different torque ratings for these bolts & also the tightening sequence is important.
Moral of the story; make sure all the threads are clean & use a torque wrench when installing most parts on an engine.
You need to fix this problem before adding any power to the engine since you run the risk of engine damage until you get this sorted out.
ATB Aeroman

@Aeroman

Did you use blue rtv sealant? I replaced my water pump in 2001 (one year after I bought car). First time I ever did that kind of work. Cleaned timing chain mount surface, applied blue rtv to timing chain surface, applied rtv to pump mount surface, stuck gasket on, applied anti-seize to at least 2 of the bolts, then bolted up water pump in torque sequence. -Waited- at least 2 hours before I filled with coolant and started engine. 9 years later, NOT ONE drop from the pump. Everything else on the engine leaks, except for the radiator and water neck. I wasn't questioning your job, just checking to see if you did all the above.

The water pump did not leak , but I never took off the timing chain cover, I probably should have, but at the time did not realise it was leaking there (small leak). Luckily a re-torque was enough to stop the leak, I did notice that when taking off the old water pump, some of the bolts were loose & 2-3 of the long studs had really caked up threads where oil/ coolant had leaked around the studs. One particular stud needs sealant on the threads. Haynes never mentioned removing the chain cover, since most times you would not have to?
I guess it all boils down to understanding exactly where the leaks are coming from!
Anyways it's all good now ,

ATB Aeroman.