thanks to everyone who contributed..this has been a very informative thread for me...i was very worried yesterday, but now i think everything is back to normal and the car is fine (for now)......

cliff, what you wrote makes much sense as the jump from very hot to normal was nearly instant on the temp guage........i guess it was an air pocket, albeit a big one!!!

long-gone, very detailed, informative, and accurate posts my friend, i really appreciated that !!!

I will post more questions if something else happens.....hopefully not!

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1993 300E, 2.8 M104 .....