[awends86]

Hey everyone first post here. I am having an issue with my 1996 Camry 4 cylinder engine. I just replaced the radiator and thermostat. (I did put the therm in boiling water and it opened). I transferred the fans and the coolant sensor from the old radiator which was working fine except for a crack at the top. *I've never seen the temp gauge on the car go above halfway.

So after everything is back on the car, the fans and coolant sensor are plugged in I start the car. It warms up pretty quick but the temp gauge doesn't stop going up. The upper radiator hose gets hot, the lower hose does not. I turn the car off before the temp gauge gets too high. Also note that the engine isn't very hot to the touch at this point.

I "burped" the system, hard wired the fans and even put the old therm back in, still no luck.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

 

[leakyseals]

If you turn the heat on does it get hot? If you leave the cap off does it start to overflow? Do the fans ever go off? When you say burped what exactly did you do?

 

[awends86]

Havent tried the heat yet, the coolant does overflow if I leave the cap off, the fans were not turning on until I jumped the switch and now they are on when I start the car, when I burped the system I left the radiator cap off and squeezed the bottom radiator hose to get the bubbles out topped off the radiator.

 

[Fastcat]

Did you put the t stat in correct (the pointed end exposed)? And did you buy a new one? If yes, and u had no problems with the fans prior to this, recheck the connectors and wires going into them to make sure u plug them up and didnt pull a wire out of a connector. If all that checks out its more than likeley the fan relay in the fuse/relay box under the hood. My mother car did this once after i replaced the radiator and t stat, to find out there was a short of some sort with the relay or the plug it went into.

I had the car start and i was pulling the relay out and the fan kicked on with the relay tilted halfway out. Then i pressed it back in and the fan went off. So i figured the relay was bad. I replaced it and it still did the samething. So i played around with it and found that with 1 of those metal prongs on the relay wasnt connected the fan would come on. I forgot which one it was cuz its been a few years ago. But i snapped that prong off and the fan worked again BUT it didnt come on and off like it was suppose too... When u turned the ignition it would automatically come on and stay on until you turned the car off. Never had another problem since.

 

[tedmich]

there is no flow of coolant, either the thermostat is stuck closed or the water pump is out (rare) . Try flushing system and replacing thermostat. Do NOT let it get too hot or you will be looking at many $$k to fix! New water pump means new oil seals and timing belt while you are at it, maybe its time?

 

[dudutzu]

the thermostat needs to open well before the water starts to boil, double check the thermostat, and make sure the jiggle valve is at the top