I have a 95 trooper with about 190k miles. I've had it about 10k of those miles and have no idea the history prior to then. It overheated for the first time since I've had it yesterday, and am looking for some trouble shooting advice. I am assuming the water pump is bad because it looks like that's the most work and biggest expense, that's my luck. When running, the hoses squeeze just as easily as when it's off, which is why I'm thinking it's the pump, unless I'm wrong in thinking the pump pumping would cause the hoses to be pressurized. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

 

A quick way to check is to take the radiator cap off and let the truck warm up. You should see the water circulating in the radiator if the water pump is working and the thermostat is opening. Thermostats are cheap and easy to replace so you might try that first just to make sure it is working.