Overheating Camry in shop, possibly stranded... - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

Hudnall78 · 06-18-2011, 10:35 PM

So I know there is other threads that have similar things, but they dont seem to answer, or have the same info I am looking for. On top of that, I have 36 hours to come up with a plan. The overheating story went something like this....

So I moved out of my state, and bought a 1993 camry v6, thinking i would be there a while. When I bought it, I was told that it overheated all the time, and leaked fluid badly. There was some other minor body issues, but thats a different story.

I got it home and noticed that, as a matter of fact, the radiator was empty. It was a short drive by the way, which I pulled over often and added what water I could.

I then replaced the radiator with a new one. I tried flushing the coolant a little, due to it being a brownish color. I am assuming the people I bought the car from just added water instead of coolant.

After the radiator was replaced, and poorly flushed, I ran it down the road to check if it was holding fluid. Of coarse the car ran hot, and it was only a couple block. The car did seem to hold the fluid though. Just as a precaution, I also replaced the radiator cap, and the other cap where you add coolant on top of the block (it looks like a radiator cap) .

I flushed the system over and over with 2 radiator flush solutions. I ended up getting just water.

The car still overheated in a short distance, so I decided to replace the thermostat, seeing how it was cheap and easy, or so i thought. After doing this, I flushed it again and more stuff came out , but only a little compared to the first time. I ran it after adding water and a couple more flushes, Everything was clean, and there was no overheating, it held my 50/50 mix. I added the coolant, and started the car. When the coolant went down, I added more. I kept doing this until it was completely full. I added it into the fill above the block, not the radiator, as I heard this can cause air pockets.

Turns out, things didn't work out with my living situation, and this saturday morning at 5am, I left for my 1200 mile trip. Approx. 22 miles away, and on the freeway, my car started to overheat. I pulled over and turned up the hot air, and cranked the fan. It was blowing cold air. Really wanting to get on my way, I flipped the temp switch from cold to hot and back again. I did this repeatedly, and the temp gauge started to drop, and the air became hot. The temp went almost back to normal. I figured there was a small clog somewhere from what was left of the stuff in the radiator. I continued on, seeing how the temp dropped and everything seemed fine. I made it about 2 or 3 miles, when the cold air came back, and temp rose again. this happened a couple times, and I finally decided, it has to be towed and fixed.

Cutting out a bunch of horrible bad luck, The tow truck arrived and my car was delivered to a shop.

The told me they needed to do a pressure check on the system for leaks ( hoses and stuff ). I agreed, and soon was told to talk to the mechanic

The mechanic told me that the reason I overheated was because I was low on fluid. I tried to explain that when the car overheated, It puked water. He told me I had failed to fill it properly, leaving air pockets. He filled it with fluid, and pressure did it so there was no air pockets. They ran it down around the block and using the a/c, ect, to make sure it wouldn't overheat with a load. I was told if it was not fixed, they'd pay for the tow back.

After 20 miles on the freeway after the fix, i called them back due to the car overheating again. They towed it back and checked into it.

They told me they did a pressure check or something with dye i think to check if the head gasket was bad. The test came back fine. There is no leaks anywhere, and it retains fluid. When running, there is no smoke out the exhaust. It does not overheat around town, but when I got it on the freeway, it does.

They told me it was either a minor leak in the head gasket, but more than likely it was a water pump.

I am running out of money, and can afford to have to water pump done. After that I can not afford any more repairs because I will be out of money, and stranded in the middle of the country.

My question is, is with the stuff I have done to the car, and what it is currently doing, what should be my next move? Do i cross my fingers with the water pump or?

The shop is closed sunday (tomorrow) , and I told them I will let them know for sure what I want to do monday, but will probably have them do the water pump.

Any help would be helpful, as I am running out of options.

Hudnall78 · 06-19-2011, 09:38 AM

Oh, and I forgot to mention that the mechanic said my fans were running fine, at the speeds they should. It being sunday now, I need an answer by tomorrow morning....

Thank you again to anybody that can help.

houra · 06-19-2011, 09:47 AM

DIY: GEN3 Timing Belt + Waterpump + Oil Seal Change - Part 1

DIY: GEN3 Timing Belt + Waterpump + Oil Seal Change - Part 2

A project car? Camry Wagon V6 LE (pics)

Changing V6 Timing Belt Pics and the $270 Coil Connector

Luckynumber5 · 06-19-2011, 12:26 PM

Sorry you are going through all this, the 3vz-fe really is a good engine its just every one of them over here is at least 18 years old. I would say the water pump is gone so unfortunately you may need to drop some cash on that. Make sure to use a genuine Toyota pump, I have had terrible luck with cheaper pumps and overheating or outright failure.

hill8570 · 06-19-2011, 12:29 PM

Well, duff water pump is certainly a good possibility, but I'd hate to bet the farm on it.

Did they check the coolant for combustion byproducts (there's test kits for that). That should catch a head gasket leak even if it's not showing up on the pressure test.

Hudnall78 · 06-19-2011, 06:42 PM

They did a check for the head gasket, by using some dye that changes color when it detects the head gasket issue. The told me, according to the test, it is fine. They also told me that just because the test passed, doesn't mean it is ok.

They also did the pressure test to detect for leaks, which there is none.

I have been looking all over the place and everyone seems to go with the radiator/heater core plugged, bad thermostat, or the water pump/head gasket. Which looking at it, kinda covers about everything...

If they replace the water pump, and it continues to overheat after about 20 - 30 miles, is there anything else it could be? Could it really be a head gasket, with no water in oil/oil in water, no white smoke, and a passing test with the byproducts in the cylinder?

If I think/remember of anything else, I will be sure to post. Thank you all for the help too, as it makes the situation I am in just a little easier...

Thankfully I will be having help with money to see that I make it home safe, so if I am doing the pump I won't be stranded after all. Which is a HUGE relief.

Luckynumber5 · 06-19-2011, 07:03 PM

When my head gasket went it was pretty obvious, lots of steam out the exhaust. It went out on number 5 ironically lol. If it is not the water pump something is causing steam pockets in the system could be a clog but Its difficult to say, any idea at all when the last time the timing belt and pump were done?

Hudnall78 · 06-19-2011, 07:27 PM

no idea, I bought the car about 3 months or so ago. I did notice on top of the timing cover, there is a bunch of stickers.... I am assuming that they are timing belt change stickers, for wen they change the timing belt...

they said they didn't think that it was a clog, because it would overheat around town. After it over heated, and they put coolant in it the first time, they ran around and didn't overheat....

***BMR*** · 06-19-2011, 11:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hudnall78

no idea, I bought the car about 3 months or so ago. I did notice on top of the timing cover, there is a bunch of stickers.... I am assuming that they are timing belt change stickers, for wen they change the timing belt...

Yeah, a lot of shops will put a sticker on the timing belt cover noting the mileage when it was changed. Unfortunately, the water pump may or may not have been changed at the same time. Sometimes folks go cheap and only do the belt, which is a mistake IMHO.

Bad water pump is a good suspect, but like hill8570 said, I'd hate to bet the farm on it.

Hudnall78 · 06-19-2011, 11:45 PM

Well, under everything I have said, could it be anything other than the water pump? Could anything cause the car to overheat in the same manner with a good water pump?

All signs seem to point to the water pump. I hear no noise, and i didn't see any leaking around the water pump.

***BMR*** · 06-20-2011, 12:02 AM

Only thing you haven't mentioned: Have the cooling fans been tested for proper operation? Do the fans kick on when the coolant is hot? BTW, the fans on this motor are hydraulically powered by the power steering pump system. Check the PS fluid level?

Then again, the heater putting out hot air intermittently points to coolant not circulating well. That could be a bad water pump, blockage in the cooling system, or air in the system, which could be from a leaking head gasket.

Hudnall78 · 06-20-2011, 12:10 AM

yes, the fans have been checked. the come on at the proper time, along with the speed of the fan being correct as well....

The fluid level is right as well...

DarkSideMoon · 06-20-2011, 12:17 AM

Having gone through a similar scenario I'd guess the water pump. Did you put any stop-leak into the system at any point? have you noticed any metallic flecks in the fluid?

Hudnall78 · 06-20-2011, 08:52 AM

when i bought the car, I was told there was a severe leak. when i got it home and flushed it, it was a brownish color. There was flakes in it, but when i flushed it out, i figured got it all out.

Do you think something could be clogging something?

OH YA, I completely forgot about this, and i'm sorry to everyone reading this, but i remember when changed the thermostat, I did find a chunk of what looks like an old piece of gasket. I completely forgot about this, although I did flush it after that, so there shouldn't be any in the system.....could there?

well, i'm going to be checking out soon from where i'm staying soon, and then i'm off to the mechanic. We will see what happens, and i'll be sure to post how I made it home, and if the pump fixed it, or I went another route...

Thanks to all the help I got on here. It has made things a little easier to figure out what I should do...

DarkSideMoon · 06-20-2011, 09:50 AM

Have you ever had a power back flush? I flushed mine 3 times on my own but what really did it was a power back flush. I made the mistake of using stop-leak and that was the only thing that got the crap out of the system (and even then not entirely).