back again, I think I wrote about the lack of heat in my 2001 Sportage, and I thought the flaper was jammed by some acorns. Sunday I was on my way up to Boston, when I heard a odd sound like I was dragging a tree branch under the car. temp gauge was normal. everything normal. I did check my oil and coolant levels before I left, as I always do, all ok, but there was this noise, so I pulled off the Expressway and checked, nothing under the car, nothing dripping, in fact the radiator was cool to the touch, which should have been a clue after driving 70 miles an hour for 30 minutes. Well I decided to turn around and take my wifes car. About 100 yards later, I began to loose power, fast. Got off the road, the radiator was still cool....but empty! The power loss was the engine seizing. the rattling was the waterpump disintegrating, which let go tension on the timing belt, kicking the timing all over the place.
Thre sparkplug boots were melted to the plugs. and if you squeeze the top radiator hose, it's sort of crunchy. The engine is Toast, litterally! The lose of heat should have been my tip off also. Well, new engine (rebuilt) $3500-4000 plus labor, used one $2500. Sometimes the clue is in front of you and you don't see it. I'm going to roll the dice and go with the used engine, and change the pump and timing belt before it goes in.