Newest car in the fleet, a 1989 Buick Century.  1 week on the road, and water is everywhere, surprisingly know steam, so I'm pretty sure it's not a hose.  Thinking the worst, a cracked block or something.  After working hard on the problem with my neighbor Bill, read as enjoying a budweiser on a swing....he related a story about a plymouth he owned where the freeze plug was always leaking, right over the starter.  This got me to thinking and sure enough, you can see the anit-freeze, leaking right out of a freeze plug, some will call these expansion plugs.

Removal and installation is difficult, as there are components in the way and it requires striking them with a mallet to get them in.  The local garages all wanted from 150 to 200 for this repair.  For that amount, i'll try it myself first and push it to them if I can't do it.

First glance at this one made me think I'd have to remove the starter and the check oil tube that guides the dipstick into the oil pan.  Fortunately I found a product, a neoprene rubber expansion plug that doesn't need to be "hammered in".  For $2.46, it's worth a shot.

I was able to use a long screw driver and hammer, with the car up on ramps and tap the old plug loose, be advised, even if you think there is no anti-freeze in the car, your block holds quite a bit, and I was nicely bathed in anti-freeze and muck.  Definetly this was some nasty crap floating around in that engine.  Guess that's why you supposed to "flush and fill" your car occasionally, this thing looks like it's never been changed.  Loosening it was easy, but it took a bit of work with vice grips to pull it out.

Installing the neoprene rubber plug was a bit of work, because the oil dipstick tube, is right over this freeze plug, but a little bit of work and it's in.  Very nice because no hammerring, now all i you have to do is get a wrench on the damn thing and tighten her down.

So far it is holding, I'm not sure I'd trust it for many many years, but I'm only trying to get 1 year out of this car.

Pictures below.