My moms first generation BRG miata has developed a steaming problem. My mother was driving it on the highway and the temperature gauge went to full temp so she wisely pulled over and called me for help. I arrived and filled it up with water and we made it 4/5 of the way home before she pulled over to tell me that it was working fine and i could go to my house. At this point i steam poured out underneath her car and told her to shut it off. After a brief inspection i noticed that the water was not coming out of the overflow but seemed to be coming from somewhere underneath the intake (just a guess i saw no water escaping as the car was off). She said that the water temperature only went up when she stopped to tell me i could stop following her.
Probably causes?
Sounds like a water pump.
How hard is instalation of a new one?
There are a bunch of coolant hoses that go to the throttle body and idle bypass valve, i would inspect them. There is also a rubber cap on the back of the head that is a fairly common point of failure if i remember right.
geomiata wrote:
How hard is instalation of a new one?
Not too bad. Do a timing belt while you're in there. I struggled with the belt, but got it done in a day. I bet Keith could do it in 3(?) hours.
Good luck, you can do eet!
Woody
SuperDork
5/31/10 5:18 a.m.
Yeah, there are lot of small coolant hoses and it could be any one of them. Do them all at the same time.
Try pressurizing the system, see if you can see where it is coming from? Just to make sure it isn't the head gasket.
Keith
SuperDork
5/31/10 11:27 a.m.
http://www.miata.net/garage/CoolingSystemProblems.html <- includes details on the rubber plug.
I seem to remember there's a big one on the intake side of the block as well. I'l have to double-check details when I get to work tomorrow.
Usually when the plug on the back of the engine lets go, you will get a face full of coolant esp on the passenger side of the car. The motor then cools and allows you to drive a short distance to a repair shop where you have to show the guy how to fix it. Ask how I know. It has happened at least 3x to me over the years.
