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May 30, 2010 10:42 p.m. geomiata Reader

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?
May 30, 2010 10:49 p.m. Kia_racer HalfDork

Sounds like a water pump.
May 30, 2010 11:17 p.m. geomiata Reader

How hard is instalation of a new one?
May 30, 2010 11:54 p.m. MCarp22 Reader

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.
May 31, 2010 1:15 a.m. Tom Heath Webmaster

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!
May 31, 2010 5:18 a.m. Woody SuperDork

Yeah, there are lot of small coolant hoses and it could be any one of them. Do them all at the same time.
May 31, 2010 7:47 a.m. mistanfo Dork

Try pressurizing the system, see if you can see where it is coming from? Just to make sure it isn't the head gasket.
May 31, 2010 11:27 a.m. Keith SuperDork

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.
May 31, 2010 2:54 p.m. fastmiata Reader

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.