Why don't you disconnect the radiator hoses and backflush it with a garden
hose. That should give you an indication of whether it is clogged or not.
You could also run the engine with the rad hose disconnected (possibly
feeding the engine with the garde hose), but I don't think water pumps
normally fail other then by leaking.
Ulix
> Tonight my Midget ('70; 1275) got up to about 280 degF. My best guess
> is that either the radiator is clogged or water pump is bad. How can
> I tell? The thermostat is brand new, and I can feel heat past the
> thermostat in the system, so I don't suspect that. The hose from
> thermostat housing to radiator is hot. The left-hand radiator tank
> (driver's view) is engine-temp to the touch. The right-hand tank is
> air-temp to the touch (colder than body temp!). This leads me to
> believe that the radiator could be clogged. If the H2O pump was bad,
> I guess some coolant would move anyway due to convection, right?
>
> Suggestions?
>
> --
> Matt Liggett <mliggett@pobox.com> | Bloomington, IN, USA | '60 Mini
> <URL:http://pobox.com/~mliggett/> | '89 SAAB 900t SPG | '70 MG Midget
>
Ulix __/__,__
.......................................................... (_o____o_).....
'67 Sprite
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