I sure do appreciate all the help and encouragement I've been getting here. :)
I replaced the gasket, ran my Tiger for a while to warm it up....and sure enough, the leak started again. So this time I REALLY looked long and hard, to try and see where the steady drip was coming from. I figured out it was above the drip point "somewhere", not visible from my flat-on-the-ground-forehead-next-to-the-oil-pan vantage point. Maybe it's a crack in the housing, I wondered. I removed the water pump again.
Imagine my surprise when I found a engineering-designed, factory-built HOLE where the water is coming out. It's not mentioned in the manual, or parts description, but I assume it is there for a reason. The sides of the hole are not threaded,so a screw isn't meant to be there.
1) What is it's purpose?
2) Assuming it's not just to leak coolant, does it mean that something is amiss inside my water pump, and the entire assembly should be replaced?
See photo and attached.
It is indeed a "weep" hole, designed specifically to let coolant out...It's a tell tale to alert you that the inner seal has failed, and coolant is getting where it shouldn't...
New seals or replacement pump required.
Thanks! I was this years old when I learned what a "weep hole" is. The Haynes manual says the internal parts for a water pump are not available; and that a new pump is required. I'm okay with that ($200 for an OEM replacement),but I want to make sure it's not a DIY job, since I'm already holding the thing in my hands.... :)