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1997 Toyota Camry Heat's Not Working

35K views 213 replies 18 participants last post by  Cosmofennema 
#1 · (Edited)
1997 Toyota Camry 4-Door Sedan Automatic LE

I turned on the heater after months of Texas heat and to my surprise it's just blowing air, no heat. It's never had this problem before and the A/C is working just fine. There are no issue with over heating, the car is running excellent other than this heat issue now. I am handy and would first like to check into the issue myself before I decide to take it to a shop. What are the common suspects that I should first address?

EDIT
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For those of you who don't want to read this entire thread here is the summary. While trying to resolve the heat issue the car developed an oil spill that would be about 5...10 in. in diameter, RHS behind the front wheel.

With the help of TN we did a bunch of diagnostics in elimination method to go from simplest/least expensive towards a complex/costly solution. This was great for me as cost was most important.
Some of the tests were
-While driving down hill on the highway does the temp gauge fluctuate, mine stayed steady.
-Did the 2 Heater Core pipes feel hot to touch after a drive, yes they were.
-Is the coolant reservoir bubbling, no it wasn't
-Is the car over heating, no, gauge stayed steady as always at just about halfway marks.
-Drain coolant, turn heat to high, fan engaged to high and hose the raditor. No noticeable gunk came out other than some.
-Install new coolant, any change? None.
-Remove HC unit, hose it. Yes some flaked debris came out. Re-installed but no change.
-Remove HC unit pour cold water and feel the entire unit by hand. Replace with hot water and again feel the unit. The diagonal upper part of the unit was more hot than the diagonal lower bottom. Emptying it a little debris would still flow out. See here.
-After this concluded this HC was bad and ordered a new one.
Another key test was
-Measure the amount of water the unit was able to hold (4.5-5oz) vs known capacity or a new one (more than twice). Photo result is here and here, read here and here.

The oil spill problem,
Solution was to remove the Camshaft, Crank and Oil Pump seals. I wasted a lot of time removing the Hamonica Balancer. I found the "Bump method." The special tools I used were
-Clutch wrench rented from AZ (This here is the suggested alternative, or you can DIY your own)
AZ does not come with bolts, I had to get hardened bolts from HomeDepot. Amazon version comes complete
-Harmonica Balancer Installer AZ rental
-This -> Impact wrench $34 from HFT
-This ->Torque wrench $11.99 from HFT
 
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#2 ·
Could be the thermostat. What does the temperature gauge show after 10 minutes of running? Should be halfway between the pegs, H & C.
 
#4 ·
... Is the coolant level in the bottle next to the passenger side fender about 1/2 full?
... Ever replaced the radiator cap? The rubber seal on the cap will wear out eventually.
 
#6 ·
@BMR
The temperature is half way between the pegs.
@dc_98_cam
The coolant in the reservoir is right smack at the full level marking.
The radiator cap is relatively newish, I changed it sometime just before summer last year.
@Blackness
I just read on this post here that Gen 4 Camry does not have the heater control valve.

Also I just drove for 30 minutes. The two pipes going into the firewall from the engine compartment are normal temps - not hot at all. I didn't turn on the heat during that drive. What else should I check?
 
#5 ·
Either the thermostat is stuck in open position, or you have air in your cooling system (inside cabin radiator), or your control valve is not working. Check the temp gauge if it is dropping down when driving on open road, especially downhill. If so, the thermostat is your main problem. But, if you are having the problem at all times, than you need to flush the system, to remove any air. And last make sure the command is working fine, from cold to warm.

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#8 ·
Its time for a new thermostat. When you noted that the pipes going into the firewall were NOT hot but warm after driving for 30 mins. Most modern stats remain in the open stage when they fail. Be sure to buy one that has the same rating as the OE and use the proper coolant and mixture rate.
 
#11 · (Edited)
Before I start on thermostat replacement where is the air purge valve located? I have googled this but I haven't found it yet.

heater core clogged?
I did a cursory look earlier as I was looking around at other things as suggested to me and I noticed the heater valve was very clean like new as I recollect (I have seen UT vids of very dirty ones). I will check specifically on this in the morning. What are the signs to look for to know that aha, it's clogged?
 
#15 ·
^ ... The small orifice with a short length of wire is the 'jiggle/purge' valve. It should be oriented so that any air in the lower cooling system can escape to the radiator cap. ... At the 12 o'clock position, as you are standing at the front of the car.
 
#16 ·
I gather what I need to go through as thusly,

Is this the proper thermostat?
http://bit.ly/2hcyGvu

I have seen a UT vid on flushing the heater core
http://bit.ly/2hcwDaC

Previously I just picked antifreeze during a trip to wally but after reading on this subject I have come across that different colors might mean some difference. Further, I see antifreeze written that it's meant for light trucks, etc. I thought antifreeze was ...well antifreeze. Instead of continuing to make assumptions especially because I will be pouring antifreeze anew I should ask what is the correct antifreeze from the following - I like wally prices http://bit.ly/2gYWEet or http://bit.ly/2gMX7mg
 
#17 ·
It doesn't matter if core is clogged. Inlet pipe in the core should be hot, if everything is ok. If it is clogged, outlet pipe should be cold/warm, but inlet would still be hot. Try the downhill test, if you have a chance. On longer downhill drives, if t-stat is stuck in open possition, temp will start falling. Then you will be sure that the t-stat has failed. But, you must have some other problem also. Iven if the t-stat is failed, there should be some warmth comming from the ducts.

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#23 ·
If both are cold, the there must be some clogging in the system or inlet hose. If you are going to change the t-stat and antifreeze, flush the whole system, but turn to warm, so that the heater core can be flushed also, just in case. In any case, failed t-stat or not, inlet hose should be hot. You will be surprised from all the gunk that is sitting inside the cooling system, that will be flushed. if you are using some solvent for the flushing, check if it is suitable, so that you don't damage some gaskets, or hoses. Hope this will help.

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#26 ·
You should be fine with this method. But, since you said that with engine warm, both hoses are cold, this means that the clogging is someere between the engine and heater core. If heater core is clogged, you will have inlet hose hot, and outlet hose cold/warm. So you need to flush the entire system.
Here is a video that could help. I did't watch till the end.


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#25 · (Edited)
Since we are on topic, i have a strange problem on my 94 camry. Both center ducts are always blowing cold air, except when flap is turned to blow trough them. Even if they are closed. I still can't figure out what is the problem. I think this happened after i removed the dash for bulbs replacement 2 years ago. It is an issue, especially during winter. So in the morning, when everything is frozen, i turn the flap heat the windshield, and it blows wery cold air trough center ducts, untill i defrost the windshield. After it is done, i turn the flap to front ducts, so that my brain does not freeze. It is strange...

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#29 · (Edited)
I guess my main concern here is-is all the water supposed to drain out? I bought the 50/50, 1 gallon. Is that all the system takes?

I also noticed I am loosing coolant in the reservoir. I added it to just a about 2 mm above the full line and after the downhill test it is now 2 mm below the full mark.
 
#32 ·
...That is not the recommended thermostat. However, if you drill a 1/8" hole along the perimeter, such that any air can get out, it is supposed to function adequately. ...Just place the drilled hole so that it is at the upper part.
 
#43 · (Edited)
Level should be lower when engine cold, and higher when warm. But between min & max mark.
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It holds right at middle give or take 1 or 2 MM fluctuation, I suppose it's just fine. :thumbsup:

Why not just get a Toyota thermostat? They are $20 with a gasket. How much can you save by getting an off brand?
I just default to AZ/O'R since they are just round the corner and I got the gasket and o-ring as well. I stopped the biggest $$ hemorrhage in my finances this summer so not concerned about saving at this expense level. I don't mind to get the Toyota one at all because even though Blackness says this one's ok due to slits on it to help with air purging I don't think they are slits, more like etch marks. I will verify this when I get home tonight.

^ B-I-N-G-O! And with the initial symptom of no heat the heater core or any crud or obstruction never flushed.
Now, i mentioned that you turn the knob to warm, but i forgot to say, to take the t-stat out of the housing. Sorry. This means, that you only flushed the radiator. With cold water, t-stat is closed, thus all of the water was circulating in the radiator only. If you take the t-stat out of the housing (Put the housing back in) all the cooling system is now open-connected, resulting in one flow. Now you should be able to flush the entire system.
Just in case, take off the inlet hose off and see if there is some debris between engine exit and heater core entry.

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Yep that makes sense. I would like to separate the HC unit and flush it only but I'm a bit stumped by the piping. From firewall inside I can see the HC and where it's 2 pipes come into the eng. compartment. But the connection is into 2 small aluminium pipes, one even smaller. My colleague says these look like AC freon pipes. There's no vid I can find of anyone flushing this camry 97-2000? Please can anyone ID what pipes these are? I would like to ID the in/outlet pipes to the HC unit for flushing it.









 
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