1993 Tercel getting too hot

Hey guys,

Over the last few months, the temperature in my tercel has slowly been
climbing.. If I get into it and it's cold, it only takes about 10-15
minutes of any type of driving to get it up to just a smidge under the
red area.. It never goes into the red area, but it worries me that
it's getting this hot.. On one occassion I noticed that the radiator
was full, but the overflow was dry.. I put a bunch of water into the
overflow, and it was fine for a while.. but in a day or two it's back
up to it's old tricks.

I'm going to have some one on one time with my car this weekend.. Can
anyone suggest what steps I should take to figure out what the cause
is, and in what order I should do them?

If it's the head gasket, I'm going to say goodbye to this puppy and get
something else.

Thanks,
Duane

So, I went for another drive a while ago down to the store... Took
about 10 minutes worth of driving to get it to about 75% of the meter
(where 85% is where red starts).. Let it cool down a bit and checked
it out .. I couldn't see any liquid in the radiator when I opened the
cover.. So, I added a 50/50 water/coolent mix to it untiul it seemed
full.. I also replaced the rad cap with a new one at this point..
Drove it back to where I started .. The temperature didn't get as high,
but it was still climbing when I shut it off.. I opened the hood when
I got there, and didn't see any obvious liquid leaks anywhere.. However
the fan attached to the radiator wasn't blowing (I'm not sure if it
normall does or not), and I didn't hear anything being pumped.. Since
I don't see any obvious leaks, I'm not really sure where the water is
going.. Is it just boiling off?

Thanks,
Duane

Hmm.. not sure if I understand.. Are there two connections to the fan?
Because if I remove the power, doesnt' that basically guarantee it
doesn't work? :P

Oh, and those temperatures are all in F, not C.. Just a quick
question -- what should I notice when the thermostat opens?

Also, at around 210F, I notice bubbles coming out of the filler neck..
It only starts at around 200F, so I imagine it's just some of the
coolant starting to boil (because the cap isn't on).. It doesn't bubble
at all in the first 4-5 minutes of running, so am I right in thinking
it's not the head gasket?

So, after a whole lot of headaches, the problem is finally solved..
Took it to a shop to get their opinion, and they convinced me it was
the water pump.. $400 later, the problem was still there.. So, I took
it out myself, and changed out the thermostat.. That seemed to do the
trick, as it's running a lot cooler now.. oh, the fan seems to have
started working now...

So, moral of the story is, when in doubt, change the thermostat.

Thanks for everyone's help.