Cooling problem

[DelTheZealot]

My car critically overheats nowadays, here are the details:

I should start off by saying i know next to nothing about car engines. Bought my '98 Grand Prix GT used about four years ago, and about a year and a half ago i was backing out of an underground garage parking spot and lightly side-swiped a support structure with the passenger side front end of my car, cracking off my rear view mirror and slightly shifting my engine. When I took it to the local mechanic he said it would be over three thousand to fix completely, but there was no immediate danger of anything malfunctioning or anything to cause the car to not run. The oil leaks, the coolant leaks, fluids I've probably never even heard of leak, but as long as i keep an eye on the gauges and check the oil and coolant level once in awhile everything has been fine.

That being said, the other day I'm taking my usual 45 mile drive to work and I notice my engine running warmer than usual.. eventually reaching the top 3/4ths of the gauge. I stop to fill the coolant and everything is fine. I get home from work, and take a four day trip out of town in my girlfriends car, and today on my way to work (I was sleepier than usual, damn Mondays) and i notice my engines temperature at the critical level, basically at the highest point in the red that you can be. I pull over on the shoulder of the freeway and put the remaining coolant left in the bottle (about 1/10th was left) and all the water in my water bottle i take with me (32 oz). This was enough to get me home at a normal temperature, and I didn't notice any drastic damage to the way my car drives. I checked the spot where my car was sitting over my vacation and there is a little puddle of liquid but it doesn't seem to fit what I put in the few days before.

Any help is much appreciated.. I'm wondering if I can replace or tighten whatever needs to be replaced/tightened without taking into the shop.

[eippermx]

Free opinion here.
Now is not the time to get cheap with your car. Take it to a mechanic you trust or the local GM dealership. You're better off getting it looked at and repaired for less than $500 or so instead of standing next to your ride on the side of the road some where between home and work. I guarantee you will be cussing at your stupidity as you stare at your car that needs $2000 plus dollars of engine repairs because you over-heated and blew up the engine instead of driving it to a knucklebuster to have it repaired when you had the chance. Good Luck!