Hey guys i was wondering if you guys could help me out with a problem i am stumped on with my 98 Q 2.8 30v. I might have to start taking a 40 min commute to work starting next week and i don't want to get stuff on the side of the freeway with an over heating car!! and i cant get any parts or have a shop look at it till tuesday probably because of the holiday

So long story short. Bought a used car, Temp sensor didn't work, replaced it now it works. Temperature took 15-20 mins to get to temp (needle straight up).

Did a timing belt, water pump, thermostat etc (no record of it done by previous owner used a blaus kit advertised on this site).

Engine Heats up quick(needle to 12 o'clock) but now if i drive anywhere when its above 65F the needle starts creeping towards 1 O'clock. on hotter days or if i have to speed up to merge etc it keeps getting hotter. So i crank the heater up and roll down the windows and it slowly cools down.

Idk where to start.

Things i've tried:
No codes
water pump replace
thermostat replaced
belts replaced
temp sensor replaced
back flush the heater core(was blowing semi warm now blows hot)
fluids are all topped

Things i'm worried might be wrong:
Radiator clogged
thermostat won't close all the way
water pump could possibly be a lemon
auxiliary fan is bad
belt driven fan clutch is bad
wrong temperature sensor? but i got it from the dealer and idk how that would have an affect

SO my question is does anyone have any thoughts on what it could be. Or any thoughts on were i should start? I feel like it could be a simple sensor has gone bad but then i feel like it would throw a code


ANY help is greatly appreciated!!! Thanks guys

 

Does the clutch for the mechanical fan spin easily with the engine not running? Bad fan clutches can be the overheating source in city stop and go driving but on the freeway maybe? If you have VAG-COM you could use the engine measuring block 001 to check actual temperature to the gauge reading. Gauges can be flaky also.

 

It dose spin relatively easy without the motor running but if i try to spin it a little harder to try and spin on its own it just stops? what should i be looking for?

it definitely will slowly heat up at constant freeway speeds

 

If the heater core had much effect I'd look at getting the whole system flushed.