My car had a new thermostat, a new heater core, and the radiator flushed and refilled.  It's taking over 30 minutes before I get heat.

Just before I get heat, the needle goes all the way up to 260 degrees and drops back down.  Then I get heat sometimes.  I only have heat for 2 or 3 minutes and then it blows cold.

Now I'm having trouble when I go places I need to drive over 40 mph.  The hot warning light comes on and I have to pull over, but my radiator isn't over flowing.

I sit and wait for the needle to go down to normal.

Every once in awhile I have to add antifreeze because my radiator isn't filled up to the cap and my refill reservoir is empty.  For a while before all this happened my low coolant light kept blinking all the time.  But one day it just stopped.

Does anyone have any idea what the problem is?

Does anyone have any suggestions on what I can do to solve the problem?

I was told but not by a professional that its probably a cracked head.

Sherry Stern, angelblueyez@comcast.net