overheating questions

I'm trying to do a long distance diagnosis on my son's car. Since he lives in a different state I can't be there to see for myself but his 94 taurus occasionally overheats. This happens while stuck in traffic, city driving. My first question was, is the cooling fan on. well he does'nt know for sure but he pulled into a garage while overheating, the resevoir was gurgleing etc.. and the mech told him he might have a blown head gasket. Was the fan running? Well I told him to turn on the a/c and check the fan, he said the fan was running. I'm still not sure if his fan is comming on during normal operation without a/c. Also he says his temp gauge ever goes past half way even when overheating and usually stays on the very far left side of the gauge. Could the ECT sensor be ou of wack and not be turing the fan on when necessary. Thanks.......

Yep, the ECT could be causing the problem, the Constant Control Relay Module (CCRM) could be faulty, or the water pump impeller could be disintegrated.

-Rod

I'd first check the radiator fins for debris. I have found this to be the case on 2 of my cars.

To clean I used some wood and a hammer to loosen debris. Gently pounding on the radiator frame to loosen and it falls out in mass. When done, I used the garden hose to flush more out. Dirty/wet job, but free to try. Just make sure not to damage the radiator.