Toyota Camry Cooling System Questions

21 messages, Last post on Nov 10, 2008 at 6:34 PM

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What is this discussion about? Toyota Camry, Auto Repair, Sedan

This forum is for discussing any issue related to a car engine cooling system (NOT air conditioning!), including radiator, recommended coolant types, cooling fan, thermostat, overflow tank, air bleeding, belts and hoses, and even head gasket questions.

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#2 of 21 Re: 2003 camry w/rpm, temp guage issues [greenmouse] by kiawah Jul 10, 2007 (7:23 am)
Replying to: greenmouse (Jul 10, 2007 7:18 am) When they claim they 'fixed it', what did they do and what parts did they use? Is there water/antifreeze in the radiator and overflow tank to the right levels? Are you having to add water to keep the levels correct? Replies to this message: greenmouse (Jul 10, 2007 7:29 am) kiawah (Jul 10, 2007 7:33 am) greenmouse (Jul 10, 2007 8:13 am) and 2 more...
#3 of 21 Re: 2003 camry w/rpm, temp guage issues [kiawah] by greenmouse Jul 10, 2007 (7:29 am)
Replying to: kiawah (Jul 10, 2007 7:23 am) They got rid of some corrosion on the battery connecters and replaced the water pump. They said that the water pump was cracked and that was causing the temp. issues and the battery corrosion was the cause of my car not starting occassionally. Replies to this message: kiawah (Jul 10, 2007 7:33 am) greenmouse (Jul 10, 2007 8:13 am) kiawah (Jul 10, 2007 2:19 pm) and 1 more...
#4 of 21 Re: 2003 camry w/rpm, temp guage issues [greenmouse] by kiawah Jul 10, 2007 (7:33 am)
Replying to: greenmouse (Jul 10, 2007 7:29 am) So when the waterpump was cracked, did it leak all the cooling fluid out, resulting in your car overheating and stalling? Replies to this message: greenmouse (Jul 10, 2007 8:13 am) kiawah (Jul 10, 2007 2:19 pm) greenmouse (Jul 11, 2007 6:05 am)
#5 of 21 Re: 2003 camry w/rpm, temp guage issues [kiawah] by greenmouse Jul 10, 2007 (8:13 am)
Replying to: kiawah (Jul 10, 2007 7:33 am) no, it leaked some not all, but it never overheated or stalled because of it. Replies to this message: kiawah (Jul 10, 2007 2:19 pm) greenmouse (Jul 11, 2007 6:05 am)
#6 of 21 Re: 2003 camry w/rpm, temp guage issues [greenmouse] by kiawah Jul 10, 2007 (2:19 pm)
Replying to: greenmouse (Jul 10, 2007 8:13 am) The symptoms sounded like either a bad waterpump, air in your cooling system, a defective thermostat, and/or a defective temperature sensor. They've swapped out your waterpump, so you should have good coolant flow (assuming it isn't air locked, and the thermostat is opening at temperature). If the car overheated and stalled out I would be very concerned about a blown headgasket....but I'm still slightly concerned about that ultimate possibility depending upon what else you find in trouble shooting this. You could see loss of coolant without seeing leaks, oilish film in the radiator, and or a lot of air that continually enters the coolant system. If you had a simple air blockage (due to replacing the waterpump and refilling), those air bubbles should clear themselves after a number of heatup and cooldown cycles. As the engine heated up, the thermostat would open, air bubbles in the system would get flushed up the highest point in the radiator, and as the radiator cooled down it would draw in replacement coolant from the reservoir. After a couple of cycles, during heat up the air gets flushed out to the reservoir, and replacement coolant is sucked back in during cooling. Be sure to turn the heater on at least once so that the coolant flows thru the heater core clearing that line or air as well. If the thermostat was stuck open, then the vehicle would come up to temperature slower. If the thermostat was stuck closed, then the vehicle would overheat. If it was sporadically sticking, then you'd see flukey symptoms. The temperature sensor would feed the gauge, but also is an input to the engine computer which can adjust the fuel mixture, timings, rpm, etc. So a bad sensor can affect the smooth running of the engine. So I'd personally be watching closely the air and coolant levels in the radiator and reservoir for a couple of heating/cooling cycles. Assuming you don't see air entering the coolant system from the cylinders, an oily and/or foamy substance, or loss of coolant ......then I'd replace the thermostat (cheap to do), and focus on the temperature sensor after that. Replies to this message: greenmouse (Jul 11, 2007 6:05 am)
#7 of 21 Re: 2003 camry w/rpm, temp guage issues [kiawah] by greenmouse Jul 11, 2007 (6:05 am)
Replying to: kiawah (Jul 10, 2007 2:19 pm) Thank you so much! I will replace the thermostat and then check out the sensor.
#8 of 21 2006 Camry over heated by alh2 Sep 24, 2007 (9:33 am)
I was driving in the foothills at about 80 mph and looked at my temp gauge and it had gone past the hot. I pulled over and had no steam and could hold my hand on the radiator cap. The radiator was full. I let it cool down and drove 60 miles home with no problem. What do you think could of been the cause. Could the transmission fluid have gotten that hot and could of showed up on my temp gauge? Replies to this message: kiawah (Sep 24, 2007 9:53 am) alh2 (Sep 24, 2007 11:04 am)
#9 of 21 Re: 2006 Camry over heated [alh2] by kiawah Sep 24, 2007 (9:53 am)
Replying to: alh2 (Sep 24, 2007 9:33 am) Possibly the thermostat was stuck closed. Also could have been air locked, but that doesn't make a whole lot of sense on a 2006 which I'm assuming has had nothing done to the coolant since new. Have you had anything done, or any leaks? Have you had to add coolant since you got the car? When you say it was 'full', what was full? The radiator overflow tank? or you opened the cap to look in the radiator and the radiator was full? Assuming original coolant with nothing done to it, and it is still full......depending on your circumstances and how critical the availability of the car is, you can just watch it for a while to see if you have a problem again, or you could just swap out the thermostat since they are cheap. I'd at a minimum make sure that the radiator is indeed full, and in a pinch if you overheat again you can run the inside heater full hot blast to help cool whatever coolant is in the engine. Replies to this message: alh2 (Sep 24, 2007 11:04 am)
#10 of 21 Re: 2006 Camry over heated [kiawah] by alh2 Sep 24, 2007 (11:04 am)
Replying to: kiawah (Sep 24, 2007 9:53 am) My overflow was full and the radiator was full. I ran the heater and it didn't cool down, also when I checked it the electric radiator fans only turned on for about 20 seconds and then turned off, even though the gauge said over hot. If the thermstat stuck would it allow it to be cool enough to not steam and not spit out fluid?
#11 of 21 Coolant level is going down slowly by igr Nov 19, 2007 (6:00 pm)
I've bought 2004 Camry LE 4 Cyl. 7 months ago and has been driving it since. Coolant level in overflow tank was stable when I have been checking it for the first couple months. Then I stopped paying attention, but recently noticed that my overflow tank coolant level is below LOW mark. I can see coolant when I open radiator cap with the engine cold. Is it normal for this car to loose certain amount of coolant or I should start looking for the leak? Parking space is dry, but again, leak might be tiny, because, I don't see rapid decrease in the coolant level in the overflow tank. I bought concentrated long-life coolant from the Toyota dealership just to top off the coolant and now not sure which water I should use to dilute coolant: distilled or tap water will do. If anybody has such experience, I would appreciate to hear your opinion. Replies to this message: 210delray (Nov 19, 2007 7:55 pm) igr (Nov 20, 2007 5:15 pm) matt15 (Jan 27, 2008 1:06 pm) and 2 more... igr (Jan 27, 2008 7:24 pm) igr (Feb 10, 2008 8:27 am) igr (Jun 17, 2008 5:06 pm) 210delray (Jun 22, 2008 6:24 pm) igr (Nov 10, 2008 6:34 pm)