Chrysler Repair: coolant flow/over heat, head gasket leak, coolant recovery

Question
My parents have a 1997 LHS 220,000 miles has run fine but in the last few days it has started running hot.I refilled the rad./overflow bottle on Friday ran for apx 15 minuites with the cap off so I could watch if there was flow or not. The cooling fans did come on but shortly there after coolant started to spray out of the jug(which on this car is the radiator also I think) We turned off the car and felt the hoses.The top was good and HOT the lower hose was soft and cold.I am thinking the t/stat is stuck closed what do you think. I think that the coolant flows top to bottom is that correct?We are or a tight budget so I thought I would ask before I try to fix.Thanks in advance.
Michael

Answer
Hi Michael,
I would wonder rather that the radiator may be clogged up. The fact that the top hose gets hot is an indication that the thermostat is opening and letting the coolant out into the top hose where it should go to an through the radiator and out the bottom. Check to see if the side tank of the radiator where the top hose enters is also hot, but the tank on the other side is cold. Were that the case, it would show there is no flow of coolant across from one side to the other. You could either get the radiator cleaned out at a shop, or replace it were this the case.
There are two other possibilities: that you have a head gasket leak which is pressurizing the cooling system or that you have air trapped in the system. Of course this assumes that the radiator is functioning properly.
On the way to get air out:
It would be good to start with only a partially filled system, so drain off three quarts from the radiator drain.
Then notice that the thermostat housing has a bleed valve and a nipple from which you can drain fluid. Put a 4' length of clear plastic hose on the nipple and direct the hose over the front of the car to a clean container to catch the coolant. Then open the bleed valve. Then slowly fill the coolant recovery bottle until fluid starts to flow out of the clear hose. The gently squeeze on the top radiator hose until all the air is exhausted from the system. Close the bleed valve and fill the system the rest of the way until it reaches the to of the overflow on the bottle. Remove the hose from the bleeder valve nipple.
If that doesn't correct the problem then it would be good to go to a radiator shop and have them attach an exhaust gas detector to the overflow bottle to see if they can identify exhaust gas in the effluent from the bottle. If so, then one of the head gaskets is blown. Another sign of such a leak is white smoke that has an odor of coolant that comes from the exhaust pipe when you first start the car. Of still another is a cloudy or foamy condition of the engine oil as seen on the dipstick; or the early onset of bubbling sounds in the engine after your start it from cold.  So check those out as well.
I would be interested to know how this is resolved.
Roland
PS I just saw your question in the 'pool', sorry for the delay.