[shorod]

Have you been able to determine if the cooling fan is working as it should? Once the gauge gets a bit above the halfway mark, assuming the guage is reporting accurately, the cooling fan should kick in.

Also, there have been numerous posts about water pumps that have problems with the impeller blades sheering off. This would certainly cause an overheating concern. You may want to search the forum for "blades" or similar to see if 1996 is one of the problem years for water pumps.

Also, consider replacing the pressure cap, or at least having the cap tested.

-Rod