Hi,
1994 BMW 530iT, 130K

So, My car's overheating. I already know the tranny's likely going out. But I wanna address the other issues in the meantime, just for good measure.

PROBLEM: Car is overheating.

SYMPTOMS & STUPID THINGS IVE DONE:
When I drive about 15+ mins it begins to overheat... from 3/4 to all the way into the red. If I stay under 30mph it will stay at 3/4 and maybe cool down just slightly. If I stay under 40mph and run the heater inside the car it will move outta red and remain at about 3/4 on temp gauge.

I can hear the water boiling in the car!

During overheating a few times, I pulled over and (foolishly) opened the water res. cap... scalding hot water shot up 1-3 feet into the air for a while! I just refilled it with cold water, tightened cap and stupidly went on my way.

Ive never added coolant to the car (this is my first car, and noone told me otherwise... I just found out)... always just added water.

Ive added a GRIP of stopleak to the system to attempt to stop a leak in the radiator (on more than one occasion) and I think the waterpump once. I just recently replaced the radiator and water pump btw, they basically blew on the freeway one day (fan blades flew off, water pump cracked)(the water reservoir shows residue of stopleak.. and it could be clogging it, not sure how to check).

There is a leak in what looks to be the front seal of the pump (it was not installed by a professional), its brand new but... theres def. water leaking outta there.

Its hard to get water in there sometimes.. maybe air? I dunno... when the radiator was put in it was just put in and the hoses attached... nothing bled or anything like that. Also, radiator is refurbished.

Maybe unrelated but, Air filter needs changing and encasement of airfilter is cracked and broken here and there from an accident.

Also, front grill is pressed in a bit due to accident and lip is hammered down over top of radiator to hold radiator in place.

EVENTS: One night I was driving and shortly after adding more water (comp. said "COOLANT LEVEL") the top radiator hose blew off and the hot! water shot out. I pulled over, replaced hose, tightened metal ring and added more water.

I noticed yesterday that the belts around the water pump and pulleys were shredding due to misalignment. One had shredding partially and wrapped around the base of the fan. Dont know how long Ive been driving like that. Also, the same belt was so far off/above the pulley that it wasnt touching it and that pulley wasnt even moving when the belts were running (this isnt the belt that wraps directly around water pump, its the other one, though both are shredding)!

QUESTIONS:

What may be the cause of the overheating... besides the tranny slipping?

Is there a way to remove the water reservoir and clean it out, I think its clogged by stopleak?

Why did the hose blow off that night? Was it pressure? What might this indicate?

Do I need to bleed the system, if so why? and how do I do that? Step by Step, Im a novice, but pick up things fast.

I just got this damn waterpump... why is it leaking?

What about those belts? Can I replace those myself, how would I go about that and how do I get the correct tension?

When I replaced the fan I got a metal refurbished one, rather than the plastic style I had before. Does that matter?

Any other advice... I just wanna fix all that I can, even if I end up just using her for parts (due to the tranny being trashed), since I need the experience in order to help me be a better car owner for my next 530i.

Thanks everyone.