2001 Camry cooling

[dadof4]

Hi everyone,
I need some help to salve a mystery with my 2001 Toyota Camry. It’s a 4cyl 2.2 American made with 160K miles. This car is maintained at Toyota dealership since new.
Most recent things done at the Toyota dealership:
New water pump
New thermostat
New timing belt
All new belts and hoses
It was an excellent running car until two weeks ago one night a DEER jumped in front of me and severely damaged the front of my car. Sadly the DEER didn’t make it. I had to replace the following parts:
Hood
Grill
Right fender
Right headlight and side marker
Front bumper cover
A/C condenser (From NAPA)
Radiator (From NAPA)
After installing the new radiator I filled it with 50/50 long life Toyota coolant. The problem I have is that the coolant does not appear to be circulating because the top radiator hose gets very hot and the lower one stays cold and my radiator fans are not kicking on. I left my car running for about thirty minuets in the driveway to see if the fans will kick on after reaching proper temperature. The temp gauge finally start climbing pass the half way mark, so I unplug the radiator temp sensor to let the fans kick on. Now I am driving around with fans on at all times just to be on safe side.
I have checked the radiator temp sensor and it is working properly.
Fans do not work even when the A/C is turned on.
The heat works fine, however the temp gauge rises quicker to normal half way mark than before the accident.
Thanks in advance for any help and suggestions.

[Brian R.]

I would double check the coolant temperature switch. It should have a lack of continuity above 199 degrees. Test it in water with a thermometer to get an accurate temperature. Check that it actually opens very close to that temperature. If it opens at a higher temperature, you would see the problem you are experiencing. The coolant temperature switch is the obvious problem, both because it needs to be bypassed to solve the problem and because it was at the point of collision.

Double check your coolant level in the radiator when cool.

Not as likely, but check the 3 cooling fan relays (FAN NO.1, 2 and 3) in the relay box.

[dadof4]

Thanks Brian, I will check the sensor in water. I did the test with a multimeter to check the continuity and then used the heat gun to heat the sensor that of course is not a true test. Someone suggested there could be air trapped in the block and it requires taking the car to garage to remove it. Your thoughts? Thanks,

[Brian R.]

If you have a proper thermostat, I don't think trapped air is a likely problem. Your problem is most likely an electrical problem with the fans.

[dadof4]

Brian, Thanks for all your help. It's been raining and snowing most of this week here, hopefully weekend will be dry and warm enough to work on the car. Thanks again.