Help with engine overheating

[AlonzoMosely]

I have a 93 Camry XLE with 149k miles. Timing belt and water pump were replaced at 120k. I was driving on the highway today and noticed the engine sounded funny - higher pitched than usual when my foot was on the accelerator. Then I noticed that the engine temp gauge was in red. I turned off the A/C and cranked up the heat and drove a couple of miles home with the temperature gauge hovering in the red and just below it. No smoke or steam came from under the hood. Oil level was ok, and coolant level was ok. I did notice the coolant reservoir cap was not snapped on tight. The coolant did not seem that hot. Also, the coolant cap has a short length of 'hose' with a 90 degree bend that is not attached to anything. Should this be attached to something so the coolant can circulate? Could the loose cap have caused the problem, or does this sound like something more serious like a water pump or timing belt problem. Thanks for any help.

[Cyorke]

First thing I would check is the thermostat. You said the coolant didnt feel hot. Could indicat he coolant is not flowing through the engine. With the water pump being replaced sucha short time ago I cant see that it would be causing the problem. SInce the thermostat is cheap and fairly easy to replace I would start there. Before you do taht though you may want to make sure they didnt replace it when they did the belt and pump. Unless you did it yourself and know for a fact it wasnt replaced.

[V6LE_CAMRY]

also check that the fans are workink correctly.

[AlonzoMosely]

I don't know if they replaced the thermostat - will see if I can find the receipt. The fan spins when I turn on the ignition, so that seems to be OK.


Any thoughts on what would account for the higher-pitched engine whine when accelerating if it is something like the thermostat or water pump?

[Cyorke]

not sure about the whine. I guess it is posible that the water pump has gone out again. It is also possible that the tensioner or idler have gone out also if they were not replaced wen the belt was done. The coolant cap being loose on the overflow shouldnt really cause a problem because that part of the system is not pressurized. It accepts coolant when the pressure inthe system gets toa certain pressure and is basically siphoned back into the radiator wehn it is needed. As far as the length of hose I beleive you have two hoses going into the overflow. One is from the neck of the radiator so coolant can go into the overflow the other is more or less an overflow for the overflow. If that makes sense.

[chronoti]

make sure your a/c is off when looking if the fans turn on.

[rat42]

check the coolant level in the radiator.

[AlonzoMosely]

Sorry if this is a really dumb question - how do I check the coolant level in the radiator? I always assumed that if the liquid in the semi-transparent plastic container with the cap labelled 'engine coolant' was between the two lines, that my car's coolant level was fine...

[d0rkiishchris]

it must not be flowing through the system well at all if its not hot. usually after driving coolant temp is through the roof.

[Axel Kain]

first-when engine is cool- open the radiator cap, then look down and in...rad. fluid level should be at the top almost. seccond- i have a V6 XLE, but the radiator got hit in the bottom with something big when my bro had it, and it started overheating because it couldnt get any flow. so check the shape of the bottom of the radiator, the stock ones where plastic on the top and bottom...^long, sorry but hope it helps.

[Eye8Pussies]

yes, it sounds like your coolant isn't going into the radiator...if you were low on coolant and hte engine overheats, the remaining coolant will be boiling

and your question about that little hose on the cap is for overflow...incase there's too much coolant, it will come out the resevoir