as above, this is my xr3i project on the road at last!! been off the road for 5 yrs, not sorned!! no sutch thing when this 3i was last used! did one mile and boiled over, but the radiator is cold, how can i tell if its the water pump ,or the thermostat??

 

waterpump normally gets noisy, check the waterpump pulley
for any unusual movement.
As for the thermostat, take it out, run it up
and see if the same problem occurs.

 

probably your thermostat has rusted up in the closed position , like said above take it out completely and let it run up to operating temp , the rad should then get warm and not boil over , if that's the case replace the thermostat and job done

 

It would be wise to change the stat anyway, and is the most likely suspect.
tabetha

 

cheers guys, thanks for the quick repliys!!!

 

another point to make too -

while you are at back flush the whole system and get all the crap out