3rd & 4th Generation (1992–1996 & 1997–2001)Toyota Camry Discussion for years: 1992-1996 & 1997-2001
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Running fine for a few minutes, then temperature peaks?
So first, a little background: I'm driving a 1995 Camry V6 with 202k miles. It's been having a handful of problems. I've been driving it for a while with a hole in the exhaust because I just haven't been able to get it fixed yet. I had a CEL and recently got the codes read. I had a p0401 EGR flow insufficient code, which I assume is because of the drop in back-pressure due to the hole. I also had a p0135 Front O2 heater sensor malfunction. Whether or not it was a good idea, I've driven it for a little while with these problems.
Now for the new problem: Recently the car will be driving fine for about 10 minutes with the temp gauge right in the middle, then the temperature will start climbing quickly and I have to pull over and turn the car off. There's steam coming out of the engine from near where the water pump is, which first made me think that was the problem. The fact that it drives fine for a while makes me think that may not be the case. If an engine gets too hot, is it normal for a water pump to let off steam (from a let-off valve or something)? Also the engine doesn't always start/idle right if I try to start it before the temp gauge is below the midpoint. I scanned the engine and got a p0115 Engine Coolant Temperature Circuit Malfunction.
Can anyone tell me what problem this might point to? Is there an easy way to check if the water pump is working, or any other tests that might help me figure out what the problem is? Any help would be greatly appreciated, this has been such a headache .
pull the wire to the egr put in a 47k resistor to remove the egr code.
turn the a/c on both fans should turn on.
The water is full, and it hasn't gone down much at all. I can't tell exactly where the steam is coming from, but it's toward the bottom of the engine bay on the rear passenger side. Where is the sensor? Are those the two likely locations for a leak? I might have to go in with a mirror and a flashlight to find out exactly what is leaking.
The first time it happened the fans weren't on, so i checked the connection and it was kind of loose. The fans have been working right ever since.
Thanks for the EGR advice. I should be fixing the exhaust pipes pretty shortly after I get this issue fixed, so we'll see if that fixes it. If not I might clean the valve out and go from there.
Well the good news is that with the new error (P0115) it runs in limp mode and ignores your bad O2 sensor! j/k!
That error P0115 means the ECM has no idea what engine temp is to make any management decision. Also, running that way to for prolonged periods could kill the cat converter becuase its running rich to save the engine and throwing allot of gas at it.
Is it time to ditch or do you intend to fix it?
O2 sensors, water pump, timing belt, temp sensor issues, it needs some attention or its going to die!
I'll chime in some more once you decide what you need to do but that water pump is going to fail and stop it dead! Its just a matter of time now that water is leaking past the seal into the bearing.
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95 Cam, V6 1MZ, Auto A541E, LE >245,000 miles!
The Following User Says Thank You to 73sport For This Useful Post:
Your temp gauge always reads low becuase it has an issue. When the car has run long enough to trigger/re-trigger the P0115, its fixes the temp gauge at 175F or mid stroke on the dial. So right when that error occurs YOU see the temp spike.
If the error where persistent from start up, the needle would fix mid scale (175f) and not move.
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95 Cam, V6 1MZ, Auto A541E, LE >245,000 miles!
Well the good news is that with the new error (P0115) it runs in limp mode and ignores your bad O2 sensor! j/k!
That error P0115 means the ECM has no idea what engine temp is to make any management decision. Also, running that way to for prolonged periods could kill the cat converter becuase its running rich to save the engine and throwing allot of gas at it.
Is it time to ditch or do you intend to fix it?
O2 sensors, water pump, timing belt, temp sensor issues, it needs some attention or its going to die!
I'll chime in some more once you decide what you need to do but that water pump is going to fail and stop it dead! Its just a matter of time now that water is leaking past the seal into the bearing.
Well I'm not entirely sure because my dad usually pays for parts (broke college kid here) and I do the wrenching if it's something I can handle. The car's not in great shape overall so I'd have to talk to him about it. If all of those things would need to be replaced then it may not be worth it... I'm not worried about the cat converter because I already have a replacement downpipe/cat converter. What makes you think there's a problem with the timing belt?
Is there an easy way to check if the water pump is working,
Once the temp gauge has moved from zero, turn the heater to full hot and the blower to high. If you have heat coming from your vents, the water pump is moving coolant. If not, the water pump isn't doing its job.
It's rare but it happens.
Thanks everyone. I tried adding more coolant to the radiator, and noticed it was all leaking out the bottom of the car (heavily). After poking around for a while (adding water and looking for the leak) I found out that it was a leak in the water pump. Luckily it broke down about a block away from a toyota dealership. New water pump, new downpipe/A-pipe, replaced timing belt and some engine seals. Car runs fine now! Thanks for all the advice.
P.S. After driving it with a bad exhaust for so long, I had forgotten how quiet this car can be!
Lot's of people don't listen when the answer isn't what they want to hear.....................
Actually I did listen, I just tried checking for other solutions before taking it into the shop. The car was also broken down a fair distance from my house, so it was difficult for me to get to the car to check anything (the reason for the 7 day gap). I understand that some people are just thick headed, but I'd like to think I'm not one of them. Thanks.
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Running fine for a few minutes, then temperature peaks?
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j/k!
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