3rd & 4th Generation (1992–1996 & 1997–2001)Toyota Camry Discussion for years: 1992-1996 & 1997-2001
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Does it matter if i use an engine cap at 1.5 psi lower?
As you know the Gen 3 V6's have two pressure caps, one on the radiator and one at the top of the engine.
I recently changed my caps as they were all coroded and rusted. My radiators original cap was at 16 PSI and my engine cap was at 14.5 PSI.
I managed to locate a replica of my radiator cap with the sam PSI and used that one, but for my engine cap, i could not find one with the same size anywhere, the closest i could locate was a cap with 13PSI and i put that one on there.
So my radiator cap is fine, but im running my engine cap at 1.5 LOWER PSI then in the past. Will my car run hotter or colder as i've gone down 1.5 psi? Can this cause any damage or SLIGHT overheating?
Last edited by GRANDE,GRANDE!!; 04-03-2010 at 05:21 AM.
Does it matter if i use an engine cap at 1.5 psi lower?
Will my car run hotter or colder as i've gone down 1.5 psi? Can this cause any damage or SLIGHT overheating?
The cooling system operating temperature is not governed or controlled by pressure. It is controlled only by your thermostat. Pressure is used to help increase the boiling temperature point of your cooling system (the higher the pressure, the higher the temperature required to boil your coolant).
With the 16 PSI cap on your radiator, you will be fine. I think you may need to see your Toyota parts counter regarding the proper cap to fit your overflow container, or get one from a salvage yard from a car where that cap is in good shape.
i tried once an aftermarket (from autozone) 16psi radiator cap on 1992 Buick and it sucked, leaked like hell. ended up cleaning the old from gunk and it works fine hehe
on solara i replaced radiator cap with new OEM one, was like $5 online or so.
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I think you may need to see your Toyota parts counter regarding the proper cap to fit your overflow container, or get one from a salvage yard from a car where that cap is in good shape.
What do you mean? I never mentioned anything about my overflow container.. theres nothing wrong with it?
You dont mean the Engine Coolant Cap do you? Theres two pressure caps on the V6 setup... 1 Radiator, 1 Engine?
I don't mean or intend to challenge you, Grande. But for a correctly setup Gen 3 Camry V6, there is only 1 radiator cap. That radiator cap (16 psi capacity) is on the water outlet housing mounted to the engine. The correct radiator for your Gen 3 Camry V6 has no radiator cap. There are no automotive applications, that I am aware of, that use two separate coolant pressure caps. Look at your owners manual, I don't think you will see any reference for a radiator cap on the radiator itself. Check it out at a Toyota dealer, if you want.
What likely happened is, somewhere along the life of the car, the radiator was replaced (given its age, one would expect a radiator replacement). The correct radiator was not installed, evidently. It should not have a radiator cap. Look at automotive parts companies online (like Advance Auto Parts, O'Reilys, NAPA, etc.), and they will illustrate the proper radiator for your application is one that has no radiator cap on it, because your car already has it in the system, only mounted on the water outlet attached to the engine.
On your current setup, where does the overflow from your radiator go?
The water outlet on your engine, just below the radiator cap, has an overflow tube going to your reservoir, where you can see the level of your coolant. Does the overflow on your radiator, below its radiator cap, go to the same reservoir? If so, it must have been altered to accommodate a radiator that has a radiator cap when the original radiator was replaced.
Last edited by 93celicaconv; 04-04-2010 at 09:50 AM.
^ although that is generally true, the OP is actually right
the 92-93 gen 6 v6 had the 3vz-fe motor, and the radiator on it actually had a pressure cap on it (presumably), except that it cannot be opened or removed from the rad- it seems to pretty much function as a one-way valve with an overflow tube that comes out of it if I remember correctly
the 94+ radiators were more traditional radiators without that cap
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You probably are right. I was looking at a service manual for a 1996 model (last year of the Gen 3), and assumed the cooling system applied to all Gen 3 models. And radiators I was looking up was for a 1994 model. But when I looked at replacement radiators online for a 1992 model, I do see that those replacement radiators have provisions for a radiator cap on top, unlike the 1994 model radiators. So I think you are right.
To resolve this issue, it is probably best to visit the Toyota dealerships parts counter to get the correct caps for both the radiator and the water outlet housing.
^ although that is generally true, the OP is actually right the 92-93 gen 6 v6 had the 3vz-fe motor, and the radiator on it actually had a pressure cap on it (presumably), except that it cannot be opened or removed from the rad- it seems to pretty much function as a one-way valve with an overflow tube that comes out of it if I remember correctly
That is correct
Quote:
Originally Posted by Eye8Pussies
the 94+ radiators were more traditional radiators without that cap
That is not.
Well, at least not in Australia anyway.
I'm not exactly familiar with the setup of Gen 3 Camry's outstide of Australia, but i do know for a fact that every single Australian V6 (GEN 3) camry (92-96), had the same setup as mine = 3VZ-FE & two radiator caps.
I was unaware that 94+ models had a different setup and radiator style... Maybe its an American exclusive thing?
gen 6 v6 had the 3vz-fe motor, and the radiator on it actually had a pressure cap on it (presumably), except that it cannot be opened or removed from the rad- it seems to pretty much function as a one-way valve with an overflow tube that comes out of it if I remember correctly
Thats correct, the cap is not designed to be tampered with.. there was a type of hard plastic covering the cap which disabled anyone from playing around with it.... unless you attack it with a set of plyers.
You probably are right. I was looking at a service manual for a 1996 model (last year of the Gen 3), and assumed the cooling system applied to all Gen 3 models .
The funny thing is, in Australia, all Gen 3 models have the exact same layout, regardless of what year it was actually built. If its a V6 3VZ-FE - its the same setup 92-96, if its a 4cyl - 5SFE - 92-96 - Same setup.
Its clearly not the case for models outside of Australia... i didnt know that myself.
But getting back to my original post...
Would my engine filler 1.5PSI lower cap cause any harm?
Last edited by GRANDE,GRANDE!!; 04-06-2010 at 08:24 AM.
Grande,Grande; don't know if you are interested in this subject anymore, but in visiting the salvage yard the other day, came across a 92 V6 Camry, saw it had two radiator caps, just as you said! I don't think both of the caps were OEM anymore. Both were 16 psi (1.1 bar) caps. So I don't know if those were OEM pressure ratings either, but after me making such a big deal about the wrong perspective, thought I should apologize and let you know I was wrong, and what I found out in the salvage yard. In my opinion (what it is worth at this point), probably makes sense that both caps are of the same pressure rating.
Grande,Grande; don't know if you are interested in this subject anymore, but in visiting the salvage yard the other day, came across a 92 V6 Camry, saw it had two radiator caps, just as you said! I don't think both of the caps were OEM anymore. Both were 16 psi (1.1 bar) caps. So I don't know if those were OEM pressure ratings either, but after me making such a big deal about the wrong perspective, thought I should apologize and let you know I was wrong, and what I found out in the salvage yard. In my opinion (what it is worth at this point), probably makes sense that both caps are of the same pressure rating.
Thats okay. You dont need to apologize, i guess it just comes down to different region camry's having a slightly different engine bay setup. But at the end of the day, the engines are the same and thats the main point.
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