95 Camry: Replacing Radiator

[Dolfan0925]

Is this hard to do? A friend of mine replaced the radiator in her accord and she said it wasn't a big deal. I'm not a super-mechanic or anything, but I do know how to do brake jobs and stuff like that.

[DFBonnett]

If you can do brakes you certainly can do a rad. Download a manual here..
http://oregonstate.edu/~tongt/camry
If you can get some penetrating oil on the fittings on the rad and let it soak overnight before you start, it may save you some grief.

[Dolfan0925]

Originally Posted by DFBonnett

If you can do brakes you certainly can do a rad. Download a manual here..
http://oregonstate.edu/~tongt/camry
If you can get some penetrating oil on the fittings on the rad and let it soak overnight before you start, it may save you some grief.

Thanks! That's just what I was looking for. I couldn't find any sites just kinda giving me an idea of what I'm getting into.

[RIP]

The factory manual DFBonnett has led you to is the best option but here's another if you find the FM hard to follow or won't open for you: http://www.autozone.com/az/cds/en_us...rInfoPages.htm

[ngsiufung]

I just had my 94 LE CAMRY a new radiator. I bought it from Toyota finally as I tried one from NAPA, but the physical size was a little bit smaller that the two upper holding brackets could not be able to hold it tight.
You have to drain the coolant first, disconnect the upper and lower coolant hose, disconnect the two A/T hose if your car is automatic, unplugged three connectors for cooling fans and water temperature switch. There are two holding brackets on top you have to loose it. Transfer the two cooling fans from the old radiator to new one, reinstall the old temperature switch to the new radiator. There are two lower rubber supports for the radiator which has to be reused. Reconnect all the coolant hose and A/T hose and electric connectors and hold it with the upper support brackets. Fill up the radiator with coolant again. I took less than a hour to finish the job.

[JennyDee]

My suggestion is to install new new fan mounting bolts when replacing the radiator. Also, I would position the car s a slight vertical position to help keep air bubbles from being trapped in the block. Drive the front wheels up on a 2x6 to keep the front end up higher. Also, change out the thermostat too.

On a side note... I did notice that it seemed that I was getting a little "water leak" near the front motor mount when checking the car during first start up later in the week after installing the radiator. What it turned out to be was that the seal from the manafold and first pipe is getting old and letting water vapor out before the pipe gets hot That was driving me nuts as I had thought I had a few fin leaks in the new radiator.

[CF#5]

I think I might need a new radiator in my 1986 Camry with 330,000 miles. The radiator was replaced nine years ago at 215,000 miles. It's a Modine aftermarket radiator, and visually, it looks very worn down. There's some residue of what looks like dried out antifreeze on the top, and it just looks really old. But it passed a pressure test a little less than a year ago, so I haven't replaced it yet. Under normal conditions, the temperature gauge rests at just barely below half. When driving on a hot, humid day with the air conditioning on, the gauge still rests at barely below half, except after hard acceleration. If I drive it too hard, the gauge will go up a little or a lot, sometimes as high as 3/4, still far enough from the red so it's not truly overheating, but definitely higher than it should be. When this happens, I have to maintain speed for a while and be very gentle on the acceleration, and the gauge goes back down to its normal position. Usually, if I shut the air conditioner off while maintaining constant speed, the gauge goes back down rather quickly, but sometimes takes a while. If I keep the air conditioner on, it will still go down, but definitely takes much longer.

So should I just go ahead and have the radiator replaced? It's due to be flushed at 330,000 miles anyway, so if I get a cheap radiator for under $100, it won't cost that much more to have it installed than it would to have my current radiator flushed. I'm basically too afraid to do anything under the hood myself besides changing the oil and topping off fluids, and all the service stations around here have increased their prices for a cooling system flush in the last few years. I've always had the coolant flushed every 30,000 miles in the past.

If I order a cheap radiator online, does it really matter which one I get? They vary in price from $77 shipped on eBay to around $150, or almost $400 for the OEM Toyota radiator. I don't know the first thing about the guts of radiator cores to understand the technical aspects of how they work, so I'm not sure if I should spend a few extra dollars to get better quality. I'm assuming if I choose a radiator that is specifically manufactured to fit in my car, there shouldn't be any installation problems, but it's always buyer beware when buying cheap crap on the internet.

Should I also replace the two hoses and cap, or is it possible the ones I have are still good? Should the new aftermarket radiators come with a new cap? Also, is it easy to replace the thermostat and its housing without taking anything else apart, or is that easier done when actually replacing the radiator?

Thanks.

edited to add: I just got this e-mail from the eBay seller with the $77 radiator

Hello, This radiator does not come with a cap. Depending on what we have in stock you may receive an aluminum core with plastic tanks or copper radiator with brass tanks, we cannot gurantee which you would get as it depends on what we have in stock.

[JOET/CAMRY]

Originally Posted by CF#5

I think I might need a new radiator in my 1986 Camry with 330,000 miles. The radiator was replaced nine years ago at 215,000 miles. It's a Modine aftermarket radiator, and visually, it looks very worn down. There's some residue of what looks like dried out antifreeze on the top, and it just looks really old. But it passed a pressure test a little less than a year ago, so I haven't replaced it yet. Under normal conditions, the temperature gauge rests at just barely below half. When driving on a hot, humid day with the air conditioning on, the gauge still rests at barely below half, except after hard acceleration. If I drive it too hard, the gauge will go up a little or a lot, sometimes as high as 3/4, still far enough from the red so it's not truly overheating, but definitely higher than it should be. When this happens, I have to maintain speed for a while and be very gentle on the acceleration, and the gauge goes back down to its normal position. Usually, if I shut the air conditioner off while maintaining constant speed, the gauge goes back down rather quickly, but sometimes takes a while. If I keep the air conditioner on, it will still go down, but definitely takes much longer.

So should I just go ahead and have the radiator replaced? It's due to be flushed at 330,000 miles anyway, so if I get a cheap radiator for under $100, it won't cost that much more to have it installed than it would to have my current radiator flushed. I'm basically too afraid to do anything under the hood myself besides changing the oil and topping off fluids, and all the service stations around here have increased their prices for a cooling system flush in the last few years. I've always had the coolant flushed every 30,000 miles in the past.

If I order a cheap radiator online, does it really matter which one I get? They vary in price from $77 shipped on eBay to around $150, or almost $400 for the OEM Toyota radiator. I don't know the first thing about the guts of radiator cores to understand the technical aspects of how they work, so I'm not sure if I should spend a few extra dollars to get better quality. I'm assuming if I choose a radiator that is specifically manufactured to fit in my car, there shouldn't be any installation problems, but it's always buyer beware when buying cheap crap on the internet.

Should I also replace the two hoses and cap, or is it possible the ones I have are still good? Should the new aftermarket radiators come with a new cap? Also, is it easy to replace the thermostat and its housing without taking anything else apart, or is that easier done when actually replacing the radiator?

Thanks.

edited to add: I just got this e-mail from the eBay seller with the $77 radiator

Hello, This radiator does not come with a cap. Depending on what we have in stock you may receive an aluminum core with plastic tanks or copper radiator with brass tanks, we cannot gurantee which you would get as it depends on what we have in stock.

A thermostat not opening up all the way could be causing your car to run much hotter than it should. when was the last time you replaced the thermostat? I had a very similar problem with my girlfriends old 1988 Toyota Tercel (RIP)

Wow, a 1986 Camry with 330,000 miles. I have a 1989 Camry 4 Cyl. with 210,000 miles and would love to get this many miles out of it. Whats your secret?

Regards,
JOET/CAMRY

[CF#5]

I'm pretty sure the radiator is shot. I don't doubt that a bad thermostat could cause this type of problem, but my radiator is in really bad shape. With the hot and humid weather we've been having here lately, the temperature gauge sometimes goes up without the A/C on at all. I don't remember exactly when the thermostat was replaced, but it was probably done with the last timing belt at 310,000, so it should still be good, meaning the problem is likely the radiator itself.

I ordered a new radiator from radiatorbarn.com as well as new upper and lower hoses from a Toyota dealer in Texas. Just for good measure, I also ordered a new thermostat from Toyota because I'm not exactly sure when it was last replaced, and I'm not sure if it's a genuine Toyota part. $12.71 was cheap enough, even though my current thermostat is probably ok.

The radiator doesn't come with a cap, but my mechanic said he can get a good, new cap that will fit the radiator immediately, so I'm going to let him supply the cap after he sees the radiator. Does anyone have any experience with radiatorbarn.com? Their website seems pretty good, and someone answered the phone the first time I called. Also, how many book hours will I likely be charged to have the new radiator and thermostat installed? I'm hoping it won't be more than 1.5 since the radiator job in actual clock hours probably won't take more than an hour. I've been spraying the brackets with WD40 for the last few days because they're likely frozen to the frame. Hopefully they won't have too much trouble getting them off.

As for secrets, I don't have any. The engine has never needed any work whatsoever. We've always changed the oil every 2500-3200 miles, and it barely consumes any oil. There's a very slow leak that we think is coming from the area of the master cylinder, but we're not sure. Even with the leak, I only have to add one quart of oil every 1500-1800 miles. Using thicker oil also helps. I've used as high as 20W-50. Right now, I've driven my last 1,000 miles on Castrol Syntec 15W-40 blend (the one that's actually formulated for 4x4 trucks), and it seems to be holding up very well. I drove around with an oil leak under the timing belt cover for nearly 50,000 miles because I wanted to wait until the timing belt was replaced to address it. That ended up working out for me in the end. The transmission needed new solonoids between 3rd and 4th gear a couple years ago, but that problem was secondary to having bad cooling fan relays for years. I drove around for about 3 years with only one operating cooling fan and didn't know it. This led to transmission symptoms in extremely hot and humid weather, and ultimately, I had to get work done on the transmission.

I've had new struts, tie rods, ball joints, steering rackS (yes that's plural) installed over the years. Parts wear out, but the overall cost of replacing parts on this car over the last 21 years still hasn't exceeded the cost of a new Camry. Obviously, routine stuff like fluid changes and air filter/spark plug/brake pad replacements don't count, since those expenses would be required of any car. The lifetime warranty on parts and labor Toyota offers on the struts and entire exhaust system have helped control expenses. We haven't paid for any of those parts since 1996. I calculated the total expense of driving and maintaining this vehicle, including all the routine stuff and gas, at around 23-24 cents a mile over the past few years. So while some people might see it as a waste of money, treating this car like a bottomless money pit, it's still much more economical than spending close to $20,000 in one shot for a new car. Even when a major repair has been needed, the car doesn't break down. Only twice ever has this car died and had to be towed. First, at 73,000 miles when the timing belt snapped because it was my father's first imported car, and he didn't know to replace the belts at 60,000, and then at 288,000 when the entire electrical system shut down due to a bad aftermarket alternator and the fusible link near the battery blew out, and the cooling fans stopped running, so the radiator overheated while I was stuck in traffic, trying to get to a mechanic. Needless to say, that alternator didn't stay in the car much longer. If there's one piece of advice I can give you, DON'T EVER PUT AN AFTERMARKET ALTERNATOR IN A CAMRY. You will mess up your electrical system, because all Camrys hate aftermarket alternators. Overall, it hasn't always been easy, but it's been worth it. I have no doubt that I love this car more than most guys love their wives.

Yesterday, my father was sitting outside a diner with his 1996 Camry parked in front. Some guy walked around the car, looked at it, peeked inside, and said to his friend, "holy crap, this car has 236,000 miles!" So my father laughed and told the guy he has another one at home with over 300,000. 1983-'96 Camrys are really the best cars ever made. I'm biased against generation 2, because I hate the automatic seatbelts and the front passenger seat is brutal on long trips, but if you can deal with those two things, the '87-'91 Camrys are every bit as good as first and third generation.

[xfeejayx]

Originally Posted by CF#5

1983-'96 Camrys are really the best cars ever made.

I miss my gen3

Are you sure the fan(s) are coming on when they should? You sure the coolant is actually circulating? Maybe the water pump is bad. well, it seems you're pretty sure its the radiator. I would have thought that it was the thermostat too, or possibly blockage in the radiator (which a flush might clear), maybe its just a bad temp sensor? Mine wouldn't heat up a year or two back. It was winter, and it was the thermostat stuck open. Something is fishy about this one, but I don't think its the radiator.

I think the difference between how fast it goes down with and without AC is cuz the heat exchanger (like a radiator) for the AC is in front of the radiator and engine. If the AC is on, the air heats up as it crosses the AC heat exchanger, before it hits the radiator and engine.

The 12 you paid for your thermostat is bout right. It probably has the safety that keeps it OPEN instead of CLOSED when it fails. This one would cost you about 8-10 at autozone, the regular one would cost about 3-4.

edit: after rethinking this, i really think its your thermostat. Try changing that first. And report back, I'm sure it'll help someone in the future.