Alright so recently my temp gauge is telling me I'm overheating. Like up over 260. Dash board lights up like a Christmas tree. The thing is, nothing seems to be too hot. No smoke, no fire (thank heavens), and no telltale signs of over heating.
Now the other thing is, I'm not getting heat in the cabin. So that should be my heater core, which I know how to do that. My temp door works, a/c gets colder.

Anything will help, a place to start for looking into the temp gauge would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!

 

Check level, bleed air to start.

 

Levels are fine, check them daily right now. There's no air in the system that I can tell. The radiator is full and overflow is as well.

 

I took it to my buddy and his dad and he said it's most likely the water pump. Its leaking like a mother right now and I won't have the part till Tuesday at the earliest
Sorry Cel, gunna have to stay put for a little while

 

How difficult is the water pump replacement on these guys? It doesn't look too bad. Take the intake off, radiator return hose and then a couple bolts?

 

if you havent yet, download factory shop/service manual here https://www.mediafire.com/?40mfgeoe4ctti

 

I would do a thermostat at the same time. Based on your description of no heat and overheating I would think the thermostat failed and that caused the older water pump to fail. Keep an eye on intake gaskets and fluid levels for awhile after it is fixed. It is very common to see other failures within a few weeks of a stressed coolant system on an older car.

A common issue with older cars is overheating due to a bad thermostat then a week later the water pump fails then two weeks later a blown head gasket shows up. Customers always think the mechanic is some how screwing them when this is all cause and effect from the original thermostat issue. Of course, this does not happen every time but after being a mechanic a few years you see trends like this.