Temperature fluctuations when driving around town
 

Recently I have replaced a bunch of parts in my 02 Disco 2 (~95K miles), including water pump, radiator, Genuine grey 180 t stat, and coolant hoses. Re-tightened all hose clamps (worm gear on the big ones) and so far cannot see any leaks. When I was driving around town today (ambient temp approximately 10 degrees Fahrenheit) my temps would fluctuate between 194 and as high as 203. However I have seen that people with a similar setup will have temps sometimes lower than 190. I figure that this may become a bit of an issue when the ambient temps get warmer in Spring and Summer.

I have bled the system god knows how many times and I have no waterfall noise. I played with the viscous fan today immediately after turning off the car and after giving it a hard push, it turned maybe 1/5 to 1/4 of the way around. I pressure tested and did the exhaust gas test last August and did not detect anything.

Any ideas if this is normal, or what I should be looking for? Thanks...

Q: what was the temperatures before you stuck all the new components into the cooling system?

194 or less on the highway at 65mph+. In the city it would go upwards of 209 before I started to move, with the heater on in probably 40 degree weather.

Quick question: do you do the combustion gas test with the engine running or off?

The combustion leak test with the blue fluid is done with the engine running to see if the fluid changes colours.