hi! i'm new to volvos and this site...its incredibly informative! i just picked up a 92 240 wagon and noticed a problem with the temp. initially i thought it was the thermostat, so i replaced that as well as the temp sender unit. then, i read dozens of archived posts about problems with the TCD?? unit, however my symptoms don't seem to match. my non-volvo mechanic is wanting to replace the radiator. he has measured the temp of the coolant coming out of the engine and it is reading 175. so it doesn't sound like its overheating.

specifically, my symptoms are that the temp gauge very quickly gets to just a touch below the red if i drive in any sort of city driving, and stays there until i get on the highway when it might drop to a 75% level. however, if i get right on the highway, i can drive for 30 miles and it will read about 40%...yet as soon as i get off the highway and climb a few hills, it gets up to the edge of the red again. the interesting part is that when i get back on the highway for 30 miles, it never gets back to the 40% level.

can you see this being anything else than the TCD/gauge? id like to avoid replacing the radiator. it looks like its already been replaced once and the car only has 120k miles.

thanks!