Overheating issue.. Question?

I have a 91 ford escort LX Wagon.. Now the car overheats rather quickly in the summer. Winter it does OK. When the car is idling, the top hose from the radiator is hot while the one @ the bottom is cold. And the heater does not work.

What could cause this? Is the radiator bad? Thermostat?

Any help would be great.

Sounds to me like a stuck thermostat. Drain and flush your radiator and replace the thermostat... however, I suppose it is possible that your water pump is not working... but I suspect the thermotstat.

A blown head gasket could also cause this problem.

Dan