91 corolla dx 4a-fe engine overheating?

[kronkonn]

i ran into something on the road late the other night ( f-ing vandals put a huge metal bar spray painted black on road) and it smashed my a/c condensing unit into the radiator and punctured it and it overheated really bad (no coolant in oil, at least) but fixable so i got a brand new radiator and still overheated but i noticed the fan wasn't kicking in (relay fried or something) so put in a new relay and still nothing so go to u-pull-it junkyard and got a fan, a/c condenser, and ac condenser fan, new thermostat housing, the "bolt" you slip the cover over and nut on to the housing snapped. I installed all of that along with a brand new thermostat. I mean short of the hoses all is "new" but it still overheats, i mean it takes a while but it does it after 4 or 5 hours of driving which it never went over half before (i am a pizza delivery driver). i am new to DIY car repairs but i'm reletively competent. i just can't figure out wtf is wrong can someone please help. i think i've pretty much replaced the entire cooling system (???) all i notice that seems to be wrong is a small drip of antifreeze (1 drop every 4 seconds)under engine but i can't tell where from. Thank you.

[kronkonn]

when it was heating up and i turnedc on heater it wasn't blowing out hot air at all i dunno if that mean anything other than thermostat(its what i think it means but its a brand thermostat) tomorrow i'm gonna try without a thermostat and see how it goes.

[phantastic1]

did you get the fans to work?.....do they come on once the engine is warmed up enough? if they don't....check for the fuses and relays....if those are ok....check the ect switch for the fan. if the fans are fine.....have you checked for any leaks???....did you make sure to bleed the air out the system after replacing the radiator?

[kronkonn]

i do not know how to bleed the cooling system so it probably has a ton of air in it the fan comes on right at a half just like it always did before (the old fan motor was broke and the fan relay was fried, but works great now) there is a leak and it seems to come from behind/under the throttle body area can quite place it though. i'm going to go try it without the thermostat now to see if that makes any difference. also it worked for like 6 hours of steady driving before it started overheating after i replaced everything, so doesn't that mean my gasket is ok? (probably a dumb question but i'm new to cooling systems)

[kronkonn]

well i tried to drive it without the thermostat just as bad as before so now i am investigating how to bleed the cooling system.I am pretty sure that my head and gasket are ok. no tell tale signs of it being bad. I have also been told that it may be my radiator cap since it is prolly the original one and old and may not fit the aftermarket radiator. will keep posting to help others or if anyone has experience or knowledge please help me.

[phantastic1]

i would take care of that leak you said you found first

[kronkonn]

Well i found out how to bleed this engine, just run without the radiator cap for 15-20 minutes just idleing and add as bubbles come up. i bled the system with the thermostat in (i want it fixed not covered-up, if possible, and figured it woud be better to bleed it with the proper flow through the system) and now it seems to operate at a lower temp than before all my troubles but i will know for sure this weekend after i deliver pizzas for 11 hours a day, the next four days. As for the leak, i was wondering what kind of stop leak to use and where to add it to? i know some kinds are really bad for the car and some are ok can someone point me to a good product?????. thank you guys for your help and if anyone needs help with an overheating car cooling systems aren't hard as long as you don't warp your heads or blow the head gaske. so keep it outta the red.

[kronkonn]

Well i found out how to bleed this engine just run without the radiator cap for 15-20 minutes just idleing and add as bubbles come up. i bled the system with the thermostat in (i want it fixed not covered-up, if possible, and figured it woud be better to bleed it with the proper flow through the system) and now it seems to operate at a lower temp than before all my troubles but i will know for sure this weekend after i deliver pizzas for 11 hours a day, the next four days. as for the leak i was wondering what kind of stop leak to use and where to add it to? i know some kinds are really bad for the car and some are ok can someone point to a good product. thank you ghuys for your help and if anyone needs help with an overheating car cooling systems aren't hard as long as you don't warp your heads or blow the head gaske. so keep it outta the red. my radiator cap was ok so yeah but definetly worth checking (always check with pressure!!! may not leak at engine idle pressure)

[bcopeland]

Man, don't ever use stop leak. It covers the good as well as the bad! Flush your system real good and drain it add some fresh anti-freeze. Also, tyour thermostat may be bad or installed incorrectly. And make sure you do not have too much oil in the crankcase.

[kronkonn]

well sorry i didn't post the final solution till now i've been busy paying bills and delivering pizza's to ungrateful customer and paying 3.30 a gallon for gas after Hurricane Karma hit the oil fields in louisiana. anyways it turned out to be a stupid hose from under the intake manifold it must've been the original and to be honest i feel really dumb ALWAYS CHECK YOUR HOSES.

[jebucha]

So how big of a job was it to change out the thermostat? I've got a '92 (DX, 4afe, 3spd auto) that never fully heats up (temp guage only goes higher than say a quarter of the way during mid-summer when its quite warm out). Don't really have the facilities to deal with a radiator full of coolant draining out, but I'm also not sure I want to spend the money right now on having a mechanic replace it. The car runs great other than that (only 93,000 miles on orig motor and trans) and I'm thinking of putting it off until after Christmas when I'll have more cash...although on the other hand I'm in MN and the temp right now is only 2* F. thanks.

[Diblue]

Glad you got it fixed Kronkonn. I wouldn't feel too bad about it, my hubby and I do tons of work on our own cars, and when my radiator hose under the manifold went out on me, much like yours did on you, it took us about 2 weeks to locate it.

Jebucha I have the same car mentioned in the above problem here, and it's as simple as removing a few bolts, and the cover, and popping the old one out, and installing the new one, tighten the bolts back up (NOT TOO TIGHT! my husband wrenched one of mine off in the housing, still haven't gotten it out.) and you sould be good to go.

[robdre69]

also found out that on the thermostat there is a little bleed hole that should be on top when installing.

[kronkonn]

the hole isn't neccesary though if you have it make sure its lined up and if its not there then don't worry (straight from my local toyota delearship service department) by the way i feel as though anyone capable of changing oil can easily do the cooling system. i thought it'd be hard but frustration over the stupid tiny hose under the intake manifold it wasn't hard in the slightest.