Coolant everywhere: Could it be the water pump?

[Hap337]

I just finished a 3 hour drive with my TJ, got home, left it running and started unloading some stuff out of the back. When I came back outside after about 5 minutes smoke was billowing out from under the hood and there was a huge coolant puddle underneath. I open up the hood but there was coolant everywhere, couldn't spot a source. I am gonna wait till tomorrow to fill it up and start it to hopefully spot where it's coming from.
But I did notice that the fan blades/pulley was a little wobbly and loose. Would this be the water pump? And could that cause coolant to explode everywhere if running?

 

[Steel City 06]

It could be the water pump. If the gasket has failed or the pump has come loose, there could be play in the fan clutch where it bolts to the pump.

The coolant system is pressurized, and if the water is hot enough, some of it will flash to steam if depressurized.

A potential worse (but not worst) case is that the fan contacted the radiator and damage occurred. This is rare but I have heard of people putting fans through the radiator on this site before.


That was very lucky with the timing...

 

[Hap337]

Agreed that the timing was lucky! Hope to get a better look at the water pump and everything tomorrow in the daylight

 

[MountaineerTom]

If your fan and clutch are wobbly, it sounds like the pump bearing may have failed. It’s likely leaking from the weep hole in the underside of the pump.

It would be good if you could rinse all the blown coolant off and then use a leaf blower to try and dry it up some before running it again and looking for the leak.

 

[Hap337]

That sounds like a good plan