Pontiac Repair: Clunk of doom - 98GTP, control arm bushing, temp gauge

Question
98 Grand Prix GTP, 3.8L SC, 96k miles, 2dr.  2 Issues:

1)   The car is starting to make a huge crunch sound when :A) shifting into reverse from park, B) accelerating uh..”briskly” and C) rarely, when turning.  The sound seems to come from in front of the driver’s seat.  One mechanic says remaining engine mounts, other says strut mount plates, others say other things.  Upper engine mounts have been replaced, struts are old.   Any ideas what could be causing this?
2)   Temp gauge soars when going uphill and nudges up when sitting at a red light.  Cruises all day on highway without going up.  What gives?

Thanks,
D


Answer
Hey Dave:

As for the noise If you say you can feel it in the drivers seat or in front of itI would look at the mounts for the engine support "frame" where it mounts to the floor pan. if not that then I would look at the lower part of the suspension like a ball joint or a control arm bushing. If the motor mounts have been replaced I would not suspect one of them. If it were a strut mount you would hear it up in the dash area becaus ethey are mounted on top of the struts. Noises are hard to find even when you can hear them the sound travels. As for the temp creeping. First off make sure the coolant is full. next I would look at the coolant fan operation. the fan(s) should come on when the A/C is turned on that is if the A/C still works. maybe about a minute after it turns on the fan should tunr on. when the temps gets hot look to see if the fan(s) come on as well. if the fans do not come on then that's a place to look at. Another thing would be to look at if the fans are working is an air flow issue maybe the air dam if broken off under the radaitor? You could have a blockage in the fins of the radaitor between the condenser and the radiatir and the air flow is cut down therfore the radiator can not disapate the heat into the air properly. just a few ideas. Good luck :}