car heating up at idle 94 toyota tercel

[NiceShoes]

This is my girl friends car, and she lives far away from me, so I cant see it but she tells me it will heat past its normal range about half way on the gauge when she sits in a drive threw. but when she starts driving it comes back down to normal level. is this a problem waiting to happen or is this normal for toyota's
she says she cant hear a fan running or anything when it happens I thought that mightbe it fuse or relay or fan itself but like I said I cant see it so I dont know.

I thought maybe someone here would have had something like that happen to them.

[gator2764]

Try replacing the thermostat. At under $10 it is worth a try, just replaced mine because of a similar problem. Did it in the parking lot at work on my lunch. Make sure you get a new rubber gasket with it. Remove the air intake tube at the front and you can get to it easily.

[unisoul]

In my experience if the temperature gauge is sitting about half way in a drive through, or while parked, this is normal. That isn’t very hot at all actually.

Most of the time that radiator fan will not kick in until she hits 3/4ths way up on the temperature gauge (Depends on what thermostat she has installed in her car some kick on fans at cooler temperatures). When it does turn on, the Tercel fans are rather quite, and hard to hear. Theres a couple of ways you can tell if her car is cooling correctly and not overheating.

These are very easy tests that even your girlfriend can do.

1. Have her park her car in her driveway with engine hood open, and run it at idle with heater off for about 15-20 minuets. Keep an eye on the temperature gauge and visually at the radiator fan inside the engine compartment. When the temperature gauge gets up to about 3/4ths of the way up, or begins to enter the red area on her gauge, and the fan doesn’t turn on, have her turn off the car right away. If the fan doesn’t turn on this could mean one of the following:

A. The problem may be with a broken fuse, check your fuses, replace as needed.
B. You may need a new radiator fan switch. See your local parts dealership. The Radiator Fan switch (Aka Thermal Switch) may cost anywhere from $40 to $100, depending if you go to the dealership or not. (Sometimes the fan switch from a parts dealer, like Kragen is a universal part, and wont match the electrical wiring for your car)

2. If the above test is not the issue, have her run her car for 10 minuets in the parking lot, and then have her turn the engine off, pull keys, and open hood. While facing the car, on the right side, there is the main rubber cooling hose. These hoses get warm but not hot enough to burn your skin. Have her gently tap it with her fingers first to see if it is hot she should be able to touch it with her hand or palm but its always safe to play it safe. If the rubber hose is hot that’s good. If it is cold:

A. Your thermostat is more than likely bad and is not opening to cool your car, and need to be replaced.

3. Another simple test is to have her check her engine coolant in her Radiator. Make sure she checks it of course after the car has cooled down approximately 1-1 1/2 hours.

A. If the water is clear, the water needs to be drained, and appropriate radiator coolant needs to be added.

B. If the coolant is low, add coolant. Refer to your owner’s manual for information relating to engine coolant.


That’s about all I can think of for the time being. Hope this helps.