First off, whosever idea this was, bravo and thanks. I have had problems with overheating intermitently for the past couple years(~167,000), but after several days, maybe a coolant flush, it would stop. Finally, after moving to the Northern VA area, the car would not stop overheating. But it wouldn't start overheating until after 7-8 minutes of driving. I took it to a new mechanic, and he said the radiator was clogged, and changed the radiator and thermostat. Still overheating. He then changed the water pump, which he showed me the old one had the fan tongs melted down(I guess due to coolant not passing through while still running). I took the car out the next day, and about 8-9 minutes in, the gauge started to slowly move upwards, but only when I would come to a stop for more than a minute. If I start off quickly(get the engine around 2500 rpm), then the gauge goes back down, but then when I come to another stop, it will slowly start moving up again. I took it back, the mechanic said drive it a couple more days. Could it be an air leak? Can I check myself?