Overheating Protege

Thank you. I checked the belts and had to change the belt for the alternator and water pump. I turned the water pump with my hand while I had the belt off. It did not make any noise or feel loose. I put the belts back on. I ran the car in the drive way until the temp stopped rising until the gauge read at about half way. So I test drove it and it overheated again. While I was driving it I noticed the heater blew cold air. I am going to change the thermostat today. I will post again with result.

I changed the thermostat and the radiator because it was leaking. The car is not overheating but the temp is fluctuating up and down. Down while driving and up when at idle(sometimes). I am going to recheck the antifreeze in the morning.

I checked the antifreeze and the car is doing fine except the belts are still squealing. I don't know what to do about the belts. I have changed them repeatedly and used belt dressing and tightened them repeatedly.

I now have the same mileage on my 2000 Protege 1.6 with auto.
When the outside temp gets above 95 and I am in traffic with the AC on, the gauge starts to rise but not to the hot level. Once I get out of traffic everything is fine again. It also DOES NOT do that when the outside temp is below 90 degrees F.
As for the belt squeal, NOTHING you do is going to make it go away. These cars just do that. The normal squeal is when you turn on lights and AC or turn on AC when it is real hot. You drive for about three minutes, the squeal goes away, the engine picks up power and until the next day, the car runs fine with no squeal. That is apparently normal.
If you tighten the belts too much you will fry the alternator or water pump bearings. Only tighten to specs. Don't waste all your money replacing parts because it will not work.
Of course sometimes when the AC compressor is wearing out, it has a lot of friction and makes the belt squeal until the AC gets cool. Even that should be OK until the AC no longer works. I popped a belt three years ago but that was because it was a cheap belt. I think my compressor needs replacing but the thing works so good, is quiet when running, and the air is so cold I am going to wait until it totally wears out.
Motor and transmission mounts can cause the belts to squeal but no need to replace them until they are worn out.
Just check everything for wear or malfunction. If all is within nominal specs, simply drive the car and don't worry about it.
Make sure your coolant is high quality, less than 5 years old, and a 50/50 mix. Old coolant can cause problems.