1990 325i Cooling Problems

[LennysEleven]

I have a 90 325i, and here is its story: I bought it with a cracked head, got the head replaced, supposedly also had a new water pump installed before I bought it. Had the coolant flushed, but it still wants to run hot.
Another complication is that the Aux. fan did run constantly, but despite this it still ran hot. So I went to replace the resistor, noticed that there was a bit of 'custom' wiring to the original resistor(I believe to make it run all the time) and now the fan never comes on.
I started it up today(40 Degrees F outside) and it took about 15 minutes or more of running and a short drive to get it up to op. temp and then it slowly crept up the the third bar, but I shut it off before it got higher. So it doesnt heat up really quickly. So where should I start investigating? I know I obviously need to double check the wiring on the Aux. fan resistor, but there is more to the problem.
What are some signs of a radiator that needs replacing?

any help is def. appreciated.
thanks
Nick

[E30godz]

thermostat?

apparently people have also replaced all their cooling hoses and things get better...

hows the radiator?

[Speed25]

I'm not sure you actually HAVE a problem. Both of my "i's" have gotten to the third bar when sitting in hot traffic. The aux. fan doesn't kick in until way up there (there are actually two stages, and it seems they don't click until it's nearly too late!). The temp does come down when the fan finally kicks on.

One thought though...have you properly bled the coolant system? I've heard you lose considerable cooling if there's air left in there.