1993 Toyota Camry Sedan L4

[smason]

Hello,

My 1993 Toyota Camry (172287mi.). 4 cylinder engine. This is the best car I ever purchased. I guess all good things come to an end.

I have all maintenance done on this car by the book on a regular basis. Including tire rotation. Tires were purchased as needed and rotated.

All the mileage on this car is highway. In the past 6 years I have averaged 4500 miles per year.

This is my problem and a little history I thought might be helpful.

Driving my 1993 beloved Toyota Camry down the highway temp gage shot up. Smoke appeared to be coming off of the engine. Not theradiator however, raining out could have seemed that way did not see any radiator fluid on the ground. Had my car towed to garage. They said my radiator had a hole in it replaced it. (FYI no one is honoring the
lifetime warranty on the radiator) Also replace upper and lower hoses.


This did notwork so they tried replacing the Fan switch???? Still having the same problem. Car is still sitting at the Garage. HELP!!!

Some history.

Nov. 2000 radiator was replaced brand name CSV (life time warranty).

This past Jan. I had trouble with my car starting (purchased new battery). I also had an oil leak. Took the car dealers advice and rather than purchase a new car had the following work done.

new:

Timing belt
Gasket Cylinder HEA
Seal,, type t oil (4 different seals) note: I have no clue what that means but I don’t know if
you all want me to list the different numbers on each.
Grommet
V-Belt, Power Steering
V-Belt, Comp. Drive
O-Ring
Ring
Battery & hold down prts

Change engine Oil and oil filter
Power flush cooling system

Replace Dist cap rotor and secondary ignition Cables

Brakes cleaned and adjusted.

Drive Train Repair work done
Replaced R Axle CV boots.

Gas fuel system repair
Replaced fuel filler neck

Transmission Power flush & Fluid exchange.

Sorry to everyone if this is information overload.

Thanks in advance to all.

[GSS123]

Was thermostat replaced during all this service work?

[Brian R.]

It is possible you blew your head gasket again (that is what is listed under Gasket Cylinder HEA). The $100,000 question is why?

Do you regularly check your antifreeze level?

I didn't see anything about a thermostat in your list or description. I see they replaced the timing belt, but I don't see a listing for a water pump. Usually, a new water pump is installed at the same time. That is questionable thinking on their part.

Others will have other ideas.

[smason]

Originally Posted by Brian R.

It is possible you blew your head gasket again (that is what is listed under Gasket Cylinder HEA). The $100,000 question is why?

Do you regularly check your antifreeze level?

I didn't see anything about a thermostat in your list or description. I see they replaced the timing belt, but I don't see a listing for a water pump. Usually, a new water pump is installed at the same time. That is questionable thinking on their part.

Others will have other ideas.

Thanks for your reply, yes every time I have the oil checked. I plan to use your questions when I speak to them today.

Thanks for some clarity and a starting point.

[Brian R.]

I would also question (internally) why did they replace the head gasket in the first place. Hard starting and oil leaks are not normally associated with a head gasket. Maybe they replaced your head cover gasket (valve cover gasket). That would explain alot. You can tell the difference by the labor cost if they itemized the labor. A head gasket would be at least $200 labor. A head cover gasket would be under $100.

The question still remains: If they fixed your overheating, why didn't they put in a new water pump with the timing belt and why didn't they replace the thermostat? What is causing your overheating???