94 skylark, overheating ?

[mbhoakct76]

car was overheating and leaking a small amount of water at first, heat was working sometimes but cut off and was blowing cool air when overheating.
it overheated most when first started for about 20 minutes or so, temp would go up to 260 and back down, and up again, and down. but after being driven for a bit would cool down and stay cool. and heat is back on regular.
sounds like a faulty thermostat -so we even got a second opinion and replaced it and flushed the radiator.
but it continued to overheat and soon after(almost immediately) ended up
stalling because there was water mixing in with the oil ,at that point the head gasket had obviously blown , so we changed the head gasket along with all other gaskets involved with the job , and the heads were machined just to be safe since the engine was overheated a few times. i think we covered everything.?
I got opinions of experts and they thought that would do the job and was the cause of the overheating.
now all back together and its still overheating just the same as it was before. I think the blown gasket might have just been the result of the overheating.?
in my opinion i would say it needs a new water pump , but i have taken it to 2 mechanics that disagree and want to change the thermostat AGAIN and heater core! they say if it were the pump that it would be leaking, or making noise. and the temp wouldnt go down sooner or later. is this 100% true? and if the car is not leaking any fluid at all - would a bad heater core cause overheating?? can the water pump just be on its way out and only working sometimes?? how can i test for this to be absolutely sure??
when i open the radiator cap (on overflow of this car) the water does circulate to some extent- it gets sucked in slowly but backs right back up immediately. is there a way i can positively test the pump before letting anyone replace anything else they think it might be??!

[VAN-CHEVY]

Hello,
I think you are right. The blown gasket is the result of the overheating. But i don't think it's a pump problem.If it was, the temperature will stay high.
So, if you want to know what is the problem, you must run your car without the thermostat. If the temperature is normal, your thermostat is out of order. If not, it 's another problem.
To chech the pump, when the thermostat is out of the engine, you press the hose between the top of the rad. and the engine, and you must feel the water pressure. Do this when a friend depress the accelerator pedal several times.
Are you sure that the radiator is in good condition?
I hope you could understand all i am writting, because i am french and my english is not good.
thanks to keep me informed about your problem.
Stephane

[xeniaguy]

I think you have air in the cooling system. How to fix I'm not sure. Hopefully some one can tell you. Good luck