C5 A6 01 4.2L slightly overheating

[to20vt]

So just picked up the A6 a good price. When driving on the highway then doing the transition to stop and go traffic in the city the temperature goes slightly over 90.

I put the heat on high the drop the windows then it goes back to 90. I have not done the timing belt as of yet. I'm thinking maybe a temperature sensor, rad(maybe do flush), & or timing belt & waterpump maybe a possibly.

Does anyone have another other suggestions?

TIA

[carmudgeon]

If you go the trial and error route, the temp sensor is easy to replace and fairly cheap so I'd try that first. There's actually two, one in the coolant manifold on the back of the engine and one in the lower radiator hose. If it is a bad sensor causing the gauge to read wrong, its the one on the back of the engine.

[CAL4.2]

So just picked up the A6 a good price. When driving on the highway then doing the transition to stop and go traffic in the city the temperature goes slightly over 90.

I put the heat on high the drop the windows then it goes back to 90. I have not done the timing belt as of yet. I'm thinking maybe a temperature sensor, rad(maybe do flush), & or timing belt & waterpump maybe a possibly.

Does anyone have another other suggestions?

TIA

I had the same symptoms when I picked up my '02 A6 4.2 2 years ago.. Ended up changing the timing belt, water pump, and coolant temp sensor and it fixed the issue...

On a somewhat related note, pull off your belly pan and take a look. If you see leaking coolant, it very well could be the oil cooler pipe that needs to be replaced. Check out gruvenparts.com for a lifetime replacement part.

[Spanglo]

What was the price of the car? Just curious, because I'm thinking of selling my 2003 4.2, and have no idea the market value.