When I left Houston (I'm back, by the way), I dropped my car off at a long-term parking facility. The car sat there for about a week and a half, and everything was fine when I got back to it, sans one thing.

The car has had issues before with coolant being consumed somehow. I have never pin-pointed it, but I have had a suspicion that it was leaking from or near the water pump. My incident today confirms that it is the water pump.

I believe the shaft on said pump has a seal of some sort. When the car is running, this seal is exposed to hot coolant, which causes it to swell and create a better seal between the shaft and housing. When the car sits for a long period without being started, the seal dries up and shrinks, causing the car to lose the coolant.

Anyhow, what I walked up to was a wet spot under the front-right corner of my car. I assumed it had just rained or something, but in the back of my mind I knew it was coolant. The car started just fine, but there was an ugly light being displayed on the dash: The "low coolant" light. I had a little bit of pre-mixed anti-freeze in the trunk, so I just dumped it in. I hurried out of the parking facility, and stopped at the Shell station just down the street from the airport. After spending $15 on a jug of pre-mix, I was able to re-fill the reservoir on the car, and it was fine all the way back to the apartment.

I'll be checking things over in the morning before I head to work, but I suspect it will be just fine (for now). This is just one more reason I need a new car though. :)