93 Camry Overheating

Hi,

I have a 5 speed 93 Camry SE. My radiator started acting strange like it wasn't cycling water through so I changed that and the thermo. Since then it still overheats reaching mid-temp after less than about 10mins of driving and starting to overheat about 20 or so mins after (on the first time out).

Some times I notice a small pool of water (about 20oz worth) but sometimes not. I'm getting a lot of steam out of the overflow tube.

Tonight when it went all the way to the red I let it set for less than 10mins then opened it to add water and it wasn't all that hot, no explosive burst of steam.

The radiator is new from Autozone and the thermo was from Pep-Boys. We weren't able to open the old thermo by hand but where able to do so with the new thermo.

One time it just suddenly dropped from very hot to mid-temp for no apparent reason and then of course slowly started to rise again.

And for some reason no heat is being transfered to the vents. I try to use them but only regular temp air comes out.

Thanks in advance

Is it possible your thermostat was installed in the wrong orientation?

Are your hoses from the radiator in good shape - is the suction hose strong enough to prevent collapse under suction from the pump?

Is the radiator filled completely? When you run the engine with the cap off the radiator, is the coolant level up to the top of the radiator?

Possible air bubbles in the system?

Is it possible your thermostat was installed in the wrong orientation?

Are your hoses from the radiator in good shape - is the suction hose strong enough to prevent collapse under suction from the pump?

Is the radiator filled completely? When you run the engine with the cap off the radiator, is the coolant level up to the top of the radiator?

1. The thermo is installed the same the last one came out. I'm 99.9% sure the orientation is correct.

2. I haven't filled it with the engine running, usually when it's cold. But when I do I "top it off".

This car has three places to add coolant.

1.Radiator.
2.Overflow thingy
3.The upper cap by the engine.

I just filled all three and drove to the store. Temps seem to be more normal now with no noticeable leakage. I'll see how it does throughout the day, etc.

Thanks a lot I'm trying to make this comprehensive for other people who have similar problems.

BTW Autozone had the best price on RAD's ($130). I don't work for them or anything but it was like a full $100 less than Pep-boys, etc and it's brandnew with a lifetime warranty.

Thanks again yall

Intially, fill the system at the highest point with the engine idling and hot, not in the reservoir. The reservoir should be filled to the fill hot line.

Once the system is full and sealed, fill the system by replenishing the reservoir.

Intially, fill the system at the highest point with the engine idling and hot, not in the reservoir. The reservoir should be filled to the fill hot line.

Once the system is full and sealed, fill the system by replenishing the reservoir.


Thanks for the tip.

When I initially had this problem of overheating I was trying to refill via the res. but it wasn't cycling through.

You're welcome.

This is what I did :

1. Filled the radiator
2. Filled the cap up by the engine (with the hose that feeds back down to the radiator)
3. Filled the overflow/res.

Since I've done that everything seems ok. Before I was just filling the radiator and somehow that wasn't enough. Having the other two points filled as well really _really_ helped, it drives like a normal car now.

You have to heat up the engine and get the coolant flowing to make sure you have filled all the coolant passages. Once you have done that, the system is sealed and self-filling.

I have the same problem for _many_ months now.

93 Camry SE v6 5speed.

Note : The problem doesn't occur all the time.

But when it does occur it doesn't matter how much water I put in or where I put it in at, after about 10 minutes of driving (freeway or city) it's 1/2 hot (or more).

It's a very strange problem. The other day I noticed it was getting a little hot so I wanted to add water. Previous to this I can't remember the last time I added water.

So, since I've added water I've had nothing but trouble. I've had to add water 4 times or so in the past _two days_. So it's kinda like, if I leave it alone it'll work ok sometimes but if I add water I may be totally screwed.

In my case both the radiator and thermo were replaced with new parts by competent tech's.

The only problem I see is the little plastic water thing (pretty much non-functional) is often boiling when the issue occurs and of course, steam is being ejected from that little rubber hose.

It sounds like you have a leaking head gasket. Do a compression check and confirm it. Probably one cylinder will be lower than the others.

Would a leaking head gasket have any other symtoms ?

The problem doesn't occur all the time and I really don't have the money for any test to get run.

I think 1/2 the problem is the upper rad. cap (on the engine) has a cracked seal. this prevents it from building pressure properly and allows water/steam to cycle to the plastic resivor before it needs to since no seal is preventing it from doing so.

i hope this makes sense.

You may be right. Replace it and see if it solves your problem. It probably will :)