95 cutless running hot ... where to start?

[motorsports12]

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

[aleekat]

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.

[Tech II]

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....

[motorsports12]

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

[aleekat]

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.

[motorsports12]

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

[aleekat]

Thanks for posting back.