93 overheating problem

[patwguinness]

Hey guys, I have a situation that I'd like some advice on. I've got a 93 Camry,V6 XLE. It's been overheating. I've replaced the radiator and the thermostat. The oil is clean (no water droplets on the dipstick, or that grayish gummy stuff that gets on the radiator cap when coolant has gotten into the oil). Even though I've replaced these parts, it's still overheating. I'm assuming it can only be the water pump (incidentally, the water pump is not leaking). Before I consider changing the water pump, I wanted to see if any of you have had a situation like this and is there anything else that I might check. The one thing that seems to be odd is that the upper radiator hose gets hot enough that you can't keep your hand on it very long, whereas after the thermostat opens and coolant starts flowing through the bottom hose you can keep your hand on it. It seems like it should be just about as hot as the upper hose should be, shouldn't it?

This engine as you probably know has a cooling fan that operates off of some kind of fluid pump. It seems to be working fine whenever you are driving at road and highway speeds, so I don't see how that could be a problem.

If you guys can think of anything else I should check before I start tearing this thing down, I would sure appreciate hearing from you. Thanks.

[BMR]

Were the radiator caps changed?... If yes, did you use Toyota parts, or aftermarket? If not changed, or you used aftermarket, you might wanna try replacing with genuine Toyota. This is one case where it's definitely worth spending the few extra bucks for it.

Or it could be the system has air trapped in it. The best way to burp it all out is to remove the cap by the thermostat housing with the engine cold. That's the highest point in the system, so air naturally wants to wind up there.. Start it up, and let it warm up. Air trapped in the block will make its way up to that spot. Have some premixed coolant ready, and top it off every time some air burbles its way up there until it quits.

[TedL]

Originally Posted by patwguinness

The one thing that seems to be odd is that the upper radiator hose gets hot enough that you can't keep your hand on it very long, whereas after the thermostat opens and coolant starts flowing through the bottom hose you can keep your hand on it. It seems like it should be just about as hot as the upper hose should be, shouldn't it?

Assuming that the emphasized "it" refers to the lower hose, that's not odd, it's a sign that your radiator is working.