Tremelune
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I drove my 1965 Sprite (1098cc motor, I believe) for the first time since September and noticed coolant everywhere under the hood when I stopped for gas. I couldn't tell where it was coming from (the motor is rarely dry of fluids), but there was a splash on the underside of the hood, some spots on the top of starter...
The temp gauge behaved normally until I got back home and left the car idling to try and inspect the noise. It went up near 200 (I think), and the coolant spilled on the motor was starting to smoke, so I turned off the car. That's when I saw the pool of coolant spreading on the floor of my garage.
I also noticed during the drive that the motor had a very pronounced vibration. I couldn't identify it, but it was definitely from the motor, and it went from mild to wild with the revs. I just put a new gear-reduction starter in the car, but I don't think that's related.
My guess is that the cold weather did something to the water pump, and when the car got running again, it gave up the ghost and dumped coolant everywhere (including splashes from the drive belts). How do I confirm it's the water pump? Is this a difficult job?
The temp gauge behaved normally until I got back home and left the car idling to try and inspect the noise. It went up near 200 (I think), and the coolant spilled on the motor was starting to smoke, so I turned off the car. That's when I saw the pool of coolant spreading on the floor of my garage.
I also noticed during the drive that the motor had a very pronounced vibration. I couldn't identify it, but it was definitely from the motor, and it went from mild to wild with the revs. I just put a new gear-reduction starter in the car, but I don't think that's related.
My guess is that the cold weather did something to the water pump, and when the car got running again, it gave up the ghost and dumped coolant everywhere (including splashes from the drive belts). How do I confirm it's the water pump? Is this a difficult job?