Important Info for after draining cooling on 90 Camry - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

malayan · 01-19-2009, 08:58 PM

Found out something very interesting after changing the water pump on one of my Camrys...

Let the car reach Operating temp (180) WHILE IDLING ONLY.

This will allow the air to purge out evenly..

DO NOT REV ENGINE after filling with coolant. LET IT IDLE.

Make sure cap is good!

LET IT COOL BY ITSELF

When cool after an hour or so Check water again or refill Coolant overflow.

Then drive normally.

WHY DO I WRITE THIS?

I was in a rush trying to finish a water pump replacement.

When I first filled the radiator I kept getting air through the radiator Like I had a blown head Gasket.

I was trying to impatiently to get it to temp.

I also found that I had a bad radiator Cap and it was spewing out the coolant resevoir. I thought bad head gasket again. WHAT A DRAG.

IT WASN'T UNTIL ONE OF MY MECHANICS SAID

"YES IT COULD BE A HEAD GASKET BUT TRY THIS FIRST"

Fill the radiator.... Put a good cap on it!....

Let it come to temp at idle... It will purge air slowly...

Once it reaches 180 it will circulate the rest...

I did this and now all is fine and I drove home (20 Miles).

Somebody told me that the thermostat had a jiggler on it when it came from factory to help with air and water movement( they dont make them anymore).

When I buy a new thermostat WITHOUT the jiggler the air gets trapped but mostly only when you do a full coolant drain!

So don't get fooled and if you are worrried about a head gasket try checking your Radiator Cap and bring to temp the first time AT IDLE!

TBayToyotaBoy · 01-19-2009, 09:53 PM

Good advice, Malayan. As for the jiggle pin, most good aftermarket thermostats are made with a jiggle pin (this must be at the top of the t-stat when you put it in). Only the cheapest of aftermarket t-stats are made without the jiggle pin...

malayan · 01-20-2009, 10:32 AM

Wow! I learn more and more each time I come to this site...

Thanks TBoy I must call my auto parts account and ask them why they sell cheap aftermarkets.
The T stat is one of the most important parts that should be high quality because it determines if your engine stays cool.

I am sure the couple extra bucks it would cost for a quality one would be worth it.

Thanks Again ! You rock!

disregard · 01-20-2009, 07:16 PM

This is good infomation! I have to try this out

TBayToyotaBoy · 01-20-2009, 09:38 PM

No problem, always glad to share info guys. As for the jiggle pin, I'm wondering if you can get the MotoRad brand at your parts stores in the States? It's a relatively inexpensive brand (I've bought them from NAPA and also from Canadian Tire/PartSource here in canada) and all of their t-stats are made with jiggle pins. They're way cheaper than OEM, and for a few extra bucks they come with the "failsafe" feature which ensures the t-stat never fails closed (as happened to my first Corolla and almost warped the head).

Ask your parts guys to check the units before they sell them to you--usually the packaging is either transparent or it's a box. Either way you can eye the unit to ensure there is a pin.

nuron · 05-20-2009, 10:56 PM

When I let it idle to reach operating temps, is the cap on? It looks like you are saying to cap it with this part:

"Fill the radiator.... Put a good cap on it!....

Let it come to temp at idle... It will purge air slowly...

Once it reaches 180 it will circulate the rest..."

But in the other forums, they say to leave the cap off?

"9: drain and fill up with 50 percent coolant/ 50 percent water **use distilled as it has no minerals in it)

10: "burp" the system by running engine with cap off and letting trapped air escape. "

Gen 3 I4 Radiator Change/ Thermostat Change

malayan · 05-21-2009, 02:37 PM

Yes! They are right too...
I put a funnell in the cap hole and put electical tape around the tip till I have a tight seal....Then...... Put coolant into the funnell half way up...Then let it idle and the radiator will burp and pull any coolant needed out of funnell....

keep funnell half full till operating temp...

done this about 4 times now on cust cars...Works great and beats buying a purge tank sytem tool...

hondamatic · 05-11-2010, 03:17 AM

they make a funnel that fits on the neck of many radiators and it works great for working air out of the system, but theyre pretty pricey.. before i got mine, a cv boot would also fit in most import radiator necks too, makes an awesome funnel!

Justin727 · 05-11-2010, 01:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hondamatic

they make a funnel that fits on the neck of many radiators and it works great for working air out of the system, but theyre pretty pricey.. before i got mine, a cv boot would also fit in most import radiator necks too, makes an awesome funnel!

Yes, usually you can catch them on sale. The going rate for these on the tool trucks these days usually run 19.95.
Another way to burp the system is to also keep the front of the car on an incline or raised only in the front.

Blakeman · 05-12-2010, 11:06 AM

You can also give the main line from the radiator to the engine a squeeze once it is up to operating temperature. Sometimes a little air gets trapped in that line where it bends and you will want to get it all out.

Leave the cap off the radiator when doing this and keep a few paper towels handy in case of overflow that the catch tank isn't able to take.

Mine took about 15 minutes to purge all the air after getting up to operating temps. It is boring but you will thank yourself later when your car runs correctly.

white90dx · 05-12-2010, 02:10 PM

I must be the only person that just fills it, starts the car, squeezes the hoses to get the easy bubbles out.... then puts the cap back on with some extra fluid in the overflow and just drives the car.

A bit of air at the top of the radiator won't cause any problems, and you can easily go back and fill the rest if necessary over the next day or two.

If this were an MR2, I'd feel differently.

-Charlie