Many times an apparent high operating temperature issue is actually a mis-calibrated temperature sender.
Verify the actual coolant temp with a infrared thermometer, aimed at the temperature sensor. Find the hottest spot and consider it to be the actual temp.
My 2001's sensor was out of calibration and I tried several new sensors before finding one that showed the actual temperature, when read on a scanner.
A mis-calibrated sensor, besides not showing the actual operating temp, can cause the engine to run rich or lean, depending if the sensor reads high or low.
A sensor that reads low can keep the engine in open loop longer than necessary.