losing water

[martinworswick]

further to my question a couple of days ago about losing water, i've had a bit of a poke around and after removing the bash plate i've discovered the end journey of the leak, its exiting the engine from somewhere behind the lowermost pulley wheel immediately behind the radiator, or rather just above this wheel then tracking down to the bottom of it. i'm guessing that the water pump is behind here but thats only a guess.
any educated guesses as what may be the source?
what type of spares should i buy before removing everything and pulling the cover plate off?
is this a job i can attempt myself-i'm reasonably good with my hands?
anyone know of any links to where i can find schematics or diagrams of whats behind this cover plate?
all advice gratefully received,
cheers martin
ps i did take some photos of the leak but they were crap quality so i didnt use them but if theyll help i'll take some more with a different camera.

[NiftyNev]

Probably water pump seals. Replace the water pump ASAP before the bearings fail. Water gets into them when it leaks and drains out a small hole in the housing. I suggest you do a timing belt, tensioner, idler, crank and cam seal change a the same time.

http://www.toyotasurf.asn.au/techsite/timingbelt.htm

http://www.toyotasurf.asn.au/techsite/waterpump.htm

Nev

[martinworswick]

cheers, the timing belt , idler etc wer done about 6 months ago, just had a look at them links, doesn't look too difficult

[NiftyNev]

cheers, the timing belt , idler etc wer done about 6 months ago

Another case where changing the water pump (which is fairly cheap) would have saved you a lot of work now. Inspect the belt and other components for signs of damage if they have been wet. Replace at least the belt if is has been contaminated by coolant.

Nev