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My engine is overheating can you help me fix it please?

Tiny
PILIGNOT
  • MEMBER
  • 1999 TOYOTA CAMRY
  • 3.2L
  • 4 CYL
  • 160,000 MILES
Radiator was replaced two years ago, replace two thermostats, the water pump, the water pump seals and oil seals, replace the relay fuse and the thermostat sensor. Still overheating. Can you help me with this?
Thursday, December 21st, 2017 AT 7:30 AM

28 Replies

Tiny
ASEMASTER6371
  • MECHANIC
  • 52,797 POSTS
Good morning my name is Roy and I will assist.

The first thing I would do is verify there is no air in the system. If that is all good then I would have a leak down test done on the cylinders. They remove the plugs and inject shop air into the cylinder and look for a leaking head gasket into the cooling system. Overheating is the main cause of head gasket failure. This guide can help us fix it

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/engine-overheating-or-running-hot

Please run down this guide and report back.
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Thursday, December 21st, 2017 AT 8:35 AM
Tiny
PILIGNOT
  • MEMBER
  • 4 POSTS
How would I bleed the system? Thank you Roy.
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Thursday, December 21st, 2017 AT 8:44 AM
Tiny
ASEMASTER6371
  • MECHANIC
  • 52,797 POSTS
You are welcome.

I would remove the radiator cap and run the engine at 1200 rpm. Have someone at the radiator and keeping the fluid level topped off. Once you get heat in the car, then install the radiator cap and fill the surge tank.

Once you get heat, the air is out of the system. It may take a few minutes once it is warm, but the air will settle in the heater core since it is at the top of the cooling system.

Roy
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Thursday, December 21st, 2017 AT 8:51 AM
Tiny
PILIGNOT
  • MEMBER
  • 4 POSTS
That is another problem, I have I have not had heat in the car since I have owned it.
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Thursday, December 21st, 2017 AT 8:53 AM
Tiny
PILIGNOT
  • MEMBER
  • 4 POSTS
When the car has been sitting overnight I take the radiator cap off and fluid starts coming out of the top.
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Thursday, December 21st, 2017 AT 8:54 AM
Tiny
ASEMASTER6371
  • MECHANIC
  • 52,797 POSTS
Okay, you may have two issues here. One being the heater core may be clogged. If you feel the hoses under the hood by where they go through the firewall, they should be hot. If they are then either the heater core is clogged or the blend door may be the failure.

The overheating is the other issue. That still may be the reason for the overheating.

Roy
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Thursday, December 21st, 2017 AT 8:57 AM
Tiny
COMMARTS
  • MEMBER
  • 2 POSTS
  • 1999 TOYOTA CAMRY
  • 4 CYL
  • 2WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 150,000 MILES
Dear CarPros,

Yesterday my car shut down at a red light. I drove it a couple blocks home and let it cool down. I checked the oil and realized it was a quart low so I filled it up and it seemed fine.

I drove it to a friends house which is about 8 miles away and still no problems. This morning I drove to work which is about 20 miles. Right before I got to work I noticed that it was overheating and the needle was up as high as it could go past the red line.

So I looked at the engine again and noticed there wasnt ANY coolant in the car. So on my lunch break I bought some coolant and filled it up hoping that was the problem.

So I drove it about 4 miles and noticed it started overheating again. So I pulled over and opened the radiator noticing that the coolant had been sucked in the engine and it needed some more.

So I filled it up again and when I started it, the thermostat started to go down. I thought the problem was fixed.

Welll it only stayed down about 2 minutes then went completely back up to past the red line. At this point I was stuck in traffic and the car wouldn't even start.

So I'm not sure what is wrong with it. I'm broke and it is gonna take me a few weeks to save up enough money to have it towed and looked at.

If anyone can give me some insights into how I might fix this it would be greatly appreciated.

I'm glad I found this site and look forward to using it for future purposes.

Sincerely,
Daniel Patterson
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Monday, January 25th, 2021 AT 10:41 AM (Merged)
Tiny
BLACKOP555
  • MECHANIC
  • 10,371 POSTS
For it to be overheating at intervals like that I would really be leaning towards a stuck thermostat. Does it matter how hot it gets wether your idling or flying down the freeway?
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Monday, January 25th, 2021 AT 10:41 AM (Merged)
Tiny
COMMARTS
  • MEMBER
  • 2 POSTS
Yes it seems to happen when I'm idling at a stop light rather than flying down the freeway.
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Monday, January 25th, 2021 AT 10:41 AM (Merged)
Tiny
CBROYLES2016
  • MEMBER
  • 1 POST
  • 1999 TOYOTA CAMRY
  • 235,000 MILES
My car has been want to try to overheat, its not going to the top line, just a little overheating. It does it whrn driving long distances or sitting for a while. Heat and air work fine and if I have heat on it doesnt do it. I eas told could either be thermostat or water pump. Need help.
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Monday, January 25th, 2021 AT 10:42 AM (Merged)
Tiny
CARADIODOC
  • MECHANIC
  • 33,873 POSTS
The best suspect is the radiator. Check if the cooling fins are corroded and crumbling away. As that gets worse over time, the engine will run hotter, first at highway speeds in hot weather, then at slower and slower speeds, and in cooler weather. The clue is the engine temperature will come down quickly when running the heater on the higher fan speeds. The heater core is a small radiator and will help cool the engine when air is blowing through it.
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Monday, January 25th, 2021 AT 10:42 AM (Merged)
Tiny
GRIOS
  • MEMBER
  • 5 POSTS
  • 1998 TOYOTA CAMRY
  • 2.2L
  • 4 CYL
  • 2WD
  • 178,620 MILES
My car is overheating. I replaced the radiator, water pump, took out the thermostat, replaced coolant sensor, temperature sensor and another sensor I think is the engine heat sensor. And it is still overheating. Please help. What else could it be? Thank you for your help.
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Monday, January 25th, 2021 AT 10:42 AM (Merged)
Tiny
STEVE W.
  • MECHANIC
  • 13,476 POSTS
Removing the thermostat will not stop it from overheating, in fact it can make it worse as the thermostat regulates the speed of the coolant flow through the system. That said I would run a test to see if you have a head gasket that is failing. Does it overheat while driving or does the temperature go up only when stopped. How hot does it get?
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Monday, January 25th, 2021 AT 10:42 AM (Merged)
Tiny
GRIOS
  • MEMBER
  • 5 POSTS
It starts overheating when stopped. And fans turn on only with air conditioning on.
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Monday, January 25th, 2021 AT 10:42 AM (Merged)
Tiny
STEVE W.
  • MECHANIC
  • 13,476 POSTS
Okay, so you drive down the road it is okay, but you stop and the fans do not turn on? Those should come on at around 199 degrees or so. It sounds like a bad cooling fan relay or wiring to it. Was one of the sensors you replaced in the bottom of the radiator? That is the sensor that tells the ECM the coolant temperature for the fan control. If you unplug it the fan should turn on. If not then there is either a bad fan 2 relay or the fan motor itself could be bad. I would test it first. Just unplug it and apply battery voltage to the pins. The one with the white wire black stripe is the ground the blue wire is battery positive. If the fan works try swapping the fan 2 and 3 relays for ones with the same part numbers and see if the fan comes on when you unplug the ECT sensor.
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Monday, January 25th, 2021 AT 10:42 AM (Merged)
Tiny
GRIOS
  • MEMBER
  • 5 POSTS
Thank you very much.
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Monday, January 25th, 2021 AT 10:42 AM (Merged)
Tiny
STEVE W.
  • MECHANIC
  • 13,476 POSTS
Let us know what you find. Overheating can cause a lot of issues in an engine.
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Monday, January 25th, 2021 AT 10:42 AM (Merged)
Tiny
GRIOS
  • MEMBER
  • 5 POSTS
Okay thanks.
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Monday, January 25th, 2021 AT 10:42 AM (Merged)
Tiny
JOANNA2370
  • MEMBER
  • 2 POSTS
  • 1998 TOYOTA CAMRY
Engine Cooling problem
1998 Toyota Camry 4 cyl Two Wheel Drive Automatic

Have two mechanics in engine.I live in FL. Is the Camry the exception to being able to run without a thermostat? One says can toast engine w/o; the other polar opposite. I get the importance. New radiator, new water pump, ( no rehab), and timing belt, (cause it's just smart to do together.
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Monday, January 25th, 2021 AT 10:42 AM (Merged)
Tiny
ZACKMAN
  • MECHANIC
  • 4,202 POSTS
Manufacturers will not install thermostats in their vehicles if they don't think that they are required.

Yes, you do need a thermostat in every vehicle. Thermostat regulates the optimum operating temperature of the said vehicle. While running the vehicle without a thermostat may not damage the engine right then and there, but in the long run, it will ruin it.

The only time that you may run a vehicle without a thermostat is when you perform cooling system flush.
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Monday, January 25th, 2021 AT 10:42 AM (Merged)

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