Water Pump Leak

I noticed there was a small leak from the water pump a few days ago. I was only able to notice as the leak discolored the paint on the block slightly. Otherwise, I’ve not noticed any fluid on the ground or on the engine.

I checked tonight and realized the leak is actually at the timing cover. I suppose when I took off the water pump, loosening those bolts also loosened up the timing cover. This created a gap in the timing cover gasket which was not sealed when I tightened the water pump back down.

I checked the Shop Manual and the water pump should be torqued down to 15 ft/lbs. I checked the bolt closest to the source of the leak and found it was lose. I checked the one next to it and it was also lose. I believe I can probably fix this problem by just tightening all the bolts back to spec. I suppose they loosened after driving the car around and heating the engine up.

I’ll need to take off the water pump pulley and fan to tighten all the bolts. I’d also like to paint the area of the block which is discolored. I’ll wait and handle this project when I decide to replace the intake gasket.