Thanks for the follow-up ... great to know that it was radiator and not tstat ... this will likely help someone else as they troubleshoot their problems using this thread!

I have had overheating gremlins before and I though they were gonna drive me nuts ... it is probably a great relief for you to be able hammer it and then cruise in hot traffic with confidence!

BTW, one of the side effects I noticed after replacing my tstat was that it seemed to warm up faster than before ... have you had the same experience?

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George Stephenson
1991 350 SDL (200K and she ain't bent, yet)
former 2002 E320 4Matic Wagon - good car
former 1985 300 CD - great car
former 1981 300 TD - good car
former 1972 280 SEL - not so good car
a couple of those diesel Rabbits ...40-45 mpg