99 Ranger 4 cyl. coolant leaking near water pump

Bought the truck new Feb 99 and I have put on 164,000 reliable miles, but
now my 99 ranger 4 cyl. is leaking coolant somewhere around the water pump
area. It doesn't seem to be coming from the weep hole and the bearings and
shaft seem to still be tight on the water pump. So it looks like I have a
project to work on. I figure I will replace the water pump , thermostat,
timing belt, serpentine belt, hoses. My question is, has anyone tackled this
project before? Anything else I need to replace while I have it tore down?
And is there anything to watch out for? Or any tips to use, to make the
project go easier? I have the Haynes manual to work from. Any ideas what
this job would cost for a shop to do it? Is it worth doing myself?

Thanks, Ken

sure its worth doing yourself.
You may want to also consider looking for any freeze plugs which may be
corroded through if you can't find the leak on the logical suspects. If the
water pump has never been changed, sounds like you wont be wasting your
money by changing it even if its not at fault.


"Ken" <kenfromtn.DeleteThis@hotmail.com> wrote inmessage
news:VGQ3g.26459$NS6.16780@newssvr30.news.prodigy.com...
> Bought the truck new Feb 99 and I have put on 164,000 reliable miles, but
> now my 99 ranger 4 cyl. is leaking coolant somewhere around the water pump
> area. It doesn't seem to be coming from the weep hole and the bearings and
> shaft seem to still be tight on the water pump. So it looks like I have a
> project to work on. I figure I will replace the water pump , thermostat,
> timing belt, serpentine belt, hoses. My question is, has anyone tackled
> this project before? Anything else I need to replace while I have it tore
> down? And is there anything to watch out for? Or any tips to use, to make
> the project go easier? I have the Haynes manual to work from. Any ideas
> what this job would cost for a shop to do it? Is it worth doing myself?
>
> Thanks, Ken
>