'94 3.0 coolant leak

[hfpros]

Pictures:

http://imgur.com/a/PzhBvyK

Where to start with my poor little ranger..
Moved my truck the other day and noticed a small puddle in the dirt beneath it. Checked and the coolant reservoir was empty. I check my oil often as my truck is at 130k miles and is somewhat prone to head gasket failures.
I refilled the tank and drove to dinner ~3 miles away. In about an hour it drained the reservoir, filled again, drove home. All the time keeping an eye on my temp Guage, which seemed to raise at a normal rate. I checked the next morning when I had more time and it leaked all of the reservoir and half the radiator. I filled it up and sitting cold, leaked nothing for ~3 hours. Had to drive it to and from work, Temps raise normally. Filled reservoir and half radiator, drove home. After that it leaked just the reservoir, radiator was full. That night I was trying to diagnose better and the trail of coolant wasn't very clear so I took about a 2 mile drive to get the "flow going" again per say. I'll get onto the results below. It leaked just the reservoir this time, radiator is full. Today I just ran and warmed it up for 20 minutes and nothing. Nada.

Onto where I could visually trace it.

From best I could see from above and below, is it was coming from the front, Driver's side of the engine. Below the manifold and above the engine mount. It seems to flow down onto the engine mount in that location not far from above it.

Then I shoved my phone down there and took some pics.

http://imgur.com/a/PzhBvyK

I think it's safe to assume the yellow shit around that bolt and on the engine mount are related to this issue.

My question is where is it coming from?
Is there a better way to find the source?
What's the yellow shit? Burnt up collant from the hot engine block?
My suspicions are water pump, water pump gasket, or head gasket. Any other ideas?
I did see something about freeze plugs but from what I've seen this model does not have them or at least not in the area of concern. I very well could be off about all my guesses.

I also have a Ford mechanic friend that will be taking a look at it in the next few days.
Any input from you guys would be very much appreciated.
Also, I always put a drip pan underneath when I parked it, I haven't been just dumping coolant everywhere.
I also have different means of transportation so it will be parked for the time being.

 

[91stranger]

That doesn't look too good. I would get the truck hot then park it while running and see if you can see where the coolant is coming from. Mine (99 3.0) recently started leaking coolant too and I couldn't tell where it was coming from and I ended up watching everything while it was running and found a pinhole on the hot water fitting coming off the t-stat housing. The brass fitting broke at the nipple and caused the coolant to leak down the hose and spray sideways which made it hard to pin point at first. It's leaking and if it's leaking enough to drain the reservoir then you should be able to see the leak unless it is internal. Have you checked for the basic blown head gasket symptoms? smokey exhaust? coolant reservoir smell like gas or exhaust fumes? coolant in oil? Based off the pics you posted it looks like a head gasket but its hard telling with the pictures and little bit of info you posted.

 

[hfpros]

That doesn't look too good. I would get the truck hot then park it while running and see if you can see where the coolant is coming from. Mine (99 3.0) recently started leaking coolant too and I couldn't tell where it was coming from and I ended up watching everything while it was running and found a pinhole on the hot water fitting coming off the t-stat housing. The brass fitting broke at the nipple and caused the coolant to leak down the hose and spray sideways which made it hard to pin point at first. It's leaking and if it's leaking enough to drain the reservoir then you should be able to see the leak unless it is internal. Have you checked for the basic blown head gasket symptoms? smokey exhaust? coolant reservoir smell like gas or exhaust fumes? coolant in oil? Based off the pics you posted it looks like a head gasket but its hard telling with the pictures and little bit of info you posted.

Thanks for the reply
There's no coolant in the oil. That looks good.
I can't pinpoint if the coolant smells like oil or exhaust, if it does then it's pretty faint.
No smokey exhaust.
I'm pulling the radiator tonight so I should have more info soon.

 

[Ranger Mark]

Check my thread "cooling system woes". I still have my drivers side head off if there is anything you need a picture of or more info on. The yellow stuff looks like sulfur. What color coolant are you using? You could call their customer support and ask what would cause it to turn yellow.