Toyota - Camry :: 1997 - Gets Overheated Frequently
Aug 30, 2012
I have a 97 Camry that looked like it had a small oil leak coming from the head gasket. It needed oil added every few days or so, so I changed the head gasket and now it overheats!
I changed the T-Stat, no luck. I took the radiator out and flushed it. It seemed to flow great too. I had the garden hose on full blast going in the top and it was coming out of the bottom just as fast with no back pressure out the top. So I think the radiator is good.
I'm pretty sure the fan was kicking on at the correct time but just to be sure I hard wired it so it's always on if the key is no, still over heating. Compression test shows 200, 209, 209, 211. That's pretty good right?
Just to be sure that the exhaust was not leaking through the new head gasket and heating up the coolant I did a liquid block test. Where you suck air out of the radiator cap and then it goes through a chemical which will change color if it contains exhaust gases. Not only did the liquid not change color, it was very hard to get any air out of the radiator, indicating that the system is tightly sealed correct?
The car is not loosing any coolant. I changed the coolant gauge sensor as well, still shows overheating.
Before I changed the sensor out I bought a thermometer and put it in the radiator. I was able to leave the cap off even after it started to get hot. The coolant did start to rise a little but I just bled it off from the drain plug at the bottom as it got higher, making sure to leave it full and not get any air. And the temp stayed below 200. This made me think that it was not overheating and thus the new sensor. This was not the case though. I realized that the coolant coming from the engine was very hot and then going into the radiator where it could cool down via my always running fan and then go past my thermometer.
The heater works great and even cool the engine down. This means that the heater core is not blocked and that the water pump works correct?
So after all of this I decided that there must be something blocking a coolant port. SOOO I took it all apart again only to find no blockages. I can see very well down into the block and fairly well through the cooling ports on the head and everything looks fine.
I also checked out the water pump and that looks great. Still in great shape and the bearing is not worn at all.
There was only ONE thing that was wrong on the engine (that I found) and that was the throttle body gasket. It was put on the wrong way so as not to fully block that air passage that I believe is pulled from the block into the throttle body. this could cause overheating?
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I've been having frequent problems with my car.
Here's the information about it:
200,000 miliage
engine light is on when key is in ignition, but goes off when car starts up
Four cylinder engine
Here's the problem:
Car stalls intermittently
when it is about to stall, when i slow down, car putters a bit, and RPM gauge shakes wildly
when coming to a complete stop, car shuts off completely, and when trying to start back up, engine chokes.
Temporary solution:
I put the car in neutral and floor the gas pedal, then the car works again.
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Upper and lower intake manifold gaskets were replaced around 110,000. All three coil packs have been replaced with original GM packs. I replaced my EGR valve last year due to the original was sticking. My throttle body was cleaned about four years ago. I've seafoamed through brake booster and the rest in gas tank.
I'm stumped that it corrects itself right away by giving it gas. The SES light always come on but goes off on it's own after a few cycles.
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When i changed the radiator i lost about a cup maybe a cup and a half of transmission fluid, i have gotten time to replace it but i didn't think that small amount of fluid would dramatically change performance, the fluid also looked almost new. The only other things i have done to the truck is some brake work and replace the alternator. I have no knowledge of what the previous over did or did not do. It is not throwing any code, and the OD light/button is broken, i think on newer rangers the OD light would would brink indicating transmissions problems, not sure if its the same on these trucks.
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All the regular things have been checked (battery, alternator, starter.) I have a mechanic who specializes in imports and has lots of experience with Camrys. He thought it was the idler but replacing that didn't work. He tried putting in a computer but that didn't solve it. He doesn't think it's the gas pump because he used something to test that and it showed it was getting gas fine.
We tried the theory of "winter gas," but that doesn't seem to be it either.
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'97 Toyota Camry, 231,000 miles.
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97 Toyota Camry 2.2l motor.
Sometimes, when I turn the ignition on I don't hear a sound and all the power dies in the car (the radio ejects the CD and all the presets are erased when I turn it out of start). This can happen once or twice in a row then generally the car starts up normally.
The battery is brand new (1 month) and is fully charged. My hope is that it's the starter drawing too much power when it tries to start? It's entirely possible it has the factory starter still on the car.
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I have a 1997 Toyota Camry and recently the air flow from the heater has become stuck on the front vents. Regardless of what setting I turn the switch to (defrost, floor, etc.) it doesn't switch from the vents. It seemed to happen about the same time the thermostat died, which I had to replace (successfully I think).
I looked under the hood for a vacuum hose that might be disconnected (guessing) and under the dash for a wire that might have come loose or disconnected, but to no avail. I am guessing that some part on the heater has stopped working and needs replaced, but I haven't a clue as to which one...hopefully one that won't require pulling the dash off.
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I changed the gas cap on my car. This did not change a thing. I took to i believe reliable mechanic (has worked on car several times) and was told it is bad leak from the "sending" (I think) tube. I think it is the plastic? thing that sends fuel to the fuel pump. This is cracked.
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