Noob Question--Cooling System
 

Alright guys, I hate being the new kid on the block but here goes:
I just inherited a mint cond '87 300E from it's original owner (my sister-in-law) because I am the only person she trusts to continue to give her beloved 300 the same care she always gave it, and she treated it right.
In the few days that I have been driving it I notice that the coolant temp guage reads right at 80c while in motion but when stopped at a long traffic light or a McDonalds drive through the reading will rise to around the 100c mark still well below the 120c redline but it still bothers me that the temp can fluctuate that much while sitting for a couple of minutes. Is this the nature of the beast or I'm thinking maybe an aux fan malfunction? My 3000GT and Sentra will hit operating temp and stay there all day. Any thoughts, observations, or horror stories would be greatly appreciated. As a side note, I never thought I could excited over anything with 4 doors but this Benz is incredible.

welcome,

everybody here was a noob at one time so no need to sweat it.

i'd start by making sure your belt isn't slipping. if the belt tension is OK, then i'd make sure the fan clutch is engaging. (this is assuming your coolant level is ok.)

this is just a start. if the above is way too rudimentary i apologize...