Toyota Camry 1991 Overheat, overflow

4883 Views 35 Replies 6 Participants Last post by infinityx, Sep 26, 2004

infinityx

Discussion Starter · Sep 21, 2004 (Edited)

(update) Toyota Camry 1991 Overheat, overflow (replaced thermostat result in post)

EDIT: i changed the thermostat it didnt work. check my last post for the full result

hi i am new to the forum i was taking along shot when i went seaching for a fix to the overheating prob with my car.

i did a quick search on the forum, but the questions were all in regards to like a v6 or a newer camry than mine.

anyhoo maybe u can point me in the right direction or solve my problem

Firstly i am from Australia when i mention a price its diff to what i would pay in anohter country

anyway i took my car to a toyota dealer today to get it checked out as to why it overheats, hopefully get it back tonight.

Story:
basically a few months ago one of the pumps on the right of the engin up the top had a crack which caused the car to overheat when i was going to uni the car just stopped when i got close to uni i managed to drive it to the parking spot with the engin turned off (downhilll). (i didnt see the gauge rise to red at all) anyway after about 7 hours i took it back home, it did get hot when i got home.

after a few days we go that fixed. but about a month ago there was a leak near the water pump which has a belt spinning. the mechanic replaced the whole thing a metal thing apparently moves the water around the engine. (now we ran the car for over a week or 2 before fixing it (our bad). the car got hot, but never red hot.

Symptoms:
when driving if you accelarate a lot it would start reaching red hot but then drop back down to half.

also once the car is warmed up if you press the accelarator you would hear water overflowing into the catchment tank. as long as i drive at 2krpms and dont press the acclerator too hard the overflowing is minimal.

i used to hear boiling in the tank, but not lately.

as long as i drive the car at 2krpms the car doesnt get hot. ths is after i started using coolant. before i used water.

the mechanic said its the head gastket and also the head ($1k to fix more if the head has to be replaced)

i am willing to fix things thats easy. how hard is replacing the head gasket?

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88 LE

· #2 · Sep 21, 2004

infinityx said:
Symptoms:
when driving if you accelarate a lot it would start reaching red hot but then drop back down to half.

Sounds like a bad / stuck thermostat.

the mechanic said its the head gastket and also the head ($1k to fix more if the head has to be replaced)

I don't think its the head gasket.

Unless one or more of your pistons is drinking water and white smoke is pouring out the tailpipe, the head gasket is not the cause.

Nick

· #3 · Sep 21, 2004

try simply removing the thermostat, that might clear up if its the theremostat or an obstructed radiator

infinityx

Discussion Starter · #4 · Sep 21, 2004 (Edited)

would the thermostat cause the boiling and the water to go from the radiator to the catchment then overflow out the car?

the car seems to stay on middle a little longer with coolant than when i was using plain water.

no smoke..

there is water in the radiator it drop ever so slightly cause it overflows into the catchment then when that gets full it drops the catchment

88 LE

· #5 · Sep 21, 2004

infinityx said:
would the thermostat cause the boiling and the water to go from the radiator to the catchment then overflow out the car?

Yes.

If the thermostat is bad/stuck your not getting any flow.

The flow goes like this:

Engine ---> radiator ----> water pump ---> engine

The thermostat is before the water pump. So you can see how it affects flow if its bad/stuck.

the car seems to stay on middle a little longer with coolant than when i was using plain water.

Thats because coolant (antifreeze) raises the boiling point.

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infinityx

Discussion Starter · #6 · Sep 21, 2004

my mechanic pressed the accelarator with the radiator cap open and all the water went flying. he said, that means the head gasket is blown.

is this true?

i'll try the thermostat thing..i'll google how to change it. cause i am a total noob to cars right now.

88 LE

· #7 · Sep 21, 2004 (Edited)

infinityx said:
my mechanic pressed the accelarator with the radiator cap open and all the water went flying. he said, that means the head gasket is blown.

is this true?

Time to find a new mechanic.

:disappoin

Your overheating problem is not from a blown head gasket.

If the overheating problem is caused by a blown head gasket you would have:

1. Water in one or more cylinders.

2. White smoke pouring out of the tailpipe. Water does not compress or burn, it boils.

3. Water mixed with oil and vise versa.

i'll try the thermostat thing..i'll google how to change it. cause i am a total noob to cars right now.

http://www.autozone.com/servlet/UiB..._us/0900823d/80/13/e9/8f/0900823d8013e98f.jsp

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infinityx

Discussion Starter · #8 · Sep 21, 2004

damn everything just went out the window

my mum gave me the report she got from the toyota mechanic

they did a free check up of the problem....

this is what they said

----------------------------------
Rect Loss of coolant -- diagnose and quote
cylinder head gasket leaking into no 2 sylinder
requires replacement
app $2050
drive shaft boots split and require replacement
app $350
engine and transmission has bad oil leaks
requires cleaning and checking after 500km

check brakes
cheked brakes all ok

check vehicle over
--------------------------------

could they be wrong? or does this mean there is definately a gasket problem. i hope not cause that a very large amount there....

i will go to a car shop and get a new thermostat though...maybe u never know the toyota dealer may have got it wrong.

but then like you aid in point 1 water in cylinder i dont know how to check that so i have to take toyotas word for it. and if thats the case this will cost a fortune

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88 LE

· #9 · Sep 21, 2004 (Edited)

infinityx said:
this is what they said

cylinder head gasket leaking into no 2 cylinder, requires replacement
app $2050

could they be wrong? or does this mean there is definately a gasket problem.

Does it say anything else about the leak? IE: low compression or water in cylinder?

Just saying that theres a leak doesn't mean much. Find out whats leaking: low compression, oil, or water.

infinityx

Discussion Starter · #10 · Sep 21, 2004

he was talking about something to do with combustion and replacing the rm oil seal.

also the guy said the engin was perffectly fine. they also did a compression test aparently.

when we fixed the waterpump the guy did a compression test too it was fine then as well.

i had a look at that site and the guide on how to replace the thermostat.

i just have to find what type of engine i have cause there were diffrent types..

other wise i could tell the mechanic maybe?

thanks for your continued help i'm greatly appreciating it

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randycoutour

· #11 · Sep 21, 2004

im new here but i think the common sense thing to do is this,fix the stop thats cheap and MIGHT be causing the problem,and if it doesnt fix it then instead of spending 3000 to get it fixed youll be spending 3030 to get it fixed,more to gain then to lose,id change hoses and thermostat just to see if its not that

88 LE

· #12 · Sep 22, 2004

infinityx said:
he was talking about something to do with combustion and replacing the rm oil seal.

also the guy said the engin was perffectly fine. they also did a compression test aparently.

:wtf:

He says the #2 cylinder is leaking, then he says the engine if fine.

Sounds like the mechanic needs to have his head torqued on properly. :lol:

The rear main seal has nothing to do with the head gasket or this so called leak on cylinder #2.

i had a look at that site and the guide on how to replace the thermostat.

i just have to find what type of engine i have cause there were diffrent types..

You either have a 3S-FE (I4) or 2VZ-FE (V6).

infinityx

Discussion Starter · #13 · Sep 22, 2004 (Edited)

just went and checked its a 3sfe

also i think i found the thermostat

it has the pump that connects to the radiator on the top connected to it. as well as some other pumps or wires..

in your experiance (i read the webpage you provided) but how hard can changing it be? is htere room for complications?

oh one more thing would the termostate be the reson all the water flys everywhere when the radiator cap is open and you press the accelarator?

88 LE

· #14 · Sep 22, 2004

The thermostat is easy to change.

1. Drain the coolant. Or just unbolt the thermostat housing and the coolant will drain out anyways.

2. Unbolt (2 nuts) and remove the housing.

3. Pull out the thermostat.

4. Install new thermostat and gasket. The thermostat only fits in one way, so you can't get it wrong.

Make sure you line up the jiggle valve on the thermostat to the protrusion on the housing.

5. Bolt the housing back on and refill the radiator.

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infinityx

Discussion Starter · #15 · Sep 22, 2004

so no need to remove the other wires connected to the thermostat?

cool now to go and buy a thermostat and more coolant

88 LE

· #16 · Sep 22, 2004

infinityx said:
so no need to remove the other wires connected to the thermostat?

Theres a plug on the thermostat housing that you'll need to disconnect. Its for the cold start timing switch.

Refer to the first pic below.

cool now to go and buy a thermostat and more coolant

Buy a gasket for the thermostat too.

Thermostat housing
--------------------------

Thermostat housing removed
------------------------------------------

Housing with thermostat
---------------------------------

Thermostat
-------------------

Thermostat and gasket. Gasket removed
-----------------------------------------------

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5

infinityx

Discussion Starter · #17 · Sep 22, 2004 (Edited)

here are the pics of my engine

sorry pics were raelly big when i used img

http://www.geocities.com/infinityxy/P1.jpg
http://www.geocities.com/infinityxy/P2.jpg
http://www.geocities.com/infinityxy/P3.jpg
http://www.geocities.com/infinityxy/P4.jpg

infinityx

Discussion Starter · #18 · Sep 22, 2004 (Edited)

ohh thanks for those pics

i found the housing is actually on the left

those pics really helped

just have to get a wrench small enough now

going to repco now to see if they sell thermo stats

infinityx

Discussion Starter · #19 · Sep 22, 2004

ok i went and bought a thermo stat #30 from repco

it has a universal gastek so the guy said to cut some of if it doesnt fit..heh

anyway he didnt have the oring, but said the old one should be fine...

i'll wait for the car to really cool down before i try this....its 4pm here might get too darkk soon might try in the morning tommorrow....

my drive today didnt cause the heatindicator to go over half. i kept the ehater on all the time... i hope the head isnt being stuffed but with only one car i have to take a chance

also what tools would be necessary for this process?

Wintermute

· #20 · Sep 22, 2004

ummm...just something to check (had a similar problem). My problem was that at hard accelleration, the car would overheat dramatically and then cool down after a little while of driving (this started happening after an issue with the overflow can where it wasn't allowing the coolant to go back into the radiator). What it turned out to be eventually (after I checked all the wiring, etc... with a multimeter) was that the temperature switch (mine is in the bottom of the radiator) had failed. This meant that the fans weren't turning on after hard acceleration. The easiest way to test for this is to drive the car until it reaches standard operating temperature. After this, park the car and let it idle, if the temperature goes above normal and the fans don't kick on, this is probably your problem. By the way, this part for my Gen3 I4 5SFE was $26.

--Wintermute

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