a/t oil temp light at high speed

[Celicarunner]

Something in my head tells me that this may be normal but just to make sure. I was going back from a trip to Orlando and for a bit I was going a good xxxmph too fast when the a/t oil temp light came on but then when I slowed down it turned back off and never came back on. What exactly happened, and does it mean anything?

[MR2Jedi]

The high speed generated higher temps in the fluid. It is probably contaminated/dirty and needs to be changed too- along with it's filter.
Also, ToyotaNation doesn't allow posting of high speed street driving ,street racing or irresposible street driving.Please refrain from doing so in the fututre.

[hatchy_gt-s]

How many miles does it has on it. If its higher then 100,000 miles changing the trans. oil a filter can actually do more damage. The reason why it will do more damage is that trans fluid is a natural cleaning agent and after a while the clutches in the trans starts to deterrent and flouts around in the fluid. When flushing that old fluid out you remove the clutch material with it then when the new fluid is in the trans it starts to break down those clutches, causing les material to be on the clutches and then you get slippage.

[Celicarunner]

my apologies, did not mean to offend by the high speed. (If its any consult, it was on the turnpike and not the street so a tad bit safer). Actually it does have more than 100k miles (123k to be exact) but its an automatic (sigh...). A couple days ago though my actual car engine temp went up to Hot and had to pull over. Ive spent like $400 in the recent past trying to fix the thermostat and water pump but this occasionally keeps haunting me. When i added coolant the car returned to normal and Ive been checking the coolant level ever since. I may have a leak since it keeps going down every time ):

P.S. Check Engine light came on yesterday....my oh my...

[93celicaconv]

What year/model Celica do you have? What engine?

Are you seeing any coolant spots underneath the vehicle?

What does your coolant look like when you open the radiator cap?

How long have you owned it? Ever done a coolant flush and replaced the coolant?

[Celicarunner]

What year/model Celica do you have? What engine?
*2000 Celica GTS, 2ZZ-GE / VVTL-i

Are you seeing any coolant spots underneath the vehicle?
*have been checking but none as of yet. Unfortunately at work I have to park on the grass so I miss out on checking there.

What does your coolant look like when you open the radiator cap?
*Green off the bat, but since I keep adding coolant...

How long have you owned it? Ever done a coolant flush and replaced the coolant?
* Owned for about 3 months. Did a flush when I replaced the water pump which was about 3 weeks ago. Prior to this about 2 months ago another flush was done when the thermostat was changed (thinking it was at fault for the heating up)

In more detail, about a month after I bought it, I noticed there was no coolant at all in the tank but the car never heated up. This is when I decided to add coolant which is when I ran into my first cooling problem. Shortly after adding coolant (ironically) the car became "bipolar". It would heat up and cool down at times and it became really unstable so I changed the thermostat.

After the fix, I was perfectly fine until about 4 weeks ago when I took it to the mechanic to change the O2 sensor that was causing a check engine light. Upon completion of the O2 sensor installation the mechanic noticed the coolant tank was empty so he added coolant. Again, later that day the car started heating up. This is when I changed the water pump seeing as they determined (and Im not too familiar with this) that one of the hoses was clearly getting hot when the car was getting hot, but the other hose was cold (indeed they made me check the hoses out for myself, the one on the right side of the engine was very hot but the one on the left was as if the car was off. They thought the water was not circulating and thus they changed it and end of that story.

I even went to Orlando from Miami the week following with no problems. It wasnt until last week that I was stuck in traffic on the highway that the temp went up with no signs of coming back down. I pulled over and added coolant and shortly after the temp went back down quite rapidly.

Since then Ive been keeping my eye on the temp (has been okay for about a week and a half now) but being paranoid you can call it I keep adding a bit of coolant seeing as it keeps dropping its level every time I drive. This indeed looks above normal.

[93celicaconv]

You need to find a place that will test for the presence of exhaust gases dissolved in your coolant. Find a mechanic that can do it - I'm pretty sure a Toyota dealer can do it.

Here is what I am thinking (and anyone out there, please provide your feedback on this).

If you coolant level keeps going down with no evidence of an external leak, you still have a leak - only it is likely an internal one - coolant is getting into your combustion chamber. And you are likely getting combustion gases blown into your coolant, which may be causing air pockets in your cooling system, preventing proper flow at times. The fix is not easy - it requires the head to be removed and the head gasket to be replaced.

Given you have relatively fresh coolant in your system now, this would be a good time for checking for the presence of exhaust gases in the coolant. If there is, and at high levels, I wouldn't travel to far with it until you address that head gasket.

Note that if you have to top off your coolant level after every drive, you are loosing a lot of coolant. If it is going into the combustion chambers, you should be seeing white smoke coming from your exhaust, like you would when you start the car up on a cold morning, except the white smoke may be significantly lighter, but it won't go away as the engine heats up. That would also be a sign where your coolant is going.

[Celicarunner]

I will check for any external leaks in the coming days and will let you know what I find. The only time Ive seen a white smoke coming out of the car was once parking after taking the highway but the car was pushed to its limit at that time. This must of been perhaps a month and a half ago if not 2 months. Also, I've been getting bothered by EVAP codes with the check engine, its a real come and go thing.

[93celicaconv]

If you don't want to get your coolant checked for exhaust gases, you might want to fill your radiator and coolant bottle up to the proper level of coolant, start the engine, and let it warm up to it's normal operating temperature (per your temperature gaage). As soon as it approaches its normal operating temperature, take a look at your exhaust pipe. Do you see any signs of a white vapor coming out? You shouldn't , but if you do, your likely are getting coolant into your combustion chamber. Your coolant system will build pressure up as the engine begins to warm up, or it should. If it can't because of a leak, it may force the coolant into the combustion chamber as the engine warms up, when you will see most of the white vapor.

But the best test is to have your coolant checked for exhaust gas mixed in it. You might ask if an auto parts store sells a kit to check it - I've never done that, but it may be something that is available now.

[Celicarunner]

I got the chance to notice today that there is in fact coolant under the car just 30 minutes after having parked the vehicle. Managed to park the car in dry pavement and when I came back 30 minutes later I noticed a wet spot so I got the car out of the way, and touched the liquid and it was in fact the infamous coolant. Also very interestingly just 10 minutes after having parked at home I noticed there was a noticeable (about 1x1 inch) wet spot starting to form under my car. Downside to all of this that prior to noticing the coolant on the floor, Ive been noticing my coolant tank right after driving has now been emptied out twice today. One thing is not to have the money to fix a leak, the other is not having the money eventually to keep adding coolant....what a dilemma.

(Lets not forget the check engine light came back to haunt me too )

[MR2Jedi]

Maybe try a bottle of stop leak as a temporary measure till you can fix it properly?

[93celicaconv]

A 1" x 1" wet spot that you found is insignificant to the amount of coolant you are putting in, if you said you need to do it twice a day now.

Can you only add coolant in one place on your 2000 Celica? I'm not familiar with the cooling system on there. Just wondering if it has a radiator cap and an overflow bottle? If it does, both should be filled when the engine is cold.

You might want to take some time in the morning, after the coolant levels are topped off, and start the engine and let it warm up on dry pavement. After about 15-20 minutes, you should have a lot of coolant spilled out on the pavement. If you don't, I think a majority of it is going into your combustion chambers.

I'm not a fan of stop-leak in a bottle. Ever remove a cylinder head from a car that had used this stuff? If you have, you know why the concern.

[MR2Jedi]

Originally Posted by 93celicaconv

I'm not a fan of stop-leak in a bottle. Ever remove a cylinder head from a car that had used this stuff? If you have, you know why the concern.

Me either, but he said he ain't got no money.

[Celicarunner]

the 1x1 was just after 10 minutes or so though. Today I parked at the parking garage for my school which is on a slope when I got back 50 minutes later I had a nice river forming of coolant poring down the slope =( Which was really easy to see because i parked perpendicular to the slope so it was flowing to the side of my car and down it went.

Finally good news though, (on another note) got an agent to do my taxes for 2009 and instead of having to pay I got a neutral return of 0 so....looks like I'll have money to check the car out

[93celicaconv]

And the fact that your coolant leak is external, rather than internal, is also great news. Now you just have to spend some time locating the specific source of the coolant leak and repair it. Hopefully it will be soemthing simple and inexpensive, like a coolant hose. Let us know what you find.