1993 Camry Le Overheating

[grrrowlguy]

The coolant is full and the reserve is as well. Temp gauge fluctuates when driving from middle to near the red and the fans turn when the air is on so its not a fan motor. (that was my guess) I have been told to check the thermostat and Im wondering where it is located on the car. I just purchased this car recently and havent had a lot of time with it other than driving it. Any other tips on what to check before I take it to my mechanic. Thanks for any help and replies.

[fabb]

When does it vary from middle to red, when you are in a stop and go situation, or while going down the freeway? When it goes above middle, are the cooling fans coming on? I understand they are coming on when the a/c is on, but they should come one when the needle moves above mid deflection. If the fans are coming on and this is not a stop and go situation, the tstat is located on the passenger side of the car(assuming you have the 2.2 4 cyl). Follow the lower rad hose on the passenger side of the rad up to the water pump housing. The tstat is located under the cover with 2 nuts holding it inplace. The other thing you might look at is the condition of the radiator. You will need to be able to see the core passages thru the filler neck, so drain some fluid out (drivers side bottom of rad) of the drain and see if there is a bunch of white lime looking crap in there. If so its probably a radiator problem, but the tstat is real cheap so try that first. Good luck and let us know what happens.

[grrrowlguy]

TY for the help. It was indeed the tstat. I called the guy i bought it from and he said he never had one put on so it was the orginal one. 12 yrs on a tstat not bad and a pretty cheap fix considering what cars can run. Thanks again!

[kericostello]

My 93 Camry LE is also overheating. My boyfriend replaced the thermostat about 2 weeks ago when I first noticed the problem. But after, I noticed I kept having to put water in it. It was fine until a few days ago it overheated again while driving to work--all the way to the red! I pulled over immediately and had it towed. (I am not driving it now, by the way). I've had the radiator flushed (3 years ago when I bought it), I had a new radiator put in about 2 years ago. Where should I go from here?

[Brian R.]

Where is your coolant going? Is it leaking out onto the ground? Is it going into your oil (check your oil color on your dipstick - should be clear light or dark brown)? Do you have smokey exhaust?

[kericostello]

It's kinda hard to tell if I am leaking coolant because I think now all I have in there is water. I will go pour some in now and let you know if I notice any leaking. The other day when my car overheated and I went to open the hood,I did notice water had splattered onto my bumper. When I opened the hood and looked at the front of the radiator behind the wet part of the bumper, the radiator appeared wet in that spot. Also, that seam on top of the radiator looks a little separated on one spot. Could I just have a bad radiator? How long do they typically last? I will let you know what I find out after I put actual coolant instead of water into it.

[fabb]

The original rads had plastic tanks or ends on them and would crack. Sounds like you are in the market for one.

[kericostello]

Yes, I had to have the original radiator replaced 2 summers ago. It was cracked on the top, just like you said. This "new" radiator, must not be that great. I'm looking online at a radiator on the radiator world website: http://www.radiatorworld.com/radiato...px?carno=26334
Hopefully one of these will solve my problem. The hoses do not appear to be leaking from anywhere. The coolant appears to be circulating. My oil looks fine. The thermostat has been replaced. There's no white smoke coming from my exhaust. So, maybe the radiator I just replaced 2 years ago is the culprit. What do you all think?