1989 BMW 320 - Temp issue

I experienced of having worn out belts that causes the alternator not to charge the battery. So i replaced all the belts and addressed the charging problem, after which, engine overheat takes place. So I replaced the hoses where it has leaks and removed the thermostat assuming that there is blocking the coolant’s flow. I also checked the fan rotation if the air flows consistently it is flowing. Right now the engine’s temp is still having beyond 3/4 of the gauge in idle. But when I rev the engine to 1,500 rpm the temp goes down to 1/2 of the gauge. I don’t know if the removal of the thermostat caused the overheating of the engine in idle or am I going to replace also the water pump?

On a car this old you probably need a new radiator, you can pull the old radiator and have it flow tested or use an infrared thermometer to check for hot/cold areas. You need a thermostat to correctly control the engine temperature. Water pump may need replacing.

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