93 Camry 4cyl- Ran hot-busted radiator

[je70816]

93 Toyota camry 4 cyl the fan motors did not come on because of blown fuse. The (I do not care because it is not my car) person driving the vehicle drove it approx 20 miles without cooling fans on. The motor became so hot that it started bogging down, clattering, etc. They continued driving it anyway and not concerned about what was going on.
It became so hot that it cracked the plastic reservior that runs along the top of the radiator. Changed out the radiator and fixed the cooling fans, do not have any signs of water in the oil or radiator after driving for 15 miles or so. I was thinking perhaps would have a cracked head or blown head gasket
The car starts good but has virtually lost its power, cannot hardly go over 30-40 mph.
Does anyone have any suggestions to what perhaps the problem could be. I assume they have virtually fried the motor Thanks

[quick69gto]

Your on the right track.
Warped or cracked head, blown head gasket, but I would bet there is more damage than that. The engine is more than likely done but you can start by pulling the head and having it checked. If it's not salvageable, then find a used head and install it with a new head gasket. You'll know then if the engine is gone, unless it was obvious when the head was pulled.
Around here (Colorado) used 2.2L federal engines range from $450 to $1100 depending on mileage.
Or it maybe time for a new car.

Anyway, good luck.

[jdmccright]

I'd run a compression test and leak-down test to help nail down the problem, but yeah sounds like there's some warpage or at minimum head gasket failure.

[je70816]

Well, The car was taken to a mechanic...not sure what all he done but he said " What caused it to run hot and bust the radiator was it had the wrong spark plugs and plug wires in it"
The plugs and wires have been in the car for about 2 months when it was tuned up...
I am not a mechanic by no means but having a hard time connecting the fact that wrong plugs and wires would cause the car to overheat and bust the radiator....Is this possible?
I would expect that after it was tuned up 2 months ago that if the parts were wrong that it would miss or something not boil over and crack the radiator

[je70816]

As a follow up to previous post...
Car was tuned up 2 months ago including new plugs and plug wires.

93 Camry 4cyl: car severely overheated and busted plastic resorvior at top of radiator. Mechanic said car overheated and busted the radiator because it had the wrong plugs and plug wires on it.

I am a shade tree mechanic but have a hard time connecting the fact that the wrong plugs/wires would cause the motor to overheat and bust the radiator. After the tune up the car was running fine for 2 months without any missing etc. until it busted the radiator

Has anyone ever heard of this?

[jdmccright]

Well the plugs may be the wrong type, but the wires are pretty specific...the ends are not your average standard connections. In any case, I doubt that was the root cause unless by some freak chance the "incorrect" wires somehow induced a surge in the fan circuit and caused it to blow the fuse. Not sure why the fan fuse would blow on its own, so it is concerning. But I'd check the wiring to see if it hasn't frayed and contacted the body ground. If a new fuse blows right away, then you have grounding issues.

Once, on a recent road trip, I had to bypass the temp switch and run my fans constantly when I noticed an elevated temp. Nearly 1000 miles at highway speeds and no circuit issues. Turned out to be a pinhole leak in the 12-yr old radiator.

My secondary guess is that your cooling system was either low and/or not sealed due to a small leak. If it can't hold a pressure, then the boiling point of the coolant is not much above that of water. If you plan on repairing it, make sure the mech pressure tests the cooling system to spot any leaks.

Hope this helps!

[Mike Gerber]

I have to agree with your original thought that the wrong plugs and wires shouldn't cause the car to overheat. Missfire maybe; but over heat, no. It's more likely something in the cooling system has failed. I think it's time to find another mechanic.

Mike

[quick69gto]

I would have to agree, find another mechanic.