i have a 90 lx, 306 that i drive occasionally, i have only had the car a month or so, and have had no real issues until yesterday, i went to drive my car to work and noticed the temp gauge was reading 230, ever since i've had the car the temp has stayed at 190, noticed the car had no coolant, so i filled it up and drove it about five miles and the temp was back at 230, got out and check the engine and noticed small puddles of coolant on front engine, left and right of water pump, could see it bubbling from passenger side of water pump but could not see well enough to tell exactly were it was, the car never got above 235 degrees, does this sound like a blown water pump gasket, or could it be something else, i dont believe its a head gasket, but im not sure, there are no leaks from the radiator, any suggestions would be great, thanx.

 

sounds like the water pump to me

 

coolant leaks are by far the easiest leak to diagnose. get in there and open your eyes.

 

Also you could loan out a coolant system pressure tester. That will aid in finding the leak

 

Coolant pressure tester, pump up pressure look and see where the coolant comes out. That will be the leak.

 

++++1!

 

open the hood, physically try to move the water pump pulley and check for play, if you have play, your water pump is no good and you must replace.