5th & 6th Generation (2002-2006 & 2007-2011)Toyota Camry Discussion for years: 2002-2006 & 2007-2011
Topics of discussion range from fuel economy, safety, modifications, performance all involving America's favorite family car, the Toyota Camry.
Gen 5: Rushing water sound, can't solve it. Suggestions?
I have a rushing water sound (i.e. air in the cooling system) coming from under the dash (I'm sure its the heater core) every time I slow and corner, or accelerate from a stop.
When I open the radiator when its cold, it's low. I pour in about 3-4 ounces to fill it. When I squeeze the heater hoses with the cap off, I get bubbles, and have to add a bit more. This seems to solve it for a little while, but only until the car is warm enough that the thermostat opens up. Then... air bubbles rushing through again.
The engine never overheats, and the heater works perfectly. The overflow is within the normal area, and never seems to go up or down. Otherwise I might suspect a small leak in my head gasket or something.
I have tried to "burp" the system multiple times. I'm not sure I'm doing it right, but then again it's not that hard to do, right? Anyway.... no dice, I still get the noise.
Do any of you have any thoughts suggestions? I am half tempted to turn the stereo up and forget about it, as the car functions flawlessly, it's just an annoyance.
It kinda sounds like what some other people have reported for the stripped head bolt issue on the 4cyl. Is yours 4cyl and what year? Are you seeing any coolant on the ground? You might want to take a hard look at the back of the head for signs of coolant leaking out.
It's an 02 camry with the I-4 motor. It has 98k on it. I bought it 2 years ago with 60k on it, and after about 6 months (approx. 1.5 years ago) it started making this noise. At that time I checked the overflow, which was empty. I refilled it and the noise quit. 6 months later, same thing. Refilled, noise quit.
6 months ago it started doing it again, and this time the overflow wasn't empty. It's been constant ever since.
There are no visible leaks anywhere that I can see. You can see my head gasket concerns. All that coolant has to be going somewhere. At the same time, there's no evidence of burning it on the spark-plugs.
I had not heard of the head-bolt issue. I will check the back of the head, thanks for the tip. I think maybe I also need to buy one of those block tester kits to test for exhaust in the coolant.
i heard that rushing water sound a few weeks ago and didn't really pay attention to it or anything, but today my thermostat shot up past the red point, but everything still seemed to be fine. i pulled over and checked under the hood and it wasn't overheating but when i went to check on the coolant and it was near empty. i let the engine totally cool down and bought some coolant, refilled it, but the problem didn't go away of course and the thermostat still was reading hot
so i was wondering what did your diagnosis turn out to be?
Last edited by djk; 02-21-2010 at 12:06 AM.
Reason: added details
no real diagnosis yet, other than a leak I can't find. I was able to successfully "burp" the cooling system, and now the air bubbles are gone (the noise has quit). The last few times I was trying to "burp" it I guess I wasn't waiting long enough. This time I let it idle for a full 45 minutes, and would squeeze the heater hoses now and then, which seemed to force the bubbles through and out.
However, even though the noise is gone, I am sure I will have to keep refilling the overflow tank. There are no leak marks on my head, as the other guy suggested I check, and I also found out that those head-bolt problems seem to plague the canadian-built camrys more. Mine was built in Japan. I can't find any sign of leakage, BUT I also have a moderate oil leak from the front crank seal, and I am hoping that the evidence of my coolant leak is simply being covered by a bit of oil being tossed over it.
Mine has never had a temperature spike. If it had, I would not just suspect, but would be nearly certain it was a head-gasket problem.
The oil has been clean and clear since the day I bought it, and the coolant (when its not disappearing) appears clean and clear as well. Thus my confusion.
The thing I'm most confused about is, if I have a leak somewhere that's fine, but why is my cooling system not refilling itself with the overflow (i.e. when it cools it should create a suction and pull fresh coolant in from the overflow, but its not)? The overflow stays full, and the radiator gets emptier.
I'm stumped as to:
(1) where the coolant is going, and
(2) why the system is not using its overflow properly.
Quick update for all those who might stumble upon this thread later on. I got a diagnosis, and it ain't good! Bottom line, my head gasket is blown because the head bolts have stripped out. Mine appear to be a bit different than the "normal" head-bolt strip out pattern, in that its the pulley side (standing in front of car, facing engine, the left side with the pulleys and the serpentine belt on it) of the head that is leaking, which I think is because of a cracked rubber motor mount on that side. In other words, the head-bolts were too week to hold under the added strain of a slight vibration caused by a cracked motor mount.
The car was meticulously cared for (all maintenance at regular intervals by Toyota) by the previous owner, and I'm no car abuser either. The vibration from the broken motor mount was so slight I didn't even notice it was broken until it was pointed out to me.
The head-bolt system on these cars are defective, and I really think owners should mount a class-action lawsuit against Toyota for not recalling them. Look at all the other threads on this subject elsewhere on the internet. I will not buy another Toyota.
Quick update for all those who might stumble upon this thread later on. I got a diagnosis, and it ain't good! Bottom line, my head gasket is blown because the head bolts have stripped out. Mine appear to be a bit different than the "normal" head-bolt strip out pattern, in that its the pulley side (standing in front of car, facing engine, the left side with the pulleys and the serpentine belt on it) of the head that is leaking, which I think is because of a cracked rubber motor mount on that side. In other words, the head-bolts were too week to hold under the added strain of a slight vibration caused by a cracked motor mount.
The car was meticulously cared for (all maintenance at regular intervals by Toyota) by the previous owner, and I'm no car abuser either. The vibration from the broken motor mount was so slight I didn't even notice it was broken until it was pointed out to me.
The head-bolt system on these cars are defective, and I really think owners should mount a class-action lawsuit against Toyota for not recalling them. Look at all the other threads on this subject elsewhere on the internet. I will not buy another Toyota.
Sorry to hear that. Thanks for the update. How are you going to fix this?
Well, since it's actually not very bad yet, and I'm not hard on cars anyway, I'm going to fix the motor mount so as not to continue stressing the head bolts, and try to drive it as-is for 1 more year. I don't know if that will be possible (I put about 14k per year on my commuter car). After 1 more year I'm finished paying for it, which changes things completely (i.e. I can afford to replace it then, whether or not it's running). If it does not make it that long before escalating problems/symptoms I will likely attempt the drill and insert project, which makes me very nervous. I know my way around an engine, and have replaced a number of head gaskets before, its just the precision of drilling irreversible holes into my block that gives me pause.
I'll let the car make the next move, and determine what to do from there.
Sorry to hear about your car! I didn't know Toyota made junk like this or I wouldn't have bought a highlander with the same engine. I really don't think that the motor mount has anything to do with your failing head bolts.
Some of the other posts about this problem have a link to a video that shows how to drill the block and use the inserts. The kit includes a jig that, seems to me, really reduces the chances of making a mistake and ruining something. If you have the confidence to tackle a head gasket then I think you shouldn't be nervous about the insert fix using the kit that others have successfully used.
Today I went to my mechanic friend to have him look at my engine because there were strange noises coming from the header and the engine mount area. He took off the header heat shield and we noticed exhaust fumes coming out but were not able to determine the exact location. The gasket has small gaps and appears to be worn. He speculates it could be a crack in the header or the gasket is fried. Im not sure if this is related but after reading up on the stripped head bolts thread, I think it could be something similar. My coolant reservoir tank was bone dry, and the last time I checked it was full (abt 3 months prior). The car feels sluggish compared to my friends camry. This is an 07 camry se 4cyl. Im going to take it to have them diagnose the car. Does the powertrain warranty cover this? My 3yr bumper-to-bumper 60,000 km coverage is gone, but it still has the 100,000km 5yr powertrain coverage.
If I sill had a power train warranty I would take it into the dealership ASAP, and would probably bring in a printout of the other head-bold thread, and would politely demand them to investigate, and prove to me that I in fact do NOT have the problem discussed there. Even if I had to pay for the labor time, I would have them remove the intake manifold so as to really inspect that foam insulator for signs of leaking coolant.
Bottom line is to get them to see evidence of the leak while it's still under warranty. I am certain that mine was leaking while it was on warranty, but I happened to be the guy who bought the car 2k miles after the warranty expired. It had the coolant loss issue the day I bought it, but the problem develops slowly, so I didn't see it as a big problem until recently. I'm sure the previous owner (while it was under warranty) didn't see it as a big issue either, thus it never got diagnosed.
Quick update for all those who might stumble upon this thread later on. I got a diagnosis, and it ain't good! Bottom line, my head gasket is blown because the head bolts have stripped out. Mine appear to be a bit different than the "normal" head-bolt strip out pattern, in that its the pulley side (standing in front of car, facing engine, the left side with the pulleys and the serpentine belt on it) of the head that is leaking, which I think is because of a cracked rubber motor mount on that side. In other words, the head-bolts were too week to hold under the added strain of a slight vibration caused by a cracked motor mount.
The car was meticulously cared for (all maintenance at regular intervals by Toyota) by the previous owner, and I'm no car abuser either. The vibration from the broken motor mount was so slight I didn't even notice it was broken until it was pointed out to me.
The head-bolt system on these cars are defective, and I really think owners should mount a class-action lawsuit against Toyota for not recalling them. Look at all the other threads on this subject elsewhere on the internet. I will not buy another Toyota.
No way a engine mount caused this, the engine is one solid block you would be talking twisting that block. An do not wait to get it fixed, or you will end up having rings screw a wall liner.
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