I have a 1991 Acura Legend and have had a reoccurring problem the last few months. Every time I start the car it has to nearly overheat before the thermostat opens up and cools everything down (this may need to happen more than once). My temp gauge goes all the way up and sits there for a few, depending on what the car is doing- if I am at idle it takes longer for it to kick in and if I am on the highway it happens almost right away. Also occasionally when I get off the freeway and start doing city driving it will have to go through the cycle of nearly over-heating again, sometimes more than once before the temp gauge levels off and stays put.
Since the problem started I’ve replaced the thermostat, had the entire system flushed and purged, replaced a few hoses/seals and have had it looked at a couple of times. Afterwards the problem stops for about a week or so then starts up again. Anybody know whats happening or what I could do to fix this permanently?
It might just be a stuck gauge or bad sending unit.