94 radiator problems (2.2l 5fse) - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

zanglezonker · 12-02-2009, 12:36 PM

About 2 years ago, my 1994 l4 (AT) Camry sprouted a leak in the top plastic tank in the radiator. (not the overflow tank, the top of the radiator)

After trying JB Weld to no avail, I got a used OEM radiator from a junkyard and swapped that in.

Things seemed fine until about 8 months ago, when I heard gurggling when the car was cooling, indicating that air had gotten into the cooling system. I opened the radiator (after it had cooled) and found that the spring/seal on the cap had fallen apart.

I had a spare (that came with the used radiator) so I installed that, and everything was fine. For a while.

Then this past weekend it started gurggling again and upon inspection, it looked like coolant was leaking from the upper tank. When it had cooled and I took the cap off, I saw that it had fallen apart, just like the other one.

I was hopeful that maybe it was just the cap and it was leaking coolant onto the tank, so I replaced the cap with a new one. But this morning, after driving to work, I popped the hood and a small stream of coolant was spraying out of the top of the radiator.

So it seems possible that both radiators tanks and caps failed because they were old and plastic or rubber parts. As much as I generally prefer an older OE part to a new aftermarket part, I'm not putting another 15 year old radiator in the car.

But before I go put a brand new radiator in the car, does it seem likely that there is some other problem causing these failures?

I'd hate to spend the money and time to replace the radiator and have the new one sprout a leak, too.

hill8570 · 12-02-2009, 12:52 PM

IME, all of the Toyota plastic-tank radiators develop tank cracks at between 10 and 15 years -- what you're seeing is "normal".

The Toyota service manual shows a procedure for replacing the tanks on one of their radiators, but I've never heard of anyone actually doing it. The fact that the list price of the top tank alone is more than the price of a decent aftermarket radiator may have something to do with it

.

If you want a radiator that will last another 10 to 15 years, and doesn't cost a complete arm and a leg like a new Toyota radiator, Koyo makes a good one. I suspect that Koyo is the OEM for Toyota's radiators, but I don't know that for certain.

I've had less than stellar luck with Modine and CSF radiators (even the all-metal CSF rads), and I've always been scared to try my luck with the super-cheapo radiators on fleabay. YMMV.

95PimpingCamry · 12-02-2009, 02:04 PM

I got a cheapo ebay rad almost 3 years ago. When I got it (for $70 shipped) it turned out to be a CSF. Now, 3 years later, it is still like new. No problems at all.

davemac2 · 12-02-2009, 02:18 PM

Sounds like bad luck with the caps and junkyard rad which was maybe already too old and brittle. Just buy a new plastic rad for $100. Because of this occurence though, you need to consider that you may have a head gasket issue that is over-presurrizing your system and causing premature cap failure. It may be wise to get a sniffer test done first before spending money on the rad.

dave mc

DAT RICE · 12-02-2009, 04:24 PM

i had the same issue early on. I bought one of those cheapo radiators off ebay for $56, free shipping. I've had it so far for 7 months. It has a lifetime warranty or something like that.

djb2 · 12-02-2009, 05:17 PM

FleaBay for under $60. They ship from the LA area, so you'll get it the next day.

Read
DIY:1993 Camry 5SFE A/T Radiator Replacement

***JohnGD*** · 12-02-2009, 09:29 PM

+1 on Koyo. It's more trustworthy.

However, I'll keep fleaBay in mind for those who want a cheap rad.

zanglezonker · 05-27-2010, 04:05 PM

Argh.

So after my original post (5 months ago), I bought a new Koyo radiator on ebay and installed it. I put on the relatively new NAPA radiator cap (made by Stant).

All was good.

Yesterday, I happened to be sitting in the car for a bit after I stopped the engine and again heard the gurgling of air bubbling out of the cooling system into the reservoir as the car cooled. After it had cooled completely, I opened the cap and it looks like its a goner.

I've had no (noticeable) loss of coolant, no overheating, no noticeable oil in coolant or coolant in oil, it's just that the car chews through radiator caps (and radiators).

Is this consistent with a blown head gasket?

***JohnGD*** · 05-27-2010, 07:53 PM

How "new" is the water pump and thermostat? It could also be that these two are not up to par. How clean is the radiator? It's possible that some dirt got lodged under the vacuum return valve and cause the system not to hold pressure (the reason I like to see spring loaded return valves). That will boil things too. You can also quickly check that both fans are working by turning on the AC.

The fact you're not losing coolant yet is a good sign. How much coolant gets blown out will depend on the size of a HG leak.

I'd take it to a rad shop or another shop equipped with a exhaust gas sniffer to check for blown HGs.

Quote:

Originally Posted by zanglezonker

Argh.

So after my original post (5 months ago), I bought a new Koyo radiator on ebay and installed it. I put on the relatively new NAPA radiator cap (made by Stant).

All was good.

Yesterday, I happened to be sitting in the car for a bit after I stopped the engine and again heard the gurgling of air bubbling out of the cooling system into the reservoir as the car cooled. After it had cooled completely, I opened the cap and it looks like its a goner.

I've had no (noticeable) loss of coolant, no overheating, no noticeable oil in coolant or coolant in oil, it's just that the car chews through radiator caps (and radiators).

Is this consistent with a blown head gasket?

zanglezonker · 05-28-2010, 12:35 PM

This morning starting from cold, I opened the rad cap and started the engine.

I let it warm up until the thermostat was open and revved the engine repeatedly. I definitely had bubbles coming up when revving the engine.

I'm thinking the HG is blown between a cylinder and the coolant channel. I'd be happy if you can convince me otherwise, but...

I got a quote from a nearby shop with a good reputation for $700 to replace it (again its a 1994 L4). That sounds reasonable to me. Does that sound like in the right ballpark, pricewise?

***JohnGD*** · 05-28-2010, 10:53 PM

Yeah, in the ball park.

Will they change out the pump while at it? And new timing components you brought them (pulleys, belts, seals, etc)?

Quote:

Originally Posted by zanglezonker

This morning starting from cold, I opened the rad cap and started the engine.

I let it warm up until the thermostat was open and revved the engine repeatedly. I definitely had bubbles coming up when revving the engine.

I'm thinking the HG is blown between a cylinder and the coolant channel. I'd be happy if you can convince me otherwise, but...

I got a quote from a nearby shop with a good reputation for $700 to replace it (again its a 1994 L4). That sounds reasonable to me. Does that sound like in the right ballpark, pricewise?