2001 Mustang Overheating Problem?

Question

Okay, I recently bought a 2001 Mustang with 98,000 miles. It has the 3.8L v6 and the Automatic Transmission.

I was driving it today at average speeds, 25, 35 mph around town for about an hour. I've noticed that the drivers side floorboard- and only the driver's side floorboard started to get really hot. Everything in the front on the drivers side is still hot after about a half an hour of being shut off. I am talking excessively hot here, not just typical engine heat.

My uncle, a mechanic, suggested over the phone that it may be the Catalytic Converter, either the shield worn off or it's "plugged".

Does this sound like anything else to you, and how can I check if it is the catalytic converter? The overheating is only on the front driver's side. That leads me to think it's not the radiator, engine, or transmission as the whole middle of the car would be this hot. The whole front-left side of the car, including the drivers' side hubcap, is still hot, about after an hour left off.

Answer 1

I have a 2001 3.8L  The heat cage shows the engine is overheating. It's a manual tranmission.  I've replace the termostat and radiator cap. But it still overheats.  The water pump seem ok. Any suggestions.