Camry misfires after radiator explosion! - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

sljorge · 03-22-2009, 03:44 AM

So my radiator blew last week and sprayed brown water crap all over the engine compartment. I sprayed down the entire engine* and got a new radiator and hoses.

I flushed the engine out with a garden hose (with heat selector on hot). Wow, dark brown crap! Filled six 10 gal containers before it came out clear.

New Radiator is in and filled with 50/50 Peak coolant. One scary thing, it took a while for new thermostat to open and allow coolant to flow.

Question #1: Now that the coolant has circulated, its pretty brown again. Should I flush it out again?

Question #2: When I started the car up again, it was very rough! Feels like one cylinder was misfiring. I pulled the spark plug wires and found them wet with brown crap water (*see above). So I pulled the plugs and dried everything off and let them sit a while (engine was warm). I put it back together and things are still pretty rough. Exhaust sounds very sputtery. Will this work itself out or do I need to take more drastic measures?

-92 Camry in AZ

Manny1337 · 03-22-2009, 08:22 AM

id replace the wires and plugs what about about your coilpacks/rotor did they get wet also if so id replace

***toyomoho*** · 03-22-2009, 01:02 PM

The coolant may have gotten into the wiring.

Spray electrical contact cleaner in the wiring plugs for ign system, ignitor, dist cap (if it has one), coil area, where the ign wires plug into the coil(s), etc.

***Eye8Pussies*** · 03-22-2009, 01:20 PM

flush your rad and cooling system with specific rad cleaner from the auto store- it helps get rid of all the build up and rust

sljorge · 03-22-2009, 01:38 PM

So this morning I started the car and it ran smooth! No issues, until the car warmed up and (i assume) the thermostat opened. Then is started misfiring again. I got home and found some more brown water in the spark plug extension.

Could the water be coming from inside the engine and could this be a head gasket issue?

With the engine running, I pulled the sp wire off of #3 and no change to rough idle. All others made it much worse. So #3 is misfiring. I pulled all the wires and will leave them out for a while.

***Eye8Pussies*** · 03-22-2009, 01:55 PM

check your oil and see if it's milky- it could be a headgasket issue from overheating which blew your rad, and it's only noticable when the block warms up

Mike Gerber · 03-22-2009, 02:53 PM

"With the engine running, I pulled the sp wire off of #3 and no change to rough idle."

Sounds like it may be time for new spark plug wires. Good wires should be able to withstand getting wet and still be able to fire the plugs. How many miles are on this car? Are the plug wires original? OEM wires usually have a year of manufacture printed on them.

Mike

frenum49 · 03-22-2009, 03:08 PM

I 2nd the head gasket.

***Eye8Pussies*** · 03-22-2009, 03:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike Gerber

"With the engine running, I pulled the sp wire off of #3 and no change to rough idle."

Sounds like it may be time for new spark plug wires. Good wires should be able to withstand getting wet and still be able to fire the plugs. How many miles are on this car? Are the plug wires original? OEM wires usually have a year of manufacture printed on them.

Mike

yeah, but there shouldn't be water/coolant in his sparkplug hole...

Mike Gerber · 03-22-2009, 07:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eye8Pussies

yeah, but there shouldn't be water/coolant in his sparkplug hole...

That could be left over from when the radiator blew. The only way to be sure is to blow out each spark plug hole with compressed air and then use a rag wrapped around a screwdriver to dry out the residual liquid, before replacing the plug wire. He's in AZ and probably doesn't see much rain. Up North when we are driving in the rain and/or snow on an expressway at 70 MPH, the engine area is constantly being soaked in a cold mist, and the plugs continue to fire as if there was moisture. This is all just an educated guess on my part.

Mike

sljorge · 03-23-2009, 06:01 PM

So after leaving the SP wires disconnected for a day or so, I hooked everything back up today and drove 20 miles with no issues. Engine is back to its former smooth self. I guess water left over from the radiator explosion was the culprit.

Now to reflush the radiator and clean it up again...

sljorge · 03-25-2009, 01:10 AM

New problem (see new thread):

New Problem: Batt Light and Tail Light light both on