Problem with 97 Camry I4

[sbushnak]

good day all, i have searched but couldn't find a solution to my problem.

Today I was driving while the A/C was on. I stopped at a drive thru and I turned off the A/C. As I was waiting, the temp needle started to raise, but as I was going to turn off the engine, I heard the fans coming on and the needle went back to normal. During this time I didn't shut off the engine.

The fan or fans stayed on for about 6-7 seconds then the temp went back to normal and then the fan(s) turned off. As far as I know, the car never overheated since I bought it.

Here is a pic to show you when the temp is normal. The red highlighted area is when the fan(s) kicked in. It never went beyond the highlighted area.




Continued driving the car, nothing happened. I stopped, check the coolant, all is well. No leaks, no white smoke, no milky stuff, no bubbles in coolant overflow tank. When I turn on the A/C, the fans come one with no problem.

It did it again while I was waiting in another drive thru! But this time the AC was off. Again the needle started to raise and then the fans started again for 6-7 seconds, temp went back to normal and the fan(s) turned off.

Sorry for the long post, I am assuming this is not normal at all. Here is some more info about the car.

97 Camry I4, bought on 2/23/2008 with 163400 miles.

Flushed coolant from block and radiator, filled with green coolant, PEAK i think
Timing belt & water pump replaced by PO at 87K miles back in 2001
Radiator has never been changed. No idea on thermostat.
No leaks what so ever. No CHECK ENGINE light.

Thank you all for your help.

[sbushnak]

Anybody?

It did it again when I was driving today.

[Solar Max]

Sounds completely normal to me; every car I've ever had since the days of clutch fans has done that when it gets warm.

The electric fan is supposed to start, in order to draw more air through the rad, and sounds like that's what yours does.

It just sounds like it's doing what it's supposed to.

If it will make you feel better, and if it's been a couple of years since you've swapped coolant, you could do a flush on it. NOTE: DO NOT allow anyone to "backflush" your cooling system.

[Hajoca]

That is normal, while driving, enough air is passing through the rad to keep the water (coolant)temperature low enough and the thermostat will fluctuate the flow for more consistent engine temperature.

When little air is passing through, like at stop light, traffic jam and drive thru, the water in rad will not cool off as quickly, the thermostat fully opens and still the water is too hot. That is when the fans start up.

[sbushnak]

Originally Posted by Solar Max

Sounds completely normal to me; every car I've ever had since the days of clutch fans has done that when it gets warm.

The electric fan is supposed to start, in order to draw more air through the rad, and sounds like that's what yours does.

It just sounds like it's doing what it's supposed to.

If it will make you feel better, and if it's been a couple of years since you've swapped coolant, you could do a flush on it. NOTE: DO NOT allow anyone to "backflush" your cooling system.

My mechanic already replaced the coolant. It was green and not dirty when I got it. You are right the fans are doing it's job. But the temp needle was always at the normal position. just yesterday it started to raise.

I have 2 friends with a 99 and 00 camry w/ 5SFE and the temp needles never moves after warm up.

Originally Posted by Hajoca

That is normal, while driving, enough air is passing through the rad to keep the water (coolant)temperature low enough and the thermostat will fluctuate the flow for more consistent engine temperature.

When little air is passing through, like at stop light, traffic jam and drive thru, the water in rad will not cool off as quickly, the thermostat fully opens and still the water is too hot. That is when the fans start up.

I was thinking it could be sign of a problem, so I can fix it before any damage can occur.

[tran.man48]

how has the weather been? If the outside temperature is hot, the engine will have a harder time running in the "normal" temp range, especially when the car isn't moving.

If you REALLY want, you could take it to your mechanic and have them take a look at the thermostat.

[KAB]

Yeah, if the temp outside is going up since it getting close to summer, then it will happen more often, but I would go ahead & change the thermostat just to be sure about it (cheap & easy). The only thing left that wasn't changed would be the Radiator & hoses. If it still does it after the thermostat change I would check the temp differences in several areas of the radiator. It might be a sign that part of the radiator is plugged. When you got the car, the seller might have just changed the coolant because it was so old & dirty & that could be the cause of the clogging.

[sbushnak]

Originally Posted by tran.man48

how has the weather been? If the outside temperature is hot, the engine will have a harder time running in the "normal" temp range, especially when the car isn't moving.

If you REALLY want, you could take it to your mechanic and have them take a look at the thermostat.

Yesterday was hot. But there were hotter days where my car didn't do this.

I even drove my friends camry yesterday after what happened and the temp needle was normal, didn't move up and down and with A/C on then off. It's a '00 4 cyc auto with 200K miles.

I'll take it to my mechanic eventually but I want to have some knowledge before going there.

[sbushnak]

Originally Posted by KAB

Yeah, if the temp outside is going up since it getting close to summer, then it will happen more often, but I would go ahead & change the thermostat just to be sure about it (cheap & easy). The only thing left that wasn't changed would be the Radiator & hoses. If it still does it after the thermostat change I would check the temp differences in several areas of the radiator. It might be a sign that part of the radiator is plugged. When you got the car, the seller might have just changed the coolant because it was so old & dirty & that could be the cause of the clogging.

Actually my mechanic flushed the cooling system, at least that's what he told me. The old coolant was a little dirty but not that dirty.

[Solar Max]

After 11 years, and 163,000 miles a clogged rad would be expected. That is excellent longevity for a rad if it is the original.

[TMetalMan]

Just change the thermostat. A replacement from Toyota is only $20, and it doesn't take long to change.

[sbushnak]

Originally Posted by Solar Max

After 11 years, and 163,000 miles a clogged rad would be expected. That is excellent longevity for a rad if it is the original.

yeah it's still the original.

Originally Posted by TMetalMan

Just change the thermostat. A replacement from Toyota is only $20, and it doesn't take long to change.

i'll change it on monday and see what happens.

[sbushnak]

An update:

I finally changed the thermostat since my heater was not working and the temp gauge was always pointing to C. I knew it was the T-stat and changed it.

So far so good. The temp. needle always about half way through and the heater is working again.

Thank you all.