Camry overheating problems

[budric]

Hi,
I was wondering if any car savvy person can give me an idea what could be wrong with my car. Basically the temperature goes up to the red while driving. When I come to a stop light and the RMPs go down the temperature stays 3/4 of the way up (not normal). Then when I accelerate and the gears shift (automatic) the temperature goes down to normal level and then starts climbing back up as I reach a steady speed, no more shifting and the RMPs are constant.

Furthermore I notice that the air blown by the fan in the interior is cold even though the engine is hot. However as the gears shift and I notice hot air starts blowing in, and temperature goes down.

Recently a mechanic replaced the thermostat which he told me was the problem. He also told me because of the location of the thermostat may as well replace the waterpump (which is old, so I did).

Anyway any ideas?

Thanks, any input is much appreciated.

[dasaylay]

Is your coolant topped up? Maybe a leak somewhere in the rad?

[astroboi]

Your coolant is low. Has it been like that since the repair? If so, take it back and tell him to top it up and ensure that there are no air pockets. Don't overheat your engine or you could blow a gasket/warp cylinder head.

[budric]

It was fine for a week after the repairs and then it started happening again. The coolant is a good guess. However I put some anti-freeze into the receptacle (half way) and it still happened.

What's strange is that I can't reproduce this when the car is in P and I'm just revving the engine.

Also why would the coolant leak cause the abnormal temperature blowing on the inside?

[sunnybono]

It was fine for a week after the repairs and then it started happening again. The coolant is a good guess. However I put some anti-freeze into the receptacle (half way) and it still happened.

What's strange is that I can't reproduce this when the car is in P and I'm just revving the engine.

Also why would the coolant leak cause the abnormal temperature blowing on the inside?
There would not be enough collant running thru the coils to heat them up properly.

sk

[budric]

Can I try to top it up myself? Like mix anti-freeze with distilled water 1:1, open the cap on the radiator and start pouring while the engine is running?

I want to drive it as little as possible, and this sounds like a simple thing I can do without driving to the mechanic. Then test it around the block.

[astroboi]

It was fine for a week after the repairs and then it started happening again. The coolant is a good guess. However I put some anti-freeze into the receptacle (half way) and it still happened.

What's strange is that I can't reproduce this when the car is in P and I'm just revving the engine.

Also why would the coolant leak cause the abnormal temperature blowing on the inside?

I say take it back to the mechanic.

If you don't see any coolant on the ground, smell a strange odour, have milky coolant in the radiator or white smoke, then you're probably not leaking/burning coolant.

You may simply have an air pocket, and it's not always as simple as topping up the coolant in the reservoir. When the engine is cold open the cap and inspect the coolant. If low, top it up (50% coolant / 50% distilled water mix or premixed). Make sure that the reservoir is above the MIN indicator. Run engine and park on an steep uphill incline. Let engine cool. Open rad cap and start the engine again until thermostat opens up. Top up if needed.

The coolant is circulated through a heater core to provide heat to the passenger compartment. If your coolant is low and you have an air pocket, that can make it into the heater core, thereby causing the problem you mentioned.

[majesus]

Your coolant is low. Has it been like that since the repair? If so, take it back and tell him to top it up and ensure that there are no air pockets. Don't overheat your engine or you could blow a gasket/warp cylinder head.

It was fine for a week after the repairs and then it started happening again. The coolant is a good guess. However I put some anti-freeze into the receptacle (half way) and it still happened.

What's strange is that I can't reproduce this when the car is in P and I'm just revving the engine.

Also why would the coolant leak cause the abnormal temperature blowing on the inside?

Can I try to top it up myself? Like mix anti-freeze with distilled water 1:1, open the cap on the radiator and start pouring while the engine is running?

I want to drive it as little as possible, and this sounds like a simple thing I can do without driving to the mechanic. Then test it around the block.

Hey Budric,
Couple of things I recommend to you, but first you need to clarify some things:
You never answered the question, is your coolant CURRENTLY low? Why would you want to pour coolant in when your engine is running? What will that prove?
Does the radiator fan come on?

It's hard to say what is wrong, but it sounds like either a faulty temperature guage, coolant not flowing (thermostat maybe... but you said it was new), or your coolant is low. Assuming your coolant is topped up, when the temp guage is on the red, did you open your hood and check various places on the engine,hoses and rad to see if they are actually HOT, that would give you an indication that your temp guage maybe probably working and coolant maybe flowing properly. If the engine is cold (temp guage problem), or very hot and the rad is cold, then sounds like a coolant flowing problem.

I recommend you go back to the mechanic and let him know what is happening. It sounds like he didn't fix it correctly. Also, no offense, it really sounds like you don't have much experience with this. If you car is running at that extreme temperature you could ruin your engine. It would be best to go back and talk to you mechanic. This isn't a very hard fix and shouldn't be expensive as compared to running your car very hot and leading to engine failure.

[thelefteyeguy]

there was a thread a couple days ago on this issue.

[Maxspeed]

what year ?

[oldsnail]

what year?
what model?
4cy? - 2L? 2.2L? 2.4?
6 cyl? - 3L? 3.3L?
milege?

[budric]

Thanks for your input guys. The car is Camry 1993 LE 6cyl, 255k, km on it. I took it to another mechanic - because I wanted a second opinion. From his quick observations (and he's not 100% sure) he says the head gasket is seeping exhaust into the cooling system. There were bubbles in the cooling tank that he showed me...so sounded reasonable to me. The fact that the coolant is missing is caused by it overflowing from the tank most likely according to him.

So basically it's a big job. I'm at a cross roads. I could invest in replacing the head gasket...or even go as far as replacing the engine with a used one. My question is when done properly how many more years do you think I will get out of the car? On one hand there's no rust and the body is great. On the other, the oil is sort of leaking (droplets, nothing significant), there's cooling problem and I don't know if this is just the sign of things to come - one problem after another. It is after all an old car. In your opinion and experience with old cars what do you guys think?