95 cutless running hot ... where to start?

i have a 95 cutless with around 138000 miles (just bought it last year with 133000 so not sure what all has been done to it) - driving it home noticed the temp gauge all the way up in the red - let it sit for a little bit and cool - checked coolant and filled it - started it up and the gauge went to the middle for a couple seconds and then pegged again - the lower radiator hose was warm the top hose was cold and neither fan was running or coming on and i noticed some coolant on the ground and undercarriage on the drivers side - topped off the coolant in the radiator while running (also noticed the radiator had a lot of junk in it and the cap smelled like oil - looked in the valve cover oil fill hole and oil looks fine and ok on the dipstick - no milky mess) - shut the car off - let it sit for a few and restarted - gauge again in the middle and then pegged after a few seconds (same things with the hoses one warm the other cold) - took radiator cap off and coolant was low again so i topped it off again - came in the house and started reading a few things on hear (took about 20 min or so) and checked coolant again and it was low

where is the coolant going
where do i start for fixing this thing - is it thermostat - water pump - radiator plugged

any help is appreciated - thanks

Had a 95. Original radiator, plastic necks. Upper neck cracked, car got warm, cracked expanded, coolant loss. Pressure test loan a tool, most autoparts stores have them. Very simple test.

I agree.....losing coolant has formed an air pocket in your engine, and it is overheating.....as "kat" said, do a pressure test and hope you find an EXTERNAL leak.....otherwise it's lower intake gaskets and/or head/head gaskets....

makes sense since there is coolant on the drivers side and i see no leaks but some on the side of the radiator and around the pitcock - could the radiator be clogged? - guessing a pressure test might tell me more ... will try it in the morning - thanks

18yrs on original radiator? Plastic neck. Living on borrowed time. Around $120 at autozone. Easy replacement. BTW, had 130000 miles on mine when it cracked last year.

so here is what happened - used the pressure tester on the cap and it was fine - put it on the radiator and pumped it up - would not hold pressure and heard a hissing sound coming from the radiator on the driver side tank - pulled the radiator and the drivers side tank (plastic of course) had about a 4 to 5 inch crack in it on the back side - so replaced the radiator and filled with fresh fluid and bled at the bleeders several times and everything seems to be good - needle goes about 2/3 of the way up just idling and then the drivers side fan kicks on and needle goes back down to about half

thanks for the info to all who responded

Thanks for posting back.