Slow water leak. No really obvious leaks, likely culprit?

[pontiff]

Hey all,

When I serviced the car the other day I noticed that the water was at the minimum mark so i thought i would monitor it and see where it was going.. well on the way out tonight the coolant warning light came on and it had dropped about 1-2 cms and set the low coolant light off.

I put the car on the hoist and had a nosy around. Sure enough it had been leaking (obviously) but its not somwhere that is gushing out that makes it obvious to find. Its on the drivers side but while there was evidence of coolant along the chassis, lower wishbone and various other places, once i cleaned it off and took the car for a spirited drive and re-checked I could not see it leaking. The only thing I did see was a little bit of coolant showing in that 'hole' on the bottom of the water pump and a drop about to fall on the plastic routing pipe that sits below it.

Could it be that the coolant is indeed coming from that little hole and gravity is taking care of the rest?

I am keen to get it sorted but not sure where to start. I'll take it to my trusty mechanic on the weekend and see if we can pressurise the system and coax the little leak to present itself but has anyone else had something similar? I read that water pumps are not uncommon at the 4 year / 100k mark (where my car is at now) so i am leaning towards it but would rather prove it before I take a punt.

TIA!

[wai]

You need to get the cooling system pressure tested. This is done when cold so that the leak is not masked by the fluid evaporating. It is not necessarily something that can be done in a few minutes, but can take anything up to a few hours. It should identify the source.

[pontiff]

You need to get the cooling system pressure tested. This is done when cold so that the leak is not masked by the fluid evaporating. It is not necessarily something that can be done in a few minutes, but can take anything up to a few hours. It should identify the source.

Yes that's what I am going to organise. I drove it to work today and it didn't lose a drop so whatever it is, it requires certain pre-requites that are not necessarily there at the moment.