Nissan Repair: overheating, coolant level, nissan maxima

Question
I have an 89 nissan maxima that overheats... I had my system flushed and the coolant level is always fine but when my car is overheating I touch one of the hoses going from the radiator to the engine and its really hot. Also if I open up the radiator, steam and antifreeze go everywhere. Also when I drive my temp gauge will go up real high almost overheating and then it will drop down to cold? Is my gauge broken? And lastly I had all my hoses reclamped to make sure they were on properly. Please help!

Answer
Andre,

First, I would have the thermostat replaced with a Nissan unit.  This will verify that the thermostat is working correctly,  Second, check the fans to make sure that they come of when the vehicle reaches operating temperature.  With a new thermostat and verification that the fans work lead to the conclusion that you could have trapped air in the engine that needs to be bled out.  Do this by loosing up the heater hose at the firewall and make sure the air escapes followed by antifreeze starting to come out.  If this is done and the car still overheats have the engine checked for a blown headgasket.