Hello,

You can never be over cautious with an over heating engine. It can lead to warpage of the block which means and engine or other damage due to heat transfer.

If the water pump has not been removed it would be a good idea to remove it and inspect the impeller. Also keep an eye on coolant level. To find out if this is the thermostat you can boil it in a pot on the stove and see if it is opening. The usual course in a shop is to start with both a thermostat and water pump if no external leaks can be found. But with the head being done only a month ago this may be a problem with the new head gasket. If you had the work done at a dealer or a shop this still may be under warranty. Keep in mind if the engine over heats too much they may void the warranty as negligence so it may be in your best interest to give them a call soon. This engine I believe also has the mechanical fan attached to the water pump. This is responsible for engine cooling. The electrical fan is a pusher fan for the AC system and may not come on even during an over heat. The mechanical fan has a fan clutch that is a viscous clutch (fluid filled) if it has leaked out it may not be engaging properly. To check this usually you can see a lot of dirt on the backside of the metal center portion of the fan (toward the engine).

Hopefully this will just prove to be something simple like a thermostat or water pump. For the heat inside the vehicle it may be a clog due to the last over heat as coolant can solidify in high temperatures but it may be related to poor circulation. If the thermostat does not open or the water pump impeller is failing then poor circulation can result in both symptoms.

I hope this is helpful. Please press positive feedback. Anything else goes against my rating and my goal is to help you to the best of my ability. Please reply back if I can help further. Thank you.

I wish you the best.

Kind Regards,

Roger