Dodge: 95 Dodge Spirit Coolant problems, antifreeze coolant, dodge spirit

Question
I had a new water pump and timing belt done last year and am really hoping it's not the problem.  

When driving my car - after about 5 minutes or so my heat guage will go to about the middle and then go back down.  About 5 or 10 minutes later, it will start to creep back up again.  Off and on while driving at highway speed the heat guage will get up there and while in stop and go traffic - my car will start to overheat (95 Dodge Spirit).  It gets up there pretty good, but not all the way to the red.  The fan will kick on when the car gets that hot and the heat gauge will go back down.  Basically as I'm driving it will go up and down.

I have noticed there there is antifreeze/coolant leaking directly under my overflow tank - drips.  I also noticed then when my car does overheat antifreeze will come out - more to the right of the overflow tank - pretty good.  After the car sits a bit it stops leaking.  When the car cools down - I check the level of antifreeze/coolant in the radiator and very little is gone, but my overflow is pretty low.  

Does this sound like a huge, costly problem?

Thanks for your advice.

Debbie

Answer
Debbie,
It sounds like you have a cracked overflow tank or the hose may be loose on the tank.The system is pressurized and will cause the water to leak,when the car is not running the pressure on the system is gone.This is more than likely the cause of the overheating.