3rd & 4th Generation (1992–1996 & 1997–2001)Toyota Camry Discussion for years: 1992-1996 & 1997-2001
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I have a 1996 camry with 199,000 miles. I've been having overheating problems for the last few months. The water pump was replaced about 3 years ago so that shouldn't be the problem. 2 months ago I replaced the coolant temp sensor, thermostat, and radiator cap. That fixed the problem for a while. Then about a month ago my radiator blew so I replaced it and that fixed the problem for a month or so.
The car still spits alot of coolant out the overflow while running at normal temp. This weekend the car overheated really badly again on the highway. After replacing almost the entire cooling system I'm starting to fear that the head gasket is going.
I don't have any oil in my coolant. The oil on the dipstick looked alright but I'm going to drain my oil this evening to more thoroughly check it for coolant. I pulled my spark plugs and they looked fine with no moisture or signs of coolant. There is no white smoke coming out of the exhaust. The part that has me really nervous is that whenever the car is running I get constant air bubbles coming out of the hose into my coolant overflow.
What do you guys think? Is my head gasket going out? Are there any other ways to check and confirm thats the problem?
Last edited by plurpimpin; 07-25-2011 at 08:21 AM.
The car still spits alot of coolant out the overflow while running at normal temp. This weekend the car overheated really badly again on the highway.
I don't have any oil in my coolant. I pulled my spark plugs and they looked fine with no moisture or signs of coolant. There is no white smoke coming out of the exhaust.
whenever the car is running I get constant air bubbles coming out of the hose into my coolant overflow.
What do you guys think?
Are you sure you got all the air out of the system when you refilled it? I'd look at that first.
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1995 Camry Wagon LE. 2.2 4cyl, 5S-FE, Auto, 187K
Are you sure you got all the air out of the system when you refilled it? I'd look at that first.
I drove the car 250 miles a few days after refilling the system (was out of town and had to get home), shouldn't be any air left.
To bleed the air I usually just run it for a few minutes with the rad cap off. Is there a better procedure for bleeding the air out? I'll give it a shot tonite to try to eliminate that as a possibility.
Last edited by plurpimpin; 07-25-2011 at 09:49 AM.
To bleed the air I usually just run it for a few minutes with the rad cap off. Is there a better procedure for bleeding the air out?
Your new thermostat had a jiggle-valve or bleed hole in it that should have be orientated in the 12 o'clock position which allows air to flow through the system and out the top. I've found on these engines you also need to jack the front end up to facilitate air bleeding.
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1995 Camry Wagon LE. 2.2 4cyl, 5S-FE, Auto, 187K
the 2.2 isnt prone to air pockets at all. Its a really bullet proof cooling system.
Check for collapsed hoses etc. If it all checks out I might as well bit the bullet and change the water pump again. Waterpump and timing belt should only cost you 50$ in parts.
Do a cooling system pressure check and see if itll hold. It it does the nthe hg is either ok or got a small pinhole leak which will eventually become bigger.
Alright well I called around town and Advance Auto has a loaner cooling pressure test kit so I'm going to pick that up and run a pressure test this evening... sounds like that should give me a more definitive answer. I really don't want to just start replacing parts blindly, I want to diagnose the problem first.
Did you put in any headgasket repair stuff in the coolant at any point? If you did, something could've gotten clogged up.
When you replaced the radiator...was it new or used?
When you replaced the water pump...was it OEM or some aftermarket one? Have you inspected the water pump vanes to see if they are in good condition? Not sure if it can be done via the inlet hose or not...
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1998 T-100 SR5 2WD auto, Roadmaster Active Suspension, 6½" dropped front air dam, 4½" drop full belly pan, 4° rear diffuser, 11" side skirts, oil catch jar, AC mod, aero cap, 67% grill block = 26mpg highway!
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Alright well I called around town and Advance Auto has a loaner cooling pressure test kit so I'm going to pick that up and run a pressure test this evening... sounds like that should give me a more definitive answer. I really don't want to just start replacing parts blindly, I want to diagnose the problem first.
I still think you need to get the coolant tested for combustion products. It's quite easy to have a HG that holds pressure at room temperature and at normal cooling system pressures, but leaks when hot or under cylinder pressures, and a standard leak-down test is unlikely to detect that.
Did you put in any headgasket repair stuff in the coolant at any point? If you did, something could've gotten clogged up.
When you replaced the radiator...was it new or used?
When you replaced the water pump...was it OEM or some aftermarket one? Have you inspected the water pump vanes to see if they are in good condition? Not sure if it can be done via the inlet hose or not...
No head gasket repair stuff, I prefer proper fixes to band aids.
The radiator was brand new.
The water pump was toyota OEM, but I haven't inspected it lately.
I'm going to pressure test it tonite becasue my big concern are the air bubbles I see constantly from the overflow hose when the engine is running.
I still think you need to get the coolant tested for combustion products. It's quite easy to have a HG that holds pressure at room temperature and at normal cooling system pressures, but leaks when hot or under cylinder pressures, and a standard leak-down test is unlikely to detect that.
good point, do you know what it usually costs to get a combustion leak test at a shop? I was looking at the DIY kits and they run around $50... I was going to try the pressure test first because it's free.
good point, do you know what it usually costs to get a combustion leak test at a shop? I was looking at the DIY kits and they run around $50... I was going to try the pressure test first because it's free.
Call around, but probably roughly the same. Doesn't really take much time, 'tho, so some shops might cut you some slack.
If you system is continuously bubbling at the overflow, have you taken a sniff? I'd think if it was coming from the cylinder, you'd get a strong tailpipe smell along with the usual coolant smell.
Pressure tested the cooling system last night. Lost pressure with no external leaks... things aren't looking good. Still plan to do a combustion vapor test but no stores in town had a kit so I had to order one, hopefully I get it in time test things this weekend.
... just to consider ....
What if the water that was lost from the pressure test procedure got into one of the cylinders and was caught on the compression stroke?
Could the compression of an incompressible liquid cause additional damage to the heads or cylinder block?
... If it was mine, I would remove all the spark plugs and rev the crankshaft a few times with the starter motor.
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98 Camry LE, 2.2L, automatic
50k miles, drop in K&N A/F recent timing belt, water pump
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