3rd & 4th Generation (1992–1996 & 1997–2001)Toyota Camry Discussion for years: 1992-1996 & 1997-2001
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Having heater problems on my 1998 V6 Camry. If I let the car warm up in the driveway the temp gauge will be in the normal range, and the heater will work. Then I start driving the car and the temp gauge goes back down to zero and little to no heat. I'm thinking I need to replace the thermostat. Any ideas.
TrailDust,
Thanks for the reply, the replacement is what I'm thinking as well. Is there someplace on this forum that talks about how to replace on the 1998 V6, or any shortcuts or tips on the replacement of this thermostat ?
Replaced the thermostat today on the 1998 Camry. All went well, just took a little longer than I would have thought. I bought a thermostat at the local parts store, but when I took out the original Toyota thermostat and then I looked at the one I bought, the difference was night and day. The original one was heavy duty and the parts store one looked like a light weight piece of junk. So headed to dealership and bought the OEM part. The new one is built like a tank, just like the one I took out. The difference was about $15.00 counting the O-ring, total cost counting one gallon of new Toyota Red coolant was right at $53.00. With 168K miles on the Camry, I think the money was well spent. The heater works great now, super hot and I mean super hot. Besides regular maintenance ( Tires,brakes,battery,oil changes) the only other thing replaced on this car were the CVC boots. Bought the car with 23K miles on it, what a great car.
For some reason I've never seen an aftermarket thermostat worth the time to install, domestic or import. They also never have jiggle valves!
At least online the difference between the heavy-duty "OEM" style and cheap style is about $5.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Garys4151
I bought a thermostat at the local parts store, but when I took out the original Toyota thermostat and then I looked at the one I bought, the difference was night and day. The original one was heavy duty and the parts store one looked like a light weight piece of junk. So headed to dealership and bought the OEM part. The new one is built like a tank, just like the one I took out.
Did the same job in mine... You might want to think about changing the radiator hose clamps to the screw type... Blew my top hose off at around 110k miles.. Cheap insurance... Did you change the o-ring out as well?
TrailDust,
Thanks for the reply, the replacement is what I'm thinking as well. Is there someplace on this forum that talks about how to replace on the 1998 V6, or any shortcuts or tips on the replacement of this thermostat ?
For any common problem you can use the forum's search tool and look for past threads on any subject, like this one for changing out a thermostat. There are many others, and some with photos if you need them. Keep us up-to-date on what happens.
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