Rover 220 diesel thermostat?

ok just had a thermostat fitted into my engine 2lt turbo 1999.
what i want to know is does the radiator keep cool until the thermostat is up to temp and then open ? i do about 7 miles to work and by that time the heater is quite hot -- the temp guage is pointing to the right (3 o clock) but the radiator is still cold.
is this a normal thing for rover diesels?.
garage just said it was normal and that the water is still being pumped around as its going into the expansion bottle.
if i leave the engine running to warm it up surely it must also go around the radiator to cool down from the flow of air in front!.

any ideas or am i being too cautious

Answers:
The radiator should be hotter at the top because hot water rises the engine temp should be around 90 degrees.It is normal for a diesel to run slightly cooler than a petrol.The thermostat job is to keep your engine coolant at the most efficient temperature.Regards Mick.
the radiator should get hot all over, you could have a blocked radiator, try checking all the radiator is cold , by feeling it with your hand, if not you have a blocked rad , or a faulty thermostat. flush the radiator with rad flush
urm no not normal are you sure th ethermo i working if so then the sender is faulty,
but rad warm then there must be a blockage or head gasget fault.
check
1. rad full of rusty fluid?
2.top and bottem hoses?
thermo and hosing clear?
if all ok then as above switch or gasket!

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