95 camry overheated need help :(
 

I am new to this form and didnt know where to post this so sorry if its in the wrong section. i rencently bought a 95 camry with 121 k mile on the dashboard a few weeks ago but just started driving it last thursday. It was running fine till yesterday i was driving home and notice the check engine light came on and the meter was on high red. i quickly pulled over and parked on the side of the road and turned my car off. after a few minutes i turned the engine on but didnt start the car and it was still on high. i got out to investigate and noticed a leak in the front passenger side of the car. i waited till the engine cooled down and lifted up the hood and noticed that the engine was steaming but not alot and i was out of antifreeze. i filled it back up and waited half an hour to let it settle and tried to start the car it sounded like it wanted to start but it didnt :( . I called the family trusted mechanic to come check it out after a few minutes of investigating he started the car somehow and told me that i need a new thermostat and spark plugs ASAP. i was just wondering if that really could of been the problem. I trust the guy because hes been around for years and never heard any complaints but i just wanted to see what you guys thought? This is so depressing im just glad that i didnt get stranded in the woods there's bears and coyotes all around at night :eek:

A stuck thermostat can cause overheating. New plugs might help the hard starting. These should be low cost repairs.

Try to determine where was the coolant leaking from? Out the radiator cap, out the overflow reservoir (possible stuck thermostat) or coolant hose leaking, water pump, etc.

that usually cost of driver's fault... always carry water to prevent over heat.

well guess we found the issue(s). The previous owner never added a gasket to the thermostat so i was leaking there and the second problem is for some reason my fan stopped working hopefully its just a fuse because replacing the whole fan system will be extremely expensive. Those two were the main cause to my overheating problems. but overall everything else came out fine

Fans should come on with AC compressor. If this is OK check the coolant temp switch on the radiator.

Change the oil. While you were out of coolant, the oil was doing all the cooling, and may have overheated. A small precaution, and I recommend synthetic for it's superior heat performance.

Well, I guess you need to provide those since you are the new owner :)