It has been a very long time since I have been here.

I have a 1990 Volvo 245 Station Wagon with 255000 miles on the clock. I noticed this morning a small amount of antifreeze underneath the car. I popped the hood and found it damp on the bottom of the motor (bottom of the water pump) and a little wetness on the black plastic engine pan.

I started the car and let it get to operating temperature and noticed a VERY small drip coming somewhere near the bottom of the water pump. The bearings seemed fine. They do not whine or make any kind of noise at all. I do believe the fan clutch is going out, it never seems to disengage. It is always locked in place (like it is when the engine gets hot).

My first question, could the locked up fan clutch cause the water pump to shake and eventually loosen the bolts or even crack the water pump gasket?

My second question, do the water pump gaskets go bad after about 2-3 years of usage? (It is a Volvo Pump & Gasket-it has about 40,000 miles on it).

When the engine is cold, the fan is REALLY hard to turn. When the engine is hot, the fan is REALLY hard to turn.

Before I tear into everything, any and all help would be greatly appreciated.

Todd :-)
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1990 245 Wagon - 240500 miles