thanks for the advice. from what i've seen on forums, the usual temp for this car should be 80-90, and mine always stays at at least 100.

the aux fans seem to be working as they should; i haven't lost any coolant. i just brought home a new thermostat. none of the parts stores in town had anything lower temp than stock, so i just went with that. if it turns out to be the thermostat causing the warm running, i'll just order a cooler one later.

that said, i would love for some one to point me in the direction of instructions for installing the thermostat. i've never replaced one before and don't want to screw anything up.

i don't see any past threads with instructions, which i'm sure is because everyone but me knows how to do it.