overheating issues

[njbmx]

whenever i stop at a red light or at idle, my car starts to overheat. this started like a week ago when the "heat wave" started. but when i step on the gas, it starts to cool down. sometimes the engine even redlines the temp gauge. one time i thought i heard boiling when the gauge exceded redline.

my car is a '93 camry le w/ 6cyl, auto trans.
i also hear the fan reving up when i gas out of a red light.
could it be the t/stat?
the water pump?
the fan/fan clutch?

like two months ago the power steering pump was leaking fluid...filled it up every two weeks...now it doesn't leak any more

[amerikim]

Overheating can be caused by lack of coolant, have you changed it recently? Check for airlock in the hose? I think you might clear it by massaging the hose or something. Do a search. Engine oil good? Strange sounds coming from engine bay?
If bone stock, then we can discount the mods that may be causing your engine to run lean.
Do NOT let your engine overheat, shut it off and/or run with your heating full on (windows down) until you can get to a shop.
If you redline, you can seize engine or crack head, you can kiss that car goodbye. I urge you to go to a shop to at least get a quote.

[njbmx]

funny you ask if there is a odd noise comming from the engine bay...whenever the fan spools up: i hear the fan but w/ a kinda wineing sound...i've redlined it a couple of times...ok, abunch of times and the car runs fine. i just changed the oil to 10w40 b/c i know the car burns a'lil oil. i wanted to try a thicker oil for summer as well.

[amerikim]

waterpump bearing maybe?

Also thicker oil is not necessarily a good thing, it means thicker stuff to push around, but thats just my opinion. I would go for a factory spec 5w, best quality I can find.

[SmokingTires]

Were you running your A/C at the time of the overheating?

I had this problem with mine. It was fine as long as I was driving. But if I were to stop the engine would overheat horribly. (I'm running the same car as you too. Just one year earlier). My A/C was shot. And that model A/C is out-dated. To update it would have cost me $600

I run 5w30 year round. Best my engine has ever run. Think oil can be hard on the engine if you don't allow warm up time.

[Calvin327]

Temperature sensor maybe?

[Lumberg]

It's pretty clear that the problem is with the electric fan.

Could be low voltage causing it to turn slower at idle but it speeds up when he accelerates.

If you understand how the radiator fans work (there should be two; one for cooling the rad only and one that comes on whenever the A/C is on; both will coem on wihtout the AC if it gets hot enough) then start messing with it. Otherwise go to a shop ASAP

[mailforjon]

hey there. this is my first post to the TN forum. i just sold in my90 accord <gasp> and picked up a 92 camry LEv6 and love it.

nonetheless, i had the same problem with my "previous" car. it would heat up at red lights and then cool again when i was driving. before spending lots of $$ at a mechanic having the car diagnosed, i would change the thermostat and see where that gets you. i had this problem and was able to self-diagnose and the problem was solved. this is what i believe happened to me and is happening to you.

the thermostat is getting stuck shut. therefore, when you are at idle (red light, stop sign, etc), the pressure of the coolent being pushed by the water pump is not great enough to open the thermostat to allow your coolant to circulate. consequently, it heats up quickly at idle. however, when you are driving, the pressure in your cooling system increases enough to push the thermostat to the open position and allow coolant to circulate. hence, while driving, the temperature gauge drops back down to the normal range. give this a try. either way, keep us updated! hope you get the problem solved before you have to take it to the shop.

just my .02
hope this helps
regards,
-jon-

[mailforjon]

check out a haynes/chiltons manual for testing the cooling fans. i originally thought that was my problem as well. however, after about half an hour with my multimeter (perhaps the best diagnostic tool...ever) i realized that my fans were fine.

even if your fans are malfunctioning, it should not cause the temp gauge to redline so quickly (i.e. redlight). also, it has been my experience that fans usually work fine or fail alltogether. i have never seen a fan that only works at partial speed . since fans are electrically driven (and not belt driven like a/c compressor etc), it seems dubious to me that your fan speed would be dependent on your engine rpm speed.

in any event, hope you got something out of my rambling.
regards,
-jon-

[zoni]

Originally posted by Lumberg
It's pretty clear that the problem is with the electric fan.

Could be low voltage causing it to turn slower at idle but it speeds up when he accelerates.

If you understand how the radiator fans work (there should be two; one for cooling the rad only and one that comes on whenever the A/C is on; both will coem on wihtout the AC if it gets hot enough) then start messing with it. Otherwise go to a shop ASAP

Its pretty clear that you know nothing.

the 92, 93, and 94 v6 has a ps pump hydroulic oil driven fan, not electric.

the fan spins less with lower idle (not less voltage)(the electric fans spin the same ith low idle as high idle, well close to the same, obviously not exactly the same.)

You got the 2 fans thing right... EXCEPT on the 92-94 hydroulic cooling fans there is ONLY 1 FAN!
the info you stated is for the 92-whenever 4cyl or 95+ v6 with stock electric fans.


NOW that im done with this guy, i have to tell you what is wrong... you dont have enough coolant in the radiator. in fact, you prolly have almost none. When the engine is NOT hot, Fill up the radiator (half coolant half water) and then run it. when you get it running, look for leaks. There prolly is one. if you find the leak in the radiator itself, that is common for older cars. If it is in the hoses, that too is common on older cars. if it is in the radiator, you will usually have to replace the radiator. If you feel like doing this yourself, hit me back and ill tell you how, otherwise, it is a good idea to take it to a mechanic to replace it. if it is the hoses, you can replace those... and you prolly should either way.

-dave

[zoni]

^ yeah those ps pump driven fans suck... when i did my v6 swap i got a 94 motor, that was designed for ps pump driven fan. i wanted to use the electric fan so i got a newer PS pump to drive the rest of the shit so i didnt have extra ports to plug up from the fan. but one advantage of that ps pump fan is that it has a ps fuild cooler too.

you better definitely throw some coolant in there and make sure it is full... the only way it is gonna overheat with full coolant is a bad water pump, which this could be as well... thats a tough one to do yourself on the v6, you should go to a mechanic if your fluid is full and you still have temp problems. then it is almost always gonna be the water pump or thermostat, usually you replace both at the same time.

[TheMajesticking]

I am having the SAME exact problem. I had a crack in my radiator and finally got some readiator sealer and next thing I knew I was overheating at red lights. How do you get the cap off of the radiator. I don't want to break it. Am I putting the fluid in the resovoir on the side or in the cap closest to the engine? I poured some 50/50 into the one closest to the engine and the overheating isn't as bad. It also is worse when I have the AC on.
By the way I have a '93 v6 Thanks.

[zoni]

just unscrew the cap on the radiator and put it in the radiator, NOT the reservior. the reservoir is only for overflow basically. as the coolant heats up it expands and goes into the overflow tank by pressure, then as it cools down it gets sucked back into the cooling system. thats why there are 2 lines for full hot and full cold.

[5spd V6 ClrTail]

How do the ps driven fans "suck". There the most reliable, quiet and heavy duty systems out there.

[TheKevin]

Damn, I thought I was the only one with overheating prolems. Anyway...

I have a '92 V6 Auto with 180,xxx miles. Here's what I've done/replaced:
-checked water pump and timing belt(good)
-flush and fill coolant
-replaced Radiator & cap
-replaced thermostat
-replaced overflow tank(previous unit had cracks)
-checked pressure for leaks(good)

My Camry overheats/leaks coolant when I drive to work(30+ mins). As soon as I get out of my car, I hear boiling from the overflow tank. When the radiator is cool, I take the cap off and notice that the coolant is visibly gone. Please help me out, I've missed many many days of work becasue of this problem.