91 camry fan problem

My sons 91 4 cyl started to overheat the other day in stop and go traffic.
I thought it was due to brwon crap in my radiator but had a compression test and a cooling syste, presure test an all is good.
According to my mechanic I have a cooling fan problem with my sons 91 4 cyl camry. He did not have the staff to diagnose what the problem is. I would like to fix this myself if possible.
My son and I ran the car and with the AC on both fans came on when the car got warmed up. So that tells me the fans are working. I was going to replace the fan relays and fuses.

Where is the coolant temp sensor on this car? I would assume that could be faulty if the fans are only coming on intermitantly.

Anyone have any other ideas? I am going to change out the t=sat and flush our the radiator too.

Thanks and have a :wink: Merry /Happy

My sons 91 4 cyl started to overheat
I am going to change out the t=sat and flush our the radiator too.

Thanks and have a :wink: Merry /Happy
This definately may help (if not too late: radiator may be plugged!) but I would also consider checking out the water pump. This may be another source of overheating.

Sam

This definately may help (if not too late: radiator may be plugged!) but I would also consider checking out the water pump. This may be another source of overheating.

Sam


Hey water pump was replace with the timing belts 7,000 miles ago.

Hey water pump was replace with the timing belts 7,000 miles ago.
It still does not mean that it works correctly. Do you fill a surge when you squeeze the hose?
If the pump works I guess the cooling system service may work.

Good luck!

Sam

Update

Cleaned the contacts on the relays and fuses in the box bt the drivers headlight and boy were they a mess! The fans came on when the temp guage reached a certain point.

Tried to by a new thermostat and every store had them without the jiggle switch while the manual states it must have one. Will change the tsat once I find one.

I know what the manual says about the jiggle valve, but I've yet to have a problem with any Stant stat I've used in the far too many years I've been battling these mechanical mamzers we call cars.

I know what the manual says about the jiggle valve, but I've yet to have a problem with any Stant stat I've used in the far too many years I've been battling these mechanical mamzers we call cars.

I installed a new 180 degree Stant thermostat on my 1989 Camry about 3 weeks ago and it does not have the jiggle valve. :uhoh: the one that was installed previously did have a jiggle valve. I have had no problems at all with this thermostat. I bought it at Advanced auto for around $10.00 with a lifetime warranty. they also had a stant thermostat with a 1 year warranty for around $5.00 :nono: but I decided to go with the $10.00 one with lifetime warranty.:wink: I not sure what the jiggle valve does.:screwy: :2cents:

Regards,
JOET/CAMRY

Thanks guys Guess I'll go the no jiggle valve route. Spent over 1-1/2 going to auto part stores looking for one

The standard 13758 Stant thermostat has a bleed notch between the thermostat valve and flange which does the same job as the jiggle pin. That is, to allow trapped air to be removed from the engine after the thermostat is installed. If you hold the thermostat up to the light, you can see the notch. You can find the notch, mark it, then install the thermostat with the notch to the high side of the thermostat housing.

The premium stant is 45758. Don't forget the thermostat seal 25280

The standard 13758 Stant thermostat has a bleed notch between the thermostat valve and flange which does the same job as the jiggle pin. That is, to allow trapped air to be removed from the engine after the thermostat is installed. If you hold the thermostat up to the light, you can see the notch. You can find the notch, mark it, then install the thermostat with the notch to the high side of the thermostat housing.

The premium stant is 45758. Don't forget the thermostat seal 25280

Thanks for the info csaxon.
I checked my advanced auto reciept and I did buy and install the #45758 premium stant thermostat ( with lifetime warranty ):) in my 1989 camry. the thermostat seal I bought was #35292 not # 25280. I'm sure their both the same thing just different part numbers. i'm not sure if I installed the thermostat with the notch to the high side of the thermostat housing.:uhoh:
oh well. if it isn't broke I'm not going to fix it.:nono:

Regards,
JOET/CAMRY

Well read this too late re the Stant Thermostat, it already installed.

Before install ran water through the engine and radiator until it ran clean.

Filled with water and the brown foam is back. Compression test was good.

Oil is clean.

Car is not overheating and fans do turn on even though it does take quite a while for them to come on and they are on for a short time but temp is good.

This brown crap has got me nuts!! Next step I would guess is to have the system flushed by the pros.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Give some thought to flushing it yourself with a flush that is safe for aluminum rads and blocks. Years ago I used something from Dupont that came with a seperate neutralizer in the cap. It worked great for a Ford van with a cast iron 6 and a copper rad, but I don't know if it is aluminum safe. I imagine the package would indicate such if it was the case.
I wonder if the brown foam is just residual from a sealer used some time in the past.
FWIW
YMMV

I wonder if the brown foam is just residual from a sealer used some time in the past.

It does sound like that.
Try to buy cooling system cleaning chemicals. They have plenty of them in the stores. Read instrustions. This suff may be mentioned there.

On the safe note: if somebody used sealant for any reason in the past the chemicals may remove it and it may start leaking.

Good luck,

Sam

I'm thinking about a flush and fill kit that you hook up to the heater hose.
Prestone sells them
I cant figure out which hose at the heater core goes to the water pump is the right or the left when facing the firewall?
Figured I get one of these take out the thermostat and flush out the whole system again real good.
Then I can also replace the tsat in the manner csaxon suggests.

Could the brown be from the fact that the car only had 57000 miles on it when we got it 2 yrs ago. Maybe the PO never changed the coolant?
The car had been used to commute to and from school NYC to chicago and
when the guy graduated the car was just used to drive to the train station and home. So it sat alot.

On a side note my son says the car heats up faster than before and the heat is hotter. It's possible the Tsat was sticking.


Thanks again to all who have replied and helped me out!::)

"On a side note my son says the car heats up faster than before and the heat is hotter. It's possible the Tsat was sticking."


It is heating up faster and giving hotter heat than before since the new thermostat is doing it's job. It is now opening at the right temperature. As thermostat get's old, the spring inside get's weaker and weaker from all the heating and cooling cycles it has been through. This results in it opening up too early. As a result, the engine is not reaching operating temperature before the thermostat opens up and allows the heated coolant in the engine block to flow to the radiator. The coolant which was not as hot as it should have been, was now flowing through the radiator and being cooled off somewhat. That was the case, right up until the thermostat probably stuck in the closed position and caused the over heating. I think you have solved the overheating issue. This is why when you installed the new thermostat the heat is better, the engine warms up faster and it is not overheating. The thermostat is now opening up once again and it is doing it at the proper temperature.

The brown stuff was probably some type of sealant or something like Water Wetter, which is designed to help prevent overheating in hot temperatures. I have heard people complain that it turned their coolant brown. You can try flushing the system out again with a flushing kit and reinstall the thermostat and see if the system remains the right color.

Good luck.

Mike