coolant issues

[Schnell 318]

on the way home from college my car seemed to have a slight creep in the temp gauge, so i pulled over at a rest stop to see what the problem was. my car was streaming coolant from what appeared to be the bottom of the water pump, but i just had it changed in the fall. it also appeared to be coming from the short hose that goes from the water pump to the t-stat. so i tighten up the hose clamps there, added coolant and made it home.

so i figured it wasnt the water pump since it is almost brand new, so i ordered the hose figuing it has a split in the bottom or somthing. but i took my car out to get some food and noticed that the temp gauge didnt move at all so i came home right away.

so the question is, how long does it take the thermostat to open up? in the garage i let my car idle for maybe 2 min and it hadnt opened up yet. the only funny thing is that it didnt seem to be leakin coolant at all.

i dont know what the hell the problem is.

[ryan_george]

What engine are we talking about, m20 or m10?
I'm not familiar w/ the m10, but the principals are all the same.
Are you worried that the coolant isn't flowing? I'm not sure when the tstat should open, but the hoses leading to the rad will heat up (if you didnt know that already).
Are you getting any heat inside the car? After a few minutes you should start to get something..
If it's obviously leaking coolant from somewhere, just let the car idle until it starts leaking.
Did you do the water pump yourself, or have a shop do it?

[Schnell 318]

problem has been solved for a while now but thanks anyways ...

i had a pinhole leak in the short hose that goes from the water pump to the t-stat (m10)

[MattE30]

t-stat opens around 70-80 degrees fahrenheit.

[arnoldgtr]

Stock thermostat is 80 degrees Celsius, not Fahrenheit.
80 degrees C. corresponds to the center mark on the temperature gauge.

[MattE30]

oops. My bad. Why would Germans use fahrenheit anyway.