Rushing Water Sound

[jillybeth]

I own a 2005 Camry 4 Cyl. 4 door. When I go up hill or down hill I hear a rushing water sound from the firewall and steering column area especially when the engine is cold. Im not sure if this has anything to do with it but the Air Conditioner smells bad like mildew. Can you please help?

[np6000]

Originally Posted by jillybeth

I own a 2005 Camry 4 Cyl. 4 door. When I go up hill or down hill I hear a rushing water sound from the firewall and steering column area especially when the engine is cold. Im not sure if this has anything to do with it but the Air Conditioner smells bad like mildew. Can you please help?

Just a haphazard guess, but that sound could possibly be the exhaust manifold gasket, or any gasket if there is a flange near the firewall. I had a smiliar problem on another car. Turns out it was the rear manifold gasket, which is adjacent to the firewall. It made the noise mostly under load and when cold similiar to your symptoms.

[JSM1284]

Your evap box drain may be clogged and the box is full of water. Run your ac and see if the drain is clear, You should notice water dripping out from under your car.

[tiswicked]

sounds more like you have air in your coolant system, the noise you hear is from the heater core. If this is the case then be sure to burp the system with your air climate control set to max hot/heat that way the coolant and/or any air can flow from the heater core.

[TRD VVTi]

I also think that it sounds like you're low on coolant.

Bleed out the air.

[toyotech121]

It's common. The way to purge air from cooling system is tricky. It has to be lifted almost a foot off the ground from the driver's side front tire with the engine running. The heater switch "min-max" isnt necassary. The coolant is always flowing while the engine is running. Its best to let a pro do it. If improperly lifted, car can fall and hurt someone.

[TRD VVTi]

Originally Posted by toyotech121

It's common. The way to purge air from cooling system is tricky. It has to be lifted almost a foot off the ground from the driver's side front tire with the engine running. The heater switch "min-max" isnt necassary. The coolant is always flowing while the engine is running. Its best to let a pro do it. If improperly lifted, car can fall and hurt someone.

Actually, the radiator cap where the air will travel too is toward the passenger side so jacking up the driver side isn't really that helpful.

Elevating the front of the vehicle does help, but the radiator cap is already the highest point. The easiest way to bleed it out is to get a funnel that attaches to the radiator just as the radiator cap attaches. You fill the funnel up and as the car runs, air will bleed out and up through the funnel. You will want to rev the engine at times to help force out any air pockets that could be trapped in the cooling system.

Patience and keeping the fluid level full is really all that's needed.

[zerch911]

I have to agree with patience and keeping the reservoir full. I have an 09 Camry, that had the radiator replaced from a minor accident. After the replacement, I would hear the water sound (sounded like a water fall coming from the dashboard area).

I initially figured it was the AC not draining properly, but after many hours of searching and clearing any and all drain holes... I quickly figured out the AC was draining just fine.

After searching this board, I read about the air being trapped in the heater core. Which made sense after having the radiator replaced.

The reservoir was slightly low.. so I refilled with Toyota brand anti freeze and took the car on a windy road (got to test the SE suspension also)... believe it or not, the reservoir was lower and the water sound was almost gone. I repeated the same procedure and now the noise is completely gone!!

Make sure you do not fill the reservoir with regular tap water, this will cause you other problems later. The Toyota anti freeze is expensive, but it is also premixed.

ps. I could have taken it back to the Toyota Dealer that preformed the work on the car, but that is another complete story in itself.