Over heating signs I.E. Anti freeze leaking

Have the thermostat, coolant temperature sensor and fan relay checked and tested

Where is coolant leaking from?

From a cold start how long for it to start leaking

When it starts to run hot open the hood and see if the cooling fan is running. The pcm controls the fan based on coolant temp. Turning on the a/c will make the pcm ground to the fan relay. Also when engine tenp is @ 223f/106c. The pcm will turn the fan relay off if the car is doing 70 mph for more than three min.

Just to add to this one those cars are known for bad coolant temp sensors. When they go bad they usually always read colder then actually temp and they only use one sensor for the gauge and for the computer to turn the fan on fuel etc. They also leak coolant into the connector causing them to corrod the connector. You said it never got above a 1/4 temp on the gauge and it was leaking coolant out the radiator cap. That could be a bad sensor or bad cap or both. Also you said the temp never gets above a 1/4 on the gauge thats a bad thermostat or coolant temp sensor. With a 122,000 miles on the car I would replace the thermostat also replace the coolant temp sensor. Inspect the inside of the connector going to the coolant temp sensor if the terminals are green or blue instead of silver then replace the connector also. Throw a radiator cap on it also there cheap. Also does your radiator fan work with the a/c on if the a/c works?

Without a infared temp gun you wont be able to see if the fan comes on at 222 degrees usually on that car. Also the coolant temp sensors are only like 10-11 dollars on that car.I have replaced 4 of those sensors in my 1999 saturn SL2 in the six years of owning it. So get the lifetime warranty sensor like I did.

Thats crazy about the fan never coming on even if it wasnt coming on the temp gauge would read alot higher on the temp gauge before boiling over the cap. Unless the cap was bad or the coolant temp sensor wasnt reading the correct temp. Turn on the a/c and see if the center of the ac compressor pulley is spining if it is the radiator fan should be on also.

If you have a scanner you could compare the data temp to the infared temp. Sounds like a fan problem

More then just a fan problem if the coolant boils over the cap at 1/4 temp on the gauge. Bad cap bad coolant temp sensor or both?The fan doesnt turn on till past half way on the temp gauge on that car. If they have a scan tool that will read live engine data which I doubt they do or a infared temp gun for that matter. But if you do the best place to measure coolant temp with a infared temp gun on that car is the coolant hose nipple on the head where the top radiator attaches. The coolant temp from the temp gun to the scan tool should be within 10 degrees of each other.