Problems with Radiator Fan

[N35QU!K]

What's up everyone,

I've been having some problems lately with my cooling system. The car basically gets hot very easily under normal city driving conditions. It's fine on the freeway, but once I'm driving below freeway speeds, the engine temp gauge starts to rise and the car starts steaming or even goes so far as to spit out coolant from the overflow reservoir.

I've just replaced the thermostat, but the problem persists. One thing I've noticed, though, is that the radiator fans don't turn on like they should/used to. Any suggestions on what I need to do?

[hill8570]

You definitely want to get those fans working -- that's your low-speed cooling.

Check the FSM at http://www.camrystuff.com/manuals/Gen3/eg1.pdf , starting at page 261. Most likely it's the coolant temperature switch (down on the lower passenger side of the radiator), but there are other possible culprits. As a quicky check, you can pop the connector off of that switch and jumper it with a paper clip...if they turn on, you've found your culprit.

[haux]

If possible, take a drive down the highway for about ten minutes. Pull into a parking lot and check the two big coolant hoses. Squeeze them and see if they're pressurized. If they're not, then the radiator cap may have failed.

The radiator fan motors themselves may be bad too. If the brushes inside the motors are too short (worn out), it could cause them to turn off erratically.

How many miles on your car, and are those fans original to your knowledge?

And as hill8570 said, the coolant temperature sensor at the bottom of the radiator could potentially be a cause as well.

But I would definitely check to make sure the cooling system is keeping pressure first.

[whip_cracker]

5S, 3VZ or 1MZ mate?

Sounds like 3VZ.. and if it is, definitely check the rad cap and filler cap as well as the temp send unit... will cause these problems for sure.

[JohnGD]

Check the radiator fan motor and see if it works. Turn on AC and measure battery voltages at both fans. Check engine coolant temperature switch that help turn on the fans.

See Autozone's free repair guide, with registration.

Originally Posted by N35QU!K

What's up everyone,

I've been having some problems lately with my cooling system. The car basically gets hot very easily under normal city driving conditions. It's fine on the freeway, but once I'm driving below freeway speeds, the engine temp gauge starts to rise and the car starts steaming or even goes so far as to spit out coolant from the overflow reservoir.

I've just replaced the thermostat, but the problem persists. One thing I've noticed, though, is that the radiator fans don't turn on like they should/used to. Any suggestions on what I need to do?

[N35QU!K]

Thanks for the input everyone,

In total we replaced the thermostat, the radiator temp sensor that tells the radiator fans to turn on, and the radiator cap, and it looks like everything's back to normal. Comparing the new radiator cap to the old one, the old one was definitely worn out and was being way too forgiving with releasing coolant into the overflow reservoir.

Just drove 40mi from home to school, and the car's feeling like new again. Usually after that much driving the car would be spitting coolant out of the overflow tube, but not this time. If anything I think the main thing was the radiator cap, but I'm glad we replaced the thermostat too, because that thing had way too much resistance in it and was inhibiting the flow of coolant between the engine and the radiator.

For reference the car has the 5S-FE and is at 173,000mi. The cost of the three parts was a little less than $30.

[haux]

I coulda swore my coolant temp sensor alone was about $30 from an auto store. Odd.

I'm glad those worked out for you! I had been going through overheating issues for about four years, until earlier this year when I think I've gotten it figured out. So I know how frustrating it can be.