1992 Son & Camry Overheating (@ same time)

[Shade Tree Dad]

I got my son his first car - a 1992 Toyota Camry. He is 16 and so is the car. Car is in good shape and the previous owner had full records of work done. Alls well except car started to overheat and shortly thereafter so did the boy.

Symptoms: hairline crack in upper rad, bubbles in res tank when engine running, overheats under load but not at idle, overheats within a few minutes even on cold days, lower rad hose usually cooler than upper hose, interior heater works well, rad hoses do not feel like they have pressure.

Attempts (each one failed and we moved on to next guess): tried to fix hairline crack with additive - kinda worked but res tank hose fitting burst, bought new fitting, installed new radiator, installed new rad cap and water outlet cap, installed new T'stat, checked hyd rad fan control.

All during this the system was drained twice, refilled, burped and topped up. The song remains the same - still overheats quickly with bubbling in res tank.

All out of ideas except putting a new water pump in - and that looks like a pain to do.

[SexieWASD]

Does the bubbling start immediately after the car is started, or do you have to wait for it to heat up?

[Shade Tree Dad]

The bubbling starts slowly - a bubble every second or two. When it gets up to operating temperature the bubbling is rapid.

I just changed the rad cap back to the old one (OEM) and took it out for a drive and it did not overheat - I am baffled. The new cap was an aftermarket one made in china and it felt flimsy.

[Shade Tree Dad]

Took car out again and the temp gauge did not go over half way but when I got back the car had coolant in different places around the engine bay. Hosed the engine area down, will let it dry overnight and then test drive it in the morning to see if there is a leak somewhere or if it is blowing out a cap or the res tank.

Any ideas would be appreciated.

[davemac2]

What kind of driving are u doing to test it? Just around town or on the highway? Since you are seeing bubbles, that's usually an indication of a bad head gasket. Try to get a block test done. Is the coolant overflowing out of the reservoir when it overheats? If it's this bad already and you just bought the car, then my guess is the previous owner was well aware of it before he/she sold it. Changing the cap may affect the amount of time before overheat occurs, especially if the pressure ratings are a little different. Sounds like your old one may be rated at a higher release pressure which means you would have to drive it longer/harder at higher speeds.


dave mc

[Shade Tree Dad]

Thanks Dave. yes the coolant is overflowing out of the reservoir tank when overheating. I think it may be coming out of somewhere else too as there is green coolant splashed around on the other side of the engine compartment as well.

We have had the car for almost a year now. Got it for a good price from a dealer and had to do the brakes and front strut/shocks. Been a good first car for him up to now.

Is a blown head gasket due to driving while overheated?

[Shade Tree Dad]

Also the test drives are a combo of highway & country roads with some hard acceleration thrown in. Engine temp gauge starts to rise above half way but if I let the revs go down and drive slow the temp will drop back down. Ambient air temperature was around 65f.

[ghettosled]

Originally Posted by Shade Tree Dad

Is a blown head gasket due to driving while overheated?

thats typically how you blow a head gasket. my gess is with a cracked radiator and a mysterous leak somewhere, the engine was too low on coolent and overheated causing the gasket to fail and possibly the head to warp.

[Hajoca]

I would like to ask if you have a 4cyl or 6. IIRC Both have iron block and aluminum heads. From my experience, once driving old dodge minivan with the mitsubishi V6 and once in a cavalier in limp mode and pouring jugs of water into the rad because of hole in rad, and beaking heater core.

Both engines did not blow head gasket from being driven in limp mode and boil over.

Driving with engine overheated will cause the head/block to separate more than designed (expansion or warping) and that is when head gasket fails.

Any hoses look like they are failing?

[John Doll]

My 93 Camry V6 did this and it was a blown head gasket.

[Shade Tree Dad]

Thanks everyone. The car has the V6 and all the hoses are in good shape. The car was very well maintained by previous owner (maybe over-maintained by ambitious dealer service departments).

How big of a job is pulling the heads off on a transverse V6?
It is stuffed in tight not like the 1960's era V8 Chevys I worked on when I was younger!

[Shade Tree Dad]

Anyone try "ThermaGasket" solution for head gasket leaks?

[PortugalFocus]

Well seeing in you original post that the upper hose was hot and the lower was not, it maybe a clogged radiator. Although the bad head gasket may be a result of this.

[Luckynumber5]

Sounds like its time for a water pump/timing belt! Fun diy job

If you want to try one last resort, drain the cooling system and refill with water and radiator flush. Drive it for a few days and then have the entire system flushed by a shop with one of those coolant recovery machines.

[Shade Tree Dad]

I don't think the rad is clogged as it was only put in a week ago (new). Also put new thermostat in. System has been drained twice in the process and new clean water/coolant put in after.

It has been confusing because the symptoms were inconsistent/intermittent.