89 Celica overheating

[MoosenSqrl]

I've got an 1989 Celica St that as it warms up it pushes water out through the overflow bottle. The car seems to be cooling ok as long as I don't get stuck in traffic. My daily commute is approximately 40 miles and if I keep refilling the radiator the car stays relatively cool. However, if I do not stop and let the car cool off between commuting to and from work the car loses enough coolant that eventually it starts to overheat and I need to pull over and refill the radiator once again. I have replaced the radiator cooling fan already and am going to flush the radiator this afternoon. I am thinking that the head gasket might be leaking and causing my problems. Does anyone have any advice on what to try next b4 I tear the head off? BTW the motor is a 2.0 L 16 valve.

Hoping I can fix this problem w/o a head gasket,

Moose
\/\^^^\/\^^<(*o o*)>^^/\/^^^/\/

[Sleeeka]

yeah same with my car it overheats if i stop or something, but after say like 5 mins from when i turned my car on it becomes okand runs alright but its the first 5 mins from turning the car on that gives me the shits, does your car rev itself aswell ? like randomly say like once for ever 20 times you use your car ?

[Pineapple]

Just change the rad. Most likely the rad got plugged.

[MoosenSqrl]

Not sure the radiator is plugged up. I flushed it this afternoon, no real discoloration or sludge came out, also had good flow both through the radiator and the head. I refilled the radiator pointing uphill until full. I started the car and still coolant blows out through the overflow bottle. I 'jimmied' the radiator cap to increase the resistance. The water still flows out to the bottle slightly, and it felt and looked like water droplets and a little steam coming out of the tail pipe when revved... also as the car warmed I felt the radiator with my hand and it was uniformly hot, indicating to me that the water pump and radiator are working properly. Seems to me I have a head gasket problem, anyone else have any other ideas?

Thx for the replies ~(;-{)

Moose

[silverstreakin]

i got an 88 gt, and i have a problem with my temp guage. happened after my tranny swap, no clue why. so i changed the sender for it, with a piece from autozone. keep in mind that this also kicks on your fan, well the fan would come on at odd times, and it wouldnt come on if it was really hot. make sure your fan is coming on. if its not change that sender out with a piece from toyota. if its not the sender, check relays. the fan should be pumpin on long before you overheat

[Pineapple]

I flushed my rad twice and I got no crap coming out. Had the same problem. Overheat after 30 min drive or sooner if I rev high. Everything looks good it just keep overheating. Need to use inside heater to help cool down the engine. Need to let the car idle for a minute before shut down cause coolant is boiling. Get new rad and solve everything. If you haven't change the rad since you got the car, now its agood time. Do it before you really overheat the engine and cause more damage.

[fredk]

put your had on the radiator fins area and look for cold areas, if there are any, its blocked up, you shouldnt be able to keep your hand on it for longer than a couple seconds, be sure it feels pretty even, watch out for the fan

[Horseflydf]

Have you changed the thermostat yet?
If you have a blown head gasket there could be coolant mixed with
your oil, and alot fo white smoke coming from the exaust.

[boosted gt]

when the car has been sitting and is cold take the radiator cap off and start the car. watch the coolant in the radiator and see if there are alot of bubbles and an exhaust smell that can be an indication of a bad headgasket.
also make sure your cooling fan is coming on you could have a bad coolant temp sensor or fan relay and has the theromstat been replaced?

[Kidane]

Originally Posted by MoosenSqrl

I've got an 1989 Celica St that as it warms up it pushes water out through the overflow bottle. The car seems to be cooling ok as long as I don't get stuck in traffic. My daily commute is approximately 40 miles and if I keep refilling the radiator the car stays relatively cool. However, if I do not stop and let the car cool off between commuting to and from work the car loses enough coolant that eventually it starts to overheat and I need to pull over and refill the radiator once again. I have replaced the radiator cooling fan already and am going to flush the radiator this afternoon. I am thinking that the head gasket might be leaking and causing my problems. Does anyone have any advice on what to try next b4 I tear the head off? BTW the motor is a 2.0 L 16 valve.

Hoping I can fix this problem w/o a head gasket,

Moose
\/\^^^\/\^^<(*o o*)>^^/\/^^^/\/

Headgasket

[Kidane]

Originally Posted by Sleeeka

yeah same with my car it overheats if i stop or something, but after say like 5 mins from when i turned my car on it becomes okand runs alright but its the first 5 mins from turning the car on that gives me the shits, does your car rev itself aswell ? like randomly say like once for ever 20 times you use your car ?

Definately headgasket

[braddog0128]

make sure there are no existing leaks first. This is a Toyota never assume the worst until you check out everything else out first. With any cooling problem the best place to start is the old fashioned pressure test. Then work your way out, t-stat, sensors, radiator... The car is designed to push the antifreeze out through the overflow anytime it overheats....

[MIGHTY]

from what i seen is that the cooling fan is right in front of the exhaust manifold and it sucks the hot air in and heats up the radiator more, and when i removed my condensor i noticed a big drop in temp.

[Kidane]

Originally Posted by braddog0128

This is a Toyota never assume the worst until you check out everything else out first.

Because Toyotas never break, right?

[daklow]

Can some one tell me if it was the HG I have chnged rad pump and thermo I have same symptons.....