Overheating: becoming an issue

[BonesTheRipper]

Hey fellas,

i have a 93 camry with a 2.2L engine in it. it recently started to overheat in traffic. only in traffic though... when i drive, the temp drops down to the half way point on the water temp gauge and it runs normally. i know its running hot cuz when i came home tonight, the temp gauge read 3/4 of the way up and when i shut off the engine, i can hear the coolant boiling. the water pump is new and i'm not running a thermostat because it overheated when i did run the thermostat. any ideas on whats causing it or how i could keep it from overheating in traffic? i'm thinking of hooking up a switch to the cockpit that controls the fans.

thanks,

bones

p.s. i'm sure it doesnt matter, but i used orange anti-freeze coolant instead of the basic green. i'm sure its just a dye or something but let me know if i'm wrong. i'm an aircooled kinda guy so i dont really know much about water pumpers.

[JohnGD]

Is the cooling fan working? Turn on AC and both fans should turn.

How's the radiator cap? Are you losing coolant? Or does it just boil?

I think Autozone has a free loaner tool to pressure test cooling system. Not sure if this tests the cap.

Do you see contaminants in the coolant? Oil, debris?

Go to a radiator shop, have them check for exhaust gas in the coolant.

Originally Posted by BonesTheRipper

Hey fellas,

i have a 93 camry with a 2.2L engine in it. it recently started to overheat in traffic. only in traffic though... when i drive, the temp drops down to the half way point on the water temp gauge and it runs normally. i know its running hot cuz when i came home tonight, the temp gauge read 3/4 of the way up and when i shut off the engine, i can hear the coolant boiling. the water pump is new and i'm not running a thermostat because it overheated when i did run the thermostat. any ideas on whats causing it or how i could keep it from overheating in traffic? i'm thinking of hooking up a switch to the cockpit that controls the fans.

thanks,

bones

p.s. i'm sure it doesnt matter, but i used orange anti-freeze coolant instead of the basic green. i'm sure its just a dye or something but let me know if i'm wrong. i'm an aircooled kinda guy so i dont really know much about water pumpers.

[Kenny_McCormic]

Sounds like a fan or (clogged/rotten)radiator issue.

[carsrus]

Orange coolant is Dexcool for GM cars. It wont kill anything in the short run, but if you leave it in there for a while it can eat up rubber.

Sounds like you have either a bad fan or a old gunked up rad. Remove the drain plug completly and run take off the rad cap and take a hose and flush out the rad.

[BonesTheRipper]

well there is rust in the radiator. the cap could use replacing as well. the fans both work and as far as i can tell, i cant visually see any leaks. seeing as how it's ocurring more now than before, i'm starting to think its the radiator as well... thanks for the ideas guys.

[JohnGD]

It could be rust preventing the radiator cap from sealing and building pressure.

Also, the rust could have clogged parts of the radiator, reducing it's cooling capacity.

You're going to need a good flush to clean things out. Maybe a new radiator and heater core. (Are you getting heat inside?)

I'd also make sure the head gasket is ok by having a radiator shop do an exhaust gas test before spending more money on the rig.

Originally Posted by BonesTheRipper

well there is rust in the radiator. the cap could use replacing as well. the fans both work and as far as i can tell, i cant visually see any leaks. seeing as how it's ocurring more now than before, i'm starting to think its the radiator as well... thanks for the ideas guys.

[BonesTheRipper]

i get heat inside of the cabin only when i'm driving... at idle, there's lukewarm air if that... at 40mph... its nice and warm... at 80, its warmer etc.

good idea on the head gasket deal... this is the 2nd motor this thing has had... blew the head gasket on the first one... then a rod started knocking.

thanks for the help.

[Chris Crash]

Sounds exactly like my car when the fans stopped working!

[BonesTheRipper]

so here's the verdict:

- radiator flush - check! idled it for at least 30 minutes... no overheating (fans turned on but only for a few seconds)
- turned a/c on to check fans... fans not turning on... unplugged the top connector on the fans... fans lit up right away (i thought this was awkward)
- drove it the next day on the highway for about 8 miles... ran fine temp was normal. got off the highway... engine started running rough (shaking) and the temp gauge started rising slowly. pulled over, temp gauge red just under the red line (no good)... fluid level really low but no smoke... added fluid, temp dropped, engine kept shaking... pulled into a shop around the corner... ran a disgnostic to find out whats going on ($49.95)... the guy tells me right off the bat.. "your car is running like shit"... diagnostic results: cylinder 1 was dead! had a crack in there where coolant would leak in.. in exchange, the exhaust was leaking into the radiator... motor is fried... didnt even make it to 2 months (junkyard motor)..thank god for warranties. not to mention, my back up car busted a coolant hose later that night (water pumpers hate me).

limped it home and gonna get another used motor in there. i may go back to old school vw's (maybe lol)

thanks for the help guys.

[Kenny_McCormic]

Sounds like an air cooled VW may be in your future.

[BonesTheRipper]

Originally Posted by Kenny_McCormic

Sounds like an air cooled VW may be in your future.

have one in the works now... damn water pumpers...

anywho... here's the latest:

motor was swapped... runs ok now. However, when i start it, smoke blows out the tail pipe... it doesn't smell like burnt coolant.. more like tar kinda.. it only does it in the mornings or anytime it sits more than an hour or so. sometimes it actually doesn't do it... makes me feel good... any thoughts on what that could be? the coolant stays in (no leaks) and the temp never runs above normal. Everything is good other than that smoke... and kind it kind of stumbles around 2,500 RPM til about 2,750rpm.

thanks,

[LittleWhiteBubble]

Is it dark smoke as opposed to white smoke? Are you only getting the smoke at cold startup? If so, it sounds like your valve seals are leaking. As the car sits, a little oil is seeping into the cylinder, but it gets burned off once the car warms up, and the smoke clears up.

[BonesTheRipper]

Originally Posted by LittleWhiteBubble

Is it dark smoke as opposed to white smoke? Are you only getting the smoke at cold startup? If so, it sounds like your valve seals are leaking. As the car sits, a little oil is seeping into the cylinder, but it gets burned off once the car warms up, and the smoke clears up.

its a puff of white smoke... like a little cloud... sometimes it'll smoke a few seconds after the car is started... sometimes it'll smoke as soon as i turn it on and it only smokes for like 3 seconds max. it smokes during cold start up. i think that's the only time it happens... in the morning round 7:30 when i start it up for work it'll smoke... at noon for lunch it'll smoke and again at 5pm when i'm off work... but during lunch... between noon and 12:45 if i shut it off.. it doesn't smoke. if it is the valve seals, how do i fix that? lap the valves?

[JT_3K]

Sounds like you have either a bad fan or a old gunked up rad. Remove the drain plug completly and run take off the rad cap and take a hose and flush out the rad

+1. My Ford (Mercury) Capri did the same thing until I flushed the cooling system (4 times), backflushed the radiator (6 times), AND replaced the fan.

[BonesTheRipper]

Originally Posted by JT_3K

+1. My Ford (Mercury) Capri did the same thing until I flushed the cooling system (4 times), backflushed the radiator (6 times), AND replaced the fan.

this was the issue with the old engine. it died. the radiator was flushed but what ended up being the issue is that one of the rubber hose clamps wasn't tightened enough so the coolant leaked out while driving...