Just put in a new radiator (the summit one) and I thought i did not push the hose on far enough to the water pump. Well i looked under there and coolant is slowly dripping from the hole at the bottom of the water pump. Do i need a new water pump or a gasket?
You need a new water pump. That little hole is called a weep hole, to let you know that the seal keeping water out of the bearing has gone bad. In short time, the hot water will erode the bearing and either lock up, or chuck the fan through the radiator.
The hole in the bottom of the water pump is the weep indicator for the shaft seal. You see it and weep because you are going to get to replace the water pump...
Take a cardboard box, & turn it upside down. Count the number of bolts that hold the water pump on, don’t forget to count the 4 funny looking studs too. Poke a hole in the box for each bolt/stud. Arrange the holes in a circular formation, and mark the box at the 12:00 point. When you remove a water pump bolt, put it in one of the holes in the box according to where it came out of the water pump. When you are done, all bolts will be arranged it the exact same order and position that you removed them from the water pump. That makes re-installing them easy, no wondering where does this bolt go.
A long shank tap should be used to chase the dirt & corrosion out of the original threads before you reassemble everything. Cleaning the threads will help prevent the bolts from seizing next time (yes, there will be a next time).
Use lots of antiseize on the bolts to protect them from corrosion and make them easier to remove next time.
A word about the links, if they don’t work, do a search on the part number (P/N). MSC updates their catalog regularly, and the pages may change, but the part numbers don’t. You will need the Adobe Acrobat viewer which is also a free download – http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html
See http://www.windsorfox.com/engtbk.htm for Stainless Steel Water Pump Bolts with Custom stainless steel studs. Allow the use of factory accessory brackets without hunting for obsolete parts or using spacers.
Kit comes complete with nine polished stainless 12 point bolts, four stainless studs and nine stainless oversized washers.
Price: $69.95
For another source for the stainless steel water pump bolts, See http://totallystainless.net/totally.html for the bolts. Last time I checked, they didn't have the studs. Nice folks, very into cars of all types. They have all kinds of stainless fasteners for almost every car. The prices are very reasonable, less the $8 for the water pump kit without the studs.
The studs are a Motormite item available at your local Advance Discount auto Parts store.
Motormite Water Pump Stud Kits for Ford, Lincoln and Mercury cars and trucks w/3.8L, 4.6L, 5.0L, 5.8L.
Because of the new connections, I might clean everything up and then watch the weep hole in it's dynamic - coolant likes to trickle down a funky path. I was able to watch mine egress the weep hole and go down the lower rad hose and drip off the hose at its low point.
A leaky coolant hose in the vicinity could possibly leak down into that area though - it might be worth checking in real time.
Because of the new connections, I might clean everything up and then watch the weep hole in it's dynamic - coolant likes to trickle down a funky path. I was able to watch mine egress the weep hole and go down the lower rad hose and drip off the hose at its low point.
A leaky coolant hose in the vicinity could possibly leak down into that area though - it might be worth checking in real time.
Exact place where it drips from causing me to think its the top connection of the lower radiator hose. I checked it out and i squeezed the hose and watched it come out of the weap hole.