Okay my 1996 2.4 has been leaking coolant. we thought it was the water pump gasket. we were going to change the water pump and timing belt and all the gaskets this weekend just to be on the safe side do it all at once. Well today I had an emegency so I filled the car up with coolant/water. Usually it leaks it out but today it didn't leak it out it just stayed in the system and boiled and the car over heated no steam, well just a very minut amount I noticed while I was waiting for my hubby. He came to "save" me and escort me home and we got like 5 mile down the road and the motor started tapping it felt like it was going to die so I turned it off. The temp gauge said the temp was fine but by the way it smell and way it was boiling we know it wasn't telling the right temp. I also had the heat on full blast and it was blowing cold air.

Does this sound like the water pump??? We have had so many probs with this car that we are considering the junk yard as a choice....

 

could be, the pumps have a weep hole that lets water leak out once the pump's seals go bad. if enough water leaked out air might be trapped in the cooling passages of the block causing it to over heat.
check the oil to make sure you have no water in it as a blown head gasket can cause overheating issues too.
if your changing out the pump go ahead and put new hoses, rad cap, and timming belt. its not too much more work (t-belt) if you have the pump off and they have a 100k life.
if your worried that the eng might be toast, drain the oil and tear apart the filter to see if you have metal debris in it. good luck.