when i got home today, i noticed i heard something boiling. i opened up the hood and saw my coolant in my resevoir boiling. it had also dumped some coolant while i was driving and it was all over the side of my car. also while i was driving, the temp needle was over normal operating temp. what the hell happened?

:shrug

Drain the system, flush it, replace the rad cap and thermostat and call it a day. (don't forget to fill it. :P)

i've drained and flushed it recently and the rad cap is new.

Thermostat. Fixed my last overheating issue. (pre blown HG)

then its either your thermostat or perhaps some kinda clog in the lines or radiator slowing down the flow. I had a slight over heat problem due to my FMIC but some creative angling increased the flow of air to the radiator big time.

Good call on the angling of the FMIC! Can make a world of difference!

The problem could also be an errant bubble stuck in the system. I have known cars to have them for weeks! And it is not uncommon to buy a brand new rad. cap that is crap!! Also if you had it flushed and they didn't do it right they could have clogged it up by loosening up deposits and not making sure they completely flushed it. Seen that too. and lastly make sure that tehre isn't any debris cloggiing the fins on the radiator. Start easy...Thermostat! The guys are all right on this one!