My ford ranger 1993 v6 3.0 4x4 is overheating. I changed the thermostat, but that did not worked. I checked the hoses but there is no sign of water leaking. Does this mean it could be the water pump?
Is there a way to test the water pump?

 

Check the engine oil for water. Does the oil look like mayonnaise? That means there's water in the oil. Do you need to add coolant too often? If water is leaking into the combustion chambers it will be lost through the exhaust system and not on the ground. Check the water pump for free rotation; you can temporarily release the serpentine belt to do this. Does the coolant appear to be contaminated by oil? Oil will look like dark blobs in the coolant (oil is not soluble in water). Engine exhaust leaking into the cooling system would, I expect, cause overheating. Let us know what you find.

 

There is no oil on the radiator. The radiator has clean fluids, I recently did a complete flush from water to antifreeze at the shop, not cheap by the way. I don't have to put antifreeze in the radiator at all, there is plenty of fluids. I did not noticed any leaks nor any hoses broken. I noticed that when I drive the truck for about 30min, the niddle on the temperature gauge goes 3/4. By the way, the vehicle has no AC yet. Somone said to check the upper hose if is hot and the bottom, if the bottom one is cooler, then the water pump is not working properly, is this correct? Thank you in advance!!

 

There is no water in the oil, I just did a complete oil change, and it was clean. no sign of water in the oil.