[Gugi53]

Check #16 post and followed. That's the way it should be.

This is from my 1993 Celica Service Manual for the 5S-FE engine. I don't know if this applies to your 2001 Camry 5S-FE however.
View attachment 412400

 

[93celicaconv]

Check #16 post and followed. That's the way it should be.

I did check your post #16. But that engine isn't a 5S-FE (which the OP has), so I wasn't sure if the 5S-FE had the same or a different guidance on the jiggle valve position. On the 5S-FE, there should be a marker (protrusion) that is there only to serve as a guide on where the thermostat jiggle valve should be. Again, we are all here to help, and the OP receives all the input from us - the OP needs to determine what is best to move forward with, based on the information offered.

 

[1990Toyota]

As I recall lthe jiggle valve (that's the word I forgot) is in the gold part of the thermostat on the OE units. The part that opens up.... but placement is still in the up / 12 position.

The aftermarket ones don't appear to have jiggle valves from what I have seen on RA. that could be part of the issues as well causing burping issues.

 

[Gugi53]

I try to help you...you don't need help. You know better. Do what you want. Good luck.

 

[1990Toyota]

Side note, whie you're in there......consider finding a good used aluminum water neck from a 3rd gen Camry 5s motor. Its a direct fit and the aluminum will last much longer over the 4th gen plastic water neck which by now may / probably is crumbling on yours. I personally find the plastic design to be junk.

 

[Chuy]

Looking into that fail-safe thermostat, it is designed to lock into the open position when it reaches a pre-set [high] temperature. But it stays locked and has to be replaced once the overheating cause has been fixed. I don’t see it’s operation is worth the hassle. I’ve always used Aisin, Gates or Motorad (non fail safe) thermostats, depending on price and availability, in the order presented.

Also, the DS said he flushed the old coolant with tap water. He/she didn't say if the final coolant formula was made with distilled water. This wouldn’t be a cause of overheating now, but down the road, the minerals in tap water can leave hardened deposits throughout the cooling system.

Also, just to point out, not all thermostat jiggles are placed in the 12 oclock position. It’s 6 o'clock for 3rd gen 4Runners and 1st gen Tacomas V6 engines. The jiggle position appears to be positioned based on the fluid dynamics of the particular engine.

 

[Jbosma]

Ok, I put the old thermostat in with the jiggle pin at the 12 o’clock position. I burped the system and lots of bubbles and so forth but when I went to turn on the heat I was still not getting any heat. After leaving the heater on for awhile (with no actual heat) the temperature gauge started to rise.

what should I do next?

Looking into that fail-safe thermostat, it is designed to lock into the open position when it reaches a pre-set [high] temperature. But it stays locked and has to be replaced once the overheating cause has been fixed. I don’t see it’s operation is worth the hassle. I’ve always used Aisin, Gates or Motorad (non fail safe) thermostats, depending on price and availability, in the order presented.

Also, the DS said he flushed the old coolant with tap water. He/she didn't say if the final coolant formula was made with distilled water. This wouldn’t be a cause of overheating now, but down the road, the minerals in tap water can leave hardened deposits throughout the cooling system.

Also, just to point out, not all thermostat jiggles are placed in the 12 oclock position. It’s 6 o'clock for 3rd gen 4Runners and 1st gen Tacomas V6 engines. The jiggle position appears to be positioned based on the fluid dynamics of the particular engine.

I’m using pre diluted Toyota long life coolant

 

[1990Toyota]

Use water for now.....dont waste / spill that coolant each time you have to open it up..... water should be fine and you can also reopen the system without worrying of environmental impacts... coolant has better cooling properties of water yes.. but for now it will be sufficient to test whats going on.



Did the heater work prior to these radiator repalcement events? Its unlikely your heater clogged right when this happened... you should stil lget heat even if you have a bad head gasket etc...

Does your ac work? Do the fans come on when the ac is turned on?




"gauge started to rise "


Just to be clear,............ it was at the halfway point....stayed at the halfway point.... and from there it started to go to the H?


Or was it at C and started to rise from C to the halfway?



Go to autozone and rent a coolant pressure tester.

 

[Chuy]

Right, the heater should be working if the coolant temp is going up. If it is blowing warm air, coolant is not circulating through it. Was the thermostat installed correctly? With the spring/sensor into the engine? You can try remove the thermostat altogether to help diagnose the cause of the heating issue. If the temp goes into the red with the thermostat removed, you have other heating issues.

 

[1990Toyota]

Right, the heater should be working if the coolant temp is going up. If it is blowing warm air, coolant is not circulating through it. Was the thermostat installed correctly? With the spring/sensor into the engine? You can try remove the thermostat altogether to help diagnose the cause of the heating issue. If the temp goes into the red with the thermostat removed, you have other heating issues.

this would be my next step.... pull the thermostat and see what's happening.

Im curious to know though if his heater was working prior to the events

 

[93celicaconv]

One could tell a lot by feeling the coolant hoses after the engine has warmed up. If the upper radiator hose isn't hot when the engine is warmed up, most likely there is no coolant flow at all. It would be highly unlikely that a thermostat, even a wrong one, could block coolant flow within the engine. If the upper radiator hose is hot, then move down to the bottom one. It should start warming up after the top hose is very hot - after the thermostat opens a little to pull in cold/cool radiator coolant. After doing this check, can go on to the next step. Just a thought to help out.

 

[Riick]

If the heater is not giving heat, there's only only three possible causes.
A. Heater core blocked, no hot water there.
B. Fan pushing air into cabin not operating.
C. "Blend Door" that directs air not operating correctly.

#A is easiest to check.
With heater ON, do the heater hoses both get warm? Or just one. Or neither one.
If the heater core is blocked the hoses will be cold, or one only slightly warm.

Check Eric the car guy - YouTube

 

[93celicaconv]

If the heater is not giving heat, there's only only three possible causes.
A. Heater core blocked, no hot water there.
B. Fan pushing air into cabin not operating.
C. "Blend Door" that directs air not operating correctly.

#A is easiest to check.
With heater ON, do the heater hoses both get warm? Or just one. Or neither one.
If the heater core is blocked the hoses will be cold, or one only slightly warm.

Both heater hoses would be cold also if there was no coolant flow through the engine - and the heater core could be just fine (not plugged). I would check for engine coolant flow first, which is done by checking the radiator hoses (assuming the thermostat operates properly).

If the thermostat is frozen shut, that would cause both radiator hoses to stay cold though. If the water pump was working (and no air trapped in the water pump), there still should be coolant flowing through the engine. Trapped air in the water pump, or a water pump impeller problem, is a difficult thing to trouble shoot

 

[Riick]

^^^^^^
You're right, I left out air in system, but the video calls that out as first thing to check.
Mea Culpa

 

[giggity02]

install the radiator cap and let the engine warm up than ya will get the heat. pressure helps flow

 

[goofysgarage54]

Hello, I drive a 2001 Toyota Camry LE with the 5SFE 4 cylinder. Currently have 120,000 miles on it. A few days ago I was driving and my engine temperature went red hot, so I immediately pulled over to see what the problem was. Turned out the top of the radiator had a hairline crack, and I had lost some fluid. I had some extra coolant in the trunk, so I filled up the radiator and the overflow tank. I was only a mile away from home so I decided to limp it back and it really seemed to drive fine. The temperature stayed at its usual point and it never over heated on the way back home. So I bought a new radiator, some hoses and a fail safe thermostat, all from rockauto. I made sure I flushed out the system with a garden hose before putting the new radiator in. After installing the radiator and the new parts, I filled it up with coolant and proceeded to do the normal burping method IE: fill up the radiator with coolant start the engine, squeeze the top radiator hose and fill as needed. I was only able to get about 4 quarts into the whole system and as I put more and it was just all bubble over. I left the engine running for about 10 minutes and then tried to turn the heat on and it was not getting any heat. Meanwhile, the engine temperature stayed right at the center then tried to do more burping and adding fluid, and I was still getting the same result. I decided to see if driving it would make any difference, and I drove about two houses down, and the engine slowly started to overheat, so I immediately shut the engine off and let it cool. I was then able to pull the car into the driveway where I proceeded to lift the front of the car, add more coolant, squeeze the top, radiator hose and try to get maybe some air out of this system. When the car is idling, the temperature seems absolutely normal, but as soon as I try to drive it, the temperature increases and also my heat does not work at idle. there is one other issue with all of this that kind of makes my head scratch. The water pump we pull has some red residue in the weep hole but not at any point do I see fluid actively draining out of that weep hole. There is just some red residue on the inside of it. I have sprayed water up it to try and clean it out, but it seems as if the red residue comes back but only stay inside the weep hole. Just to reiterate, I do not see any fluid leaking out of the weep hole or even a residue of red fluid that would trickle down the water pump if there was fluid coming out. Also I replaced the water pump 25,000 miles ago when I did my timing belt. So what’s happening here? Part of me thinks that may be fluid is not circulating in the system, which makes me think either there’s something wrong with the thermostat, if the water pump is bad, or if there is still just air in the system.

in your case it sounds like you need to remove the air in the system. You replaced the radiator and the coolant but not the air. This will cause over heating with no coolant lose. Some people may say burp the cooling system.

 

[MIflyer]

If it overheats while sitting and idling then there is inadequate cooling. May be a clogged radiator or a bad fan. If your fan has a clutch and you lay it "face down" then the fluid ran out of it and it is not working.

If it overheats while driving then it is making too much heat. If you did not get a new radiator that is too small then a head gasket leak is a good possibility.

 

[nationalyoda]

This happened to my 01 Camry 5SFE many years ago. The original water pump vanes had nearly all corroded away. The coolant was no longer circulating through the heater core.

 

[BillDurham]

I second the above. I just thinking to myself " I bid 15 quatloos that the impellor fell off " You can have an extra cookie if you get the reference

 

[relooky]

This is from my 2001 Camry Factory Shop Manual.