im going to do my best to describe my situation so bear with me!

I changed the waterpump on my 1997 Lt1 ,When i started the car i saw i notice my fans were not kicking on and it was close to overheating i decided not to mess with it any longer.
i took it to a local shop where they perform the following:
*new coolant temp sensor
*new thermostat 180*
*bleeed coolant system
*flushed radiator

*before fans will kick in at around 225-230 and drop down temp to like 210-220.
*Today when i got it back notice that the fans are not kicking in like before. they are kicking on at 235-240(they go on when they are so close to the red).
why is this?
does it take time for the new parts to start sending in the right signals or is only the low speed fan working?

 

Was the radiator pressure tested?Could be clogged.My02.

 

Have you checked for codes?

 

First, the gauge always has in-accuracy when compared to the PCM temperature control. Which if you didn't already know, is separate.

Second, the first low speed fan doesn't even come on until the temperature gets to 226F.

So it's highly likely that the system is working correctly. However, you should be asking this of the shop that did the work. If you have some concern that the system is "off", they should be able to show you with a scanner, what temperature the fans are kicking on.

2 other side notes. Auto zone can scan OBDII's however I do not know if there scanner will show sensor data or only DTC's.

The last point is. If I were you, I would look at the operation of the fans under different conditions. You already mentioned what appears to be normal (AC not on) conditions. What about when the AC is commanded on? Do the fans turn on right away? And what about stop and go traffic with both AC on and AC off? What are the fans doing as well as the (inaccurate) gauge reading?