95 Dodge SPirit Overheating problems

[dsimms]

I had a new water pump and timing belt done last year and am really hoping it's not the problem.

When driving my car - after about 5 minutes or so my heat guage will go to about the middle and then go back down. About 5 or 10 minutes later, it will start to creep back up again. Off and on while driving at highway speed the heat guage will get up there and while in stop and go traffic - my car will start to overheat (95 Dodge Spirit). It gets up there pretty good, but not all the way to the red. The fan will kick on when the car gets that hot and the heat gauge will go back down. Basically as I'm driving it will go up and down. Otherwise car in not making any sounds.

I have noticed there there is antifreeze/coolant leaking directly under my overflow tank - drips. I also noticed then when my car does overheat antifreeze will come out - more to the right of the overflow tank - pretty good. After the car sits a bit it stops leaking. When the car cools down - I check the level of antifreeze/coolant in the radiator and very little is gone, but my overflow is pretty low.

Does this sound like a huge, costly problem?

Thanks for your advice.

[Prof.Factor]

The very first thing I would do is blowout the radiator to make sure air is flowing through it good. While I'm at it, I'd make sure the shroud is still intact. After that, I dunno ..... I might test the thermostat and consider flushing.
-Prof.Factor

[theFREAKnasty82]

from personal experience, I used to own a '92 Spirit w/ a V6, your radiator is probably gone. What happened to me was that the plastic housing on the side of the radiator by the overflow housing cracked and spilled coolant all over the place as I was going 70 MPH on a major interstate. I'd replace the radiator, and all the associated hoses, that should fix your problem.