93 camry v6 poor heat - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

brian long · 02-11-2010, 08:03 AM

Hello again, This time I am asking for an opinion on the heater discharge temp. In my opinion, it never throws good heat. It's 25 degrees Fahrenheit outside.

I have a new OEM water pump and thermostat. New Toyota red coolant. I have bled the system by raising the front of the car up and bleeding it thru the radiator cap. The water valve is fully open.

With the engine running and the blower turned off, the heater hoses on both sides of the heater core are hot. When I turn the blower on high, the outlet hose becomes noticeably cooler.

To me this indicates that the heater core is not plugged, and possibly it's just too small to make any more heat.

I should mention that the temp guage needle sits just below horizontal.

I'm just trying to get some more heat. Have I missed anything? Thank you

rusty9 · 02-11-2010, 08:39 AM

level the car and bleed it from the other cap at the top of the engine.

do you get more heat as you raise the rpms while driving? could be a shot low on coolant.

also thats roughly where the needle should be.

brian long · 02-11-2010, 08:47 AM

Thank you

Yesterday, I bled it the way you described. same heat output.
Also, no more heat at a fast idle, or driving down the road.

What is your opinion of what I noticed with the different outlet hose temps with the blower off or on? Am I getting all the car has for heat?

Thank you

hill8570 · 02-11-2010, 09:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brian long

Thank you

Yesterday, I bled it the way you described. same heat output.
Also, no more heat at a fast idle, or driving down the road.

What is your opinion of what I noticed with the different outlet hose temps with the blower off or on? Am I getting all the car has for heat?

Thank you

Does this rig have a water valve up on the firewall? Might want to make sure it's opening all the way when you have the heat on (usually a little cable swings it on and off). If it looks like the cable is swinging it OK, then you might want to try bypassing it to see if there is a restriction in the valve.

Just because you're getting heat drop between the input and output of the core doesn't mean it isn't restricted...just means it's not completely clogged and that you're getting airflow through the core. 25 F isn't particularly cold -- the heater (especially a V6) should be capable of cooking you out at any speed greater than zero.

My take on it -- unless the water valve is the problem, your heater core is restricted. You can try backflushing it with a garden hose (which is just a complete effin' joy in the middle of winter), or replace it.

brian long · 02-11-2010, 09:34 AM

Thank you. I will try what you suggested.

EEngineer · 02-11-2010, 09:34 AM

i had the same problem...a back flush did the trick.

and when u do that, calcium deposits should flush out...and in such case u know that was casuing the problem

but usually it has to do with the turn knob cable getting messed up

brian long · 02-11-2010, 09:51 AM

EEngineer, If I can see that the lever on the water valve swings a full 90 degrees with a helper working the knob, can I assume the valve, cable and dash control are OK?

When i rotate the dash control to cold, it DEFINATELY throws cold air.

Interesting side note.
When I bought this car (13 days ago!) it had a water pump leak. Last night while topping off the radiator, I noticed metallic silver flecks in the coolant. This even tho it probably had most of the coolant replaced with the water pump and thermostat R&R. The previous owner might have added 'silversolder' or whatever they now call the silver powder in a tube.

That may have started the whole mess.

EEngineer · 02-11-2010, 10:01 AM

^if that's the case, i'd recommend a backflush for sure
any kind of debris would be very bad for the heatcore because if you ever seen it...it's constructed like a radiator but much much smaller and much more delicate. if any sort of deposit would start to get clogged in there...it will clog up very fast

brian long · 02-11-2010, 10:26 AM

Thank you, If I may bother you once again:

1. I have had good luck using a flush i buy from the local Chevy garage. It's a two-part powder (flush and neutralizer) Too strong for the Camry system?

2. I plan on using a Prestone flush kit. Connect the Tee to the heater core outlet hose?

3. The Toyota dealership used the extremely expensive Toyota red coolant when they replaced the waterpump/t-stat/timing belt (I simply didn't want to do that job in January!)
OK to go back to conventional (NAPA, green, 8 bucks an undiluted gallon) coolant in the Canry?

Thank you very much

EEngineer · 02-11-2010, 10:50 AM

i wouldn't use any more additive to try to flush to begin..just pressure hose with water would do the trick usually
if it really isn't working, then do however you want it.

brand of coolant doesnt really matter, just make sure you dilute your coolant if it's not prediluted.

rusty9 · 02-11-2010, 02:55 PM

green is fine, its what came in it originally. dealership just wants to make more money, you know the deal.

you can remove the heater core and just flush that out. its actually not that hard to get to on the camry. if you remove the carpet on the drivers side, where your right leg would be, theres an either black or white plastic shield velcro'd to the dash structure, just remove that, and you should see the hard pipes and clamps. remove those and slide her out.

just remember to disconnect the heater hoses on the engine side of the firewall first if you havent drained all the coolant.