Chrysler Repair: 1995 Concorde Overheating, head gasket leak, lauri lee

Question
Hello, I read what you had to say to another person, but I am unclear to how we can eliminate the easy causes. I do not see fluid loss other than the overflow. I added water to see if it would still get hot and it did. I turned on the heat full blast and it did go down. I seen the fans on, but I did not know what else to check without getting it fixed. Can you help me find whats wrong before I take things apart and give up. P.S. I am a girl that does not normally work on cars, but can do some stuff...Thanks Lauri Lee

Answer
Hi Laurie,
Overheating can be due to many possibilities:
The thermostat may not be opening fully as the system heats up.
The radiator may be partially clogged so that the heat isn't dissipated efficiently. Feel the sides-of-radiator manifold metal surfaces on the passenger side and the driver side. Is one side much cooler than the other?
There may be air trapped in the cooling system which prevents the coolant from flowing efficiently around the system; this can occur when the system is drained and refilled but without taking the necessary steps to bleed the air out. Did such a coolant drain occur just before the symptom began?*
There could be a head gasket leak which is pressurizing the system quiter quickly when it is still cold, which then causes the ejection of coolant from the overflow bottle early-on even though the temp on the gauge shows the system not to be warmed up yet. Does this happen?
And probably a few others as well...
What is the history of the problem. When did it start and with what symptoms then, and did the symptoms change? Do any of the possibilities I have described above seem to apply to your situation?
Send me a follow-up telling me as much as you can. Then we can focus on the troubleshoot.
Roland
PS:
Here is the way to get air out if you think that is what is the cause:
It would be good to start with only a partially filled system, so drain off two 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 top 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. So check those out as well.
PPS Please 'rate' my answer, and where you see the question about a nomination of me for "volunteer of the month" please consider giving a 'yes'. Thank you