So I bought this camry, replaced the radiator, hoses, cap, and I'm told the t-stat was replaced by zxappeal. All is well for a while. I see that the fans aren't coming on properly (causing mild overheating on hot days) so I pulled the wire to the relay so they stay on all the time. The car still ocassionally overheats. Turning on the heat will fix the issue, sometimes for the rest of the ride (after I've turned off the heat) sometimes only while it's on. Should I go ahead and replace the water pump? Is sludge in the block to blame? A head gasket? Any ideas?

3/27/2006 1:28:30 PM

sounds like air to me

3/27/2006 2:06:53 PM

^

3/27/2006 3:46:10 PM

I had the same issue with my old toyota supra. Same symptoms as yours. So I tried these solutions.

- New water pump
- New radiator
- New thermostat
- New hoses
- Flushed system
- Re-flushed system
- Re-re-flushed system

... $400 and 3 months later, it dies (engine seizes) from an over-heat after my sister drove it to Food Lion.

Sorry that this doesn't answer your question. But, atleast you can relate now

3/27/2006 4:22:50 PM

getting your coolant system pressure tested would be a good idea, then maybe get the motor pressure tested

check the coolant for anything that looks like oil contamination, and check the oil for milkyness

don't most water pumps have a weep hole at the bottom to signal when the seals in the pump have gone bad???

3/27/2006 4:53:04 PM

take off the thermostat housing and see if there is air behind it, if so, then disconnect he top heater hose and fill the block through the t-stat housing till it comes out the heater hose, then reconnect that, intsall the t-stat housing, take the top radiator hose off it, then fill the top hose while holding it up till it runs out the t-stat outlet hook everything up and run it till it warms up, let it cool all the way down, top off the radiator and let it roll. only way to get rid of a bad airlock on those things.

3/27/2006 8:03:01 PM

i would try letting it run with the rad. cap off first and heat running. let it get hot and overflow for a while (put a pan/bucket under it to catch as much as possible). cut the car off, top of the radiator. also helps to do it on an incline (front of car pointing uphill).

those cars are pretty notorious for trapping air iirc.

3/27/2006 8:12:47 PM

you could drill a small hole in the t-stat

that will help with the air

3/27/2006 8:43:09 PM

not in this car, tstat is lower than the airspace in the head and the heater core

3/27/2006 8:46:51 PM

correct

3/27/2006 8:58:35 PM

what the hell were those japs thinking... commie bastards

3/27/2006 8:59:25 PM

if you need to burp the system, you either park on an incline or decline (can't remember which) and idle at opperating temp for a few minutes

[Edited on March 27, 2006 at 9:02 PM. Reason : ]

3/27/2006 9:02:01 PM

roll the car end over end down a hill at operating temperature

if you dont feel like doing what i said at first, try draining the system, fill it very slowly, ie 1 quart per 15 min, start it up, let it run about 30-45 min with the cap off, it will probably blow some coolant out, and just keep topping it off

[Edited on March 27, 2006 at 9:11 PM. Reason : penis]

3/27/2006 9:09:31 PM

remove hot upper radiator hose. insert in mouth and blow. should clear that sucker right up.

3/28/2006 8:37:11 AM

Quote :

"not in this car, tstat is lower than the airspace in the head and the heater core"

oh well

3/28/2006 9:06:00 AM

good call on the doing it on an incline, it was hot as balls today and it didn't even hit mid temp

4/2/2006 6:11:04 PM