Yea, water pumps leak from the front seal. They have a drain hole to allow the water to leak out if/when the front shaft seal starts to go.
As for water pumps, IMHO, I say get new, but the more important issue is the gaskets and the bolts used.
IMHO, ***** the cr*p gaskets that come with the pump, get REAL gaskets - Felpro! And, IMHO, now is a good time to upgrade to SS bolts. But, Totally Stainless often takes
weeks to ship. Still, IMHO, well worth it!
Here are the bolts that Totally Stainless (
Totally Stainless ) has:
http://www.veryuseful.com/mustang/tech/tmp/TotallyStainlessWaterPumpBolts.jpg
As I remember, I got the "Engine Kit 5.0L EFI SBF" (6-0897) (~$45), and the the "Stud Bolt Kit for 302 SBF EFI Water Pump" (6-9029)(~$30). Plus, ~$10 for shipping and handling.
Check and verify those numbers and prices before ordering!
Also, it took ~5 weeks before I received them.
So, if you need something
now, I'd suggest asking before you order!
I took care in taking that picture.
All of the the packages are labeled. You can see what bolts are in each package, and what the package part number is. Something that I wish that Totally Stainless would do for their catalog, or web site.
It all depends on what bolts you want. If you want
just the water pump bolts, it seems like kits 6-9029 and 6-0592 are all you need. Check their catalog, or call, for prices on those kits.