update; I dont have the place or all the tools, unfortunately, to tackle this big of a project, so off to the shop she went. New hoses, drive belts, timing belt, and water pump, to the tune of $1300. :faint2: oh well, glad I didnt spent all of my Gov't check until now! thank you for the quick responses and help for my problem. this forum has given me a wealth of information and at times saved me a ton of money. y'all are a great bunch of people.
Bummer on the bill...I did my water pump about a year and a half ago. When I pulled it off, the pump wasn't even bad. It was the gasket. I still put the new pump on, but just goes to show you, an $800 job might've been a $15 job.
Another thing to keep an eye on, is the coolant lines that go to the rear heater. Mine started leaking at a bracket holding them to the frame. The old lines are steel, but the replacement part was either aluminum or stainless. On my '98 4 cyl auto, they ran along the exhaust and up into the body on the passenger side. They see a lot of salt spray, and are easily overlooked when searching for leaks.
I dont have the rear heater, but would those lines still be there? I've never thought about looking for them.