Leaking from water pump????

Alright, here it goes.

About a month ago I started having an intermitent leak of antifreeze under the XJ. It would drip out slowly one day and then go a few days with no leak. Upon inspection it appeared that the factory clamp on the hose coming out of the bottom of the water pump was leaking. After putting it off for a month today was one of the days it leaked decently so I picked up a hose clamp from work and put it on behind the factory clamp figuring 2 clamps are better than one.

Well that just made it drip out more without even running and engine cool. Kinda wierd so figured I would take it back off and get a better look at things. Removed hose clamp and leak stopped. Took off factory clamp so there were no clamps and no leaks. I didn't start it or anything but fact of the matter is that it was dripping and with no clamps it wasn't. So I figured install the new hose clamp where the old one was and just leave the old one off.

Didn't appear to leak, started it and let it warm up, no leaks. Drove a few miles to the gas station and of course its dripping. Just got home and its dripping pretty good now.

So I'm boggled. I know its not something that has an easy answer without seeing it but is this a common problem with 4.0's? I'm pretty sure that hose clamp is on good and tight.

Could the water pump be bad and leaking? I wiped off the water pump and around the area and watched tonight and best I could tell it was coming from the hose but there is limited visibility up in there and I was in the lawn trying to do this.

Lets say worse case scenario I have to replace that pump and hose... How hard is that and/or how expensive are parts? I want to think the hose might have failed and that is where it is leaking but hard to say and in all honesty I don't have the patience to solve these kind of things any more. I just turned about 90k on the motor so its got some miles on it.

Any ideas? Suggestions?

I think the stock water pump has a little weep hole that starts to drip when the water pump internal seals are starting to go. Check that first.

http://www.jeepin.com/features/waterpump/index.asp

-tim

Advance Auto has a lifetime pump for about $30. I can change one in about 90 minutes now. HARDEST thing is getting the fan off and your belt tension bolt loose (if old and seized) 3 bolts on the power steering pump to loosen. (depending on year, later models have 1 bolt)

Remember most 3rd party hoses do NOT have the wire loop inside.(to keep from collapsing) Get em from the dealer for about 20-30% more than NAPA or other places. Worth the extra $$$ IMHO. If you have the cash get the third party pre-bent silicones. LIFETIME warranty on those. Pricy though. $175 for the pair for an XJ.

Something else to check - I've had the thermostat housing bolts work loose (a few minutes with a wrench will see to that,) and the heater bypass nipple on the water pump work loose (a little more involved - I think that took me 15 minutes to fix.)

Most water pumps, in general, will have that "weep hole" so that it is on the bottom when it is installed - it's there to tell you if the shaft seal goes out, and the bearings will usually follow. Replacing the water pump is fairly easy - take a couple hours. If you don't get a new lower hose with a coil in it, see if you can remove the one from the old hose (it "unscrews") and put it in the new one. They're usually good for a couple hoses.

5-90

FWIW The hose I got from advance zone boys had the wire. Something to look for though anyway. You might just have a damaged hose or corrosion on the pump, so maybe change that first. For what a pump cost I might just change everything and be done with it though.