Honda Repair: water leak, coolant hoses, radiator hose

Question
I am contemplating buying a 1996 Honda Civic with 180000 miles on it.  There is a water leak come from the side of the engine nearest the firewall. water is leaking on to exhaust .  is there a freeze plug hiding in there somewhere?  does not appear to be coming from water pump area or thermostat area.

Answer
Mary, it is not a freeze plug by any means. But there are a lot of small, hoses that distribute coolant. These run between the engine and intake manifold. There also is 2 hoses that run to the heater core as well and are visible at the firewall. I would suspect these since you have already eliminated the lower radiator hose and where it meets the Thermostat housing. The Thermostat housing is bolted to this long, metal, pipe which runs close to the back side of the engine and meets at the water pump. Other than that there is no other coolant hoses or pipes back there.