MG Car Repair: 1979 MG Midget, fan pulley, weep hole

Question
Hello!



I have a 79 Midget that started leaking coolant from a machined hole in the side of the fan housing immediately(1.5 inches or so, you can also the the shaft for the fan about and inch down in the hole) behind the fan pulley on the passenger side.  I read in the manual that earlier models had a grease port here, however I wouldn't think that a 79 would qualify as an earlier model.  

There doesn't appear to be any threads in the port, and I'm assuming that there either used to be a plug that rattled out(it started leaking while on the road) or I just need to bite the bullet and replace the water pump.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.


Cheers!


David

Answer
Hi David,
It sounds like you have a bad waterpump. No amount of grease will correct it. You use to be able to get a kit to rebuild them but I have not seen the kits available in years. That hole is called a "Weep Hole" and it is a way to exhaust any coolant that gets past the water seal. If it is not leaking badly you can usually just keep adding coolant and watching the progress but it is on it's way out when one starts to leak there.
Howard