My 2002 ford focus is leaking water. i looked under the car and it has a steady dripping. i fill up the reservoir and about 3 hours later, its empty and it takes about a gallon of water to fill it back up. the weird thing is that sometimes it doesnt leak at all, but then i'll drive and it goes back to leaking. there doesnt seem to be any hose that is torn and i can seem to find the actual radiator.

no thermostat is good that old./ ever.
and the hose does not get water coolant from thermostat until the engine is hot and thermostat is opens( begin to open)
you forgot to burp all air from the cooling loop.
you are doing all this wrong.
well the reservoir goes empty when you do it all wrong, get all air of the loop first. then fill reservoir 1/2full of 50a%AF (antifreeze)mix.
the thermosat not installed backwards and STAT bleed hole (jigglepin)
must be up hill. (so it can be burped)
once properly filled of coolant, any leaks are seen clear as day
hood up(not driven) and let engine warm fully up and like magic
all leaks are seen , if present. and from the exact spot , is what matters most. (you never said where, only below crank pulley)
sorry the crank is not water cooled. look again and look closer
let engine idle up to 30 min to find the leak.




other than hoses or water pump leaks.
here are all front engine leaks possible
yellow arrow

F= freeze/core plug, x2
up top is a leaking intake manifold gasket (common too)

Check the water pump and see if coolant is around it.

If it's water that's normal what you are seeing is condensate draining from the evaporator coil. Remember the cooler the air the less water it can hold so it needs to be drained

dreaded water pump fail. had a few engine do this, timing belt and the pump will need replacing, best to change them at same time when the timing belt gets changed.

Well it is either a power steering hose, the pump itself, or the power steering gearbox leaking.

hoses would be the first thing to look at. Fill it with fluid then with the engine running,. have someone turn the wheel back and forth while you look under the hood. You will see something leaking out if it is that bad of a leak.

You will need to jack the car up to get under it. Once it is jacked up you must be sure to put jack stands under it for your safety. Please - no car is worth your life.
After you secure the car. Get under it with a flash light and have some one start it and put water in it. Look for the water coming out. You may have blown a hose or a freeze plug. If it is a hose - replace as needed. If it is ANYTHING else please have a professional look at it as you are obviously unable to repair it and the tools alone will cost more than a mechanic in many instances.

There are only 2 ways water can appear that I know of.
(1) Naturally occurring from combustion while you warm up the engine. It lays in the exhaust until it evaporates with heat or makes its way out little bleed holes in the mufflers.
(2) Air conditioner condensation off the evaporator which is SUPPOSED to drop thru a drain hose to the street. The hose can get plugged and it could leak out higher up maybe.
Your air conditioner works even in cooler temps to dehumidify the windshield(in DEFROST or MIX modes). This resulting water is supposed to drain thru that hose off your heater plenum.
don-ohio

If you can see this water dripping from the lower crankshaft pulley, and you are filling water, then this water pump probably leaks from the weep hole, the weep hole is designed in all water pumps to tell you that the water seal has failed. The water pump is timing belt driven, to change it will require removal and installation of the timing belt, for a procedure of this, go to my profile page and look at my tips and tricks for timing belt replacement 1.9L. While the timing belt is removed, the water pump has two hose connections and four blots that hold it in place, the four bolts are the easy part, the two hose connections can be difficult. Make sure to use a gasket sealer when installing a new pump. Hope this helps, let me know.

No it sounds like your water pump bearing has worn causing the leak.Change the water pump.

fill the reservoir with the coolant. it is a GOOD thing you dont see steam or a leak I hope.YOU DO WANT TO CATCH THE PROBLEM BEFORE IT REALLY OVERHEATS OR YOU MAY HAVE MORE COSTLY PROBLEMS. fill the reservoir. BUT, it may only fill the "radiator" once you do this as it cools off. As the radiator water cools it sucks the reservoir water into the radiator. as it heats up and the water swells (increases in volume) it pushes the excess into the reservoir. when the engine is good and hot and you dont have any coolant in the reservoir, that is a sign that the radiator is low or empty also.
when the engine is cold, find the radiator cap and remove it, add as much coolant you can there. fill the reservoir also. If it has been several years since the radiator cap has been replaced, I would do that now ( it is a cheap investment). if the gasket on the cap is not sealing well anymore or the exspansion valve mechanism on the cap is not working properly anymore, then it will let coolant pump out into the reservoir and not hold radiator pressure. if the reservoir is empty the radiator itself is probably too low or empty.