coolant circulation

[budweiserdrinker44]

i have a 97 camry 4 cylinder. has new water pump. new thermostat. coolant still wont circulate. wondering if there is a bleeder valve for the system somewhere that i dont see. been 2 weeks tryin to figure it out. hoses r good. cap is good. sensors are good. assuming theres an airlock. never ran into one this bad though. any ideas or help would be greatly appreciated.

[LynchburgCSI]

Did you bleed the air from the coolant system?

[Mister_Perkins]

Originally Posted by budweiserdrinker44

i have a 97 camry 4 cylinder. has new water pump. new thermostat. coolant still wont circulate. wondering if there is a bleeder valve for the system somewhere that i dont see. been 2 weeks tryin to figure it out. hoses r good. cap is good. sensors are good. assuming theres an airlock. never ran into one this bad though. any ideas or help would be greatly appreciated.

When you are trying to get air bubbles out, turn the heater on HOT full blast and take off the radiator cap (When cold)

Turn the car on (with cap still off) and squeeze the hoses lightly. You should see bubbles come up through the cap if there is any air pockets in there. As the car heats up, the radiator will continue to heat up.

Re-install the cap while still running. Monitor the difference (by touch) of the upper radiator hose and the lower radiator hose. (Lower will be slightly colder to the touch)


Keep monitoring the temperature difference until they both feel the same temperature (This will confirm that your thermostat opens).

While monitoring the temp differences, take not of your Gauge inside the car. Making sure it is raising temperature normally.

[budweiserdrinker44]

Originally Posted by Mister_Perkins

When you are trying to get air bubbles out, turn the heater on HOT full blast and take off the radiator cap (When cold)

Turn the car on (with cap still off) and squeeze the hoses lightly. You should see bubbles come up through the cap if there is any air pockets in there. As the car heats up, the radiator will continue to heat up.

Re-install the cap while still running. Monitor the difference (by touch) of the upper radiator hose and the lower radiator hose. (Lower will be slightly colder to the touch)


Keep monitoring the temperature difference until they both feel the same temperature (This will confirm that your thermostat opens).

While monitoring the temp differences, take not of your Gauge inside the car. Making sure it is raising temperature normally.

i already tried that. when i look at the fluid in the radiator there isnt any movement. it isnt circulating at all. upper hose gets real hot and it just blows out steam from the open cap.

[budweiserdrinker44]

Originally Posted by LynchburgCSI

Did you bleed the air from the coolant system?

is there an actual bleeder somewhere?

[Tech1984]

The problem for most DIY'ers is the "hump" in the upper radiator hose. If you can keep the coolant level above the radiator line, I use a funnel that attaches like a radiator cap, they're cheap from Matco tools, ...or and old rubber axle boot fits like a glove in the radiator neck.
...anyways, try and keep the level above the radiator line and press down on that upper hose to kind of straighten it out.
You will see all the air bubbles coming up from the block now. Now just follow advice that was given above and you should be good to go.

[Mister_Perkins]

There is not bleeder valve on the 5sfe motor

And if you ran the car until steam was coming out, then that means the radiator wasn't full. If you leave the cap open, the coolant will actually start seeping out of the radiator as it heats up. This is why you re-install the cap

[csaxon]

Did your thermostat have a jiggle valve and was it positioned correctly? Did you put the thermostat in backwards? It happens.

[Mister_Perkins]

[Spitfire]

^ weird i didnt know it had to go in a certain way... i just threw it in... guess i got lucky... haha

[budweiserdrinker44]

thanks for all the advice. hopefully be able to try it all out by this afternoon. its below freezing outside. waiten for it to warm up a bit.

[esvipron]

Originally Posted by Mister_Perkins

When you are trying to get air bubbles out, turn the heater on HOT full blast and take off the radiator cap (When cold)

Turn the car on (with cap still off) and squeeze the hoses lightly. You should see bubbles come up through the cap if there is any air pockets in there. As the car heats up, the radiator will continue to heat up.

Re-install the cap while still running. Monitor the difference (by touch) of the upper radiator hose and the lower radiator hose. (Lower will be slightly colder to the touch)


Keep monitoring the temperature difference until they both feel the same temperature (This will confirm that your thermostat opens).

While monitoring the temp differences, take not of your Gauge inside the car. Making sure it is raising temperature normally.

I have a 98 I4.
I agree with that but better off do not put back the cup on the radiator. Just let the car—with heat turned on and high—running for a while. A while means that it will take some time…it does not happen in two minutes. Same when temperature, it will take time to come up. At some point you will see the water running and/or bubbling on the radiator. Then you can turn it off and wait to cool down and see if the antifreeze little reservoir needs to be added some more water.
Also are you sure your radiator is in good shape? As another said, did you put the thermostat in backwards?
Before putting back the radiator cup when finished, squeeze the upper hose with a glove on your hand, as it will be hot and let air in the system come out, then put the cup back.

[redoo2000]

I live on Long Island, NY and i was wondering if my t stat should be opening up in this cold weather. its about 30 degrees out on average. I drove 40 minutes mostly highway with heat on and the lower hose was still cold.

[JohnGD]

It may take a while, but it should open. You need to feel the upper hose.

The coolant gets progressively cooler as it passes through the down-flow radiator to the bottom. By that time, in the NY cold, it's going to be cold.

And the thermostat probably won't let in a whole lot of that cold coolant. Another way to check coolant temp would be to measure the resistance value of the ECT sensor (not sender). And look it up on the temp-resistance chart (free on Autozone's repair info pages).

Originally Posted by redoo2000

I live on Long Island, NY and i was wondering if my t stat should be opening up in this cold weather. its about 30 degrees out on average. I drove 40 minutes mostly highway with heat on and the lower hose was still cold.

[JohnGD]

So how's it working?

Originally Posted by budweiserdrinker44

thanks for all the advice. hopefully be able to try it all out by this afternoon. its below freezing outside. waiten for it to warm up a bit.