QuestionQUESTION: Hi Ted,
I have a 1993 Toyota Camry with 3vzfe 6 cylinder. The radiator was leaking and I added stop leak. I ended up changing radiator, water pump, timing belt and head gasket.Mechanic stated cooling ports were plugged up but he cleaned them out and flushed out block. Mechanic put a new thermostat, bled system but it over heated. He took thermostat out and it no longer over heats, temperature gauge stays on cold even after 40 mile drive. Car will go about 1/3-1/2 on gauge if car idles for about 1/2 hour.The thermostat was purchased at a Toyota dealer and the jiggle valve was on top. Any suggestions? Thanks Greg
ANSWER: hello, removing the thermostat is not the answer, the engine needs to get to operating temperature for best performance and fuel economy and tyransmission operation. I would recommend trying another thermostat and then find out why it's overheating, it could be that the electric cooling fans are not coming on. After replacing the thermostat it can be difficult to get all the air out and it may take some time to get rid of air pockets it sounds to me that the mechanic that replaced the thermostat may not have given the engine a chance to purge all the air, in this case the engine will overheat almost immediately and boil over.
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QUESTION: The car a hydraulic fan not an electrical fan and a manual transmission. It does not seem to boil over but I did notice a small hole in the overflow.
ANSWER: Yes, I forgot about those, can you verify that the fan is working, without a thermostat in it it will most likely mover very slow, as the temp gauge goes up to normal temp it should start to spin a lot faster.
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QUESTION: Is there a check to make sure radiator is not blocked again and to check hydrollc cooling fan is functioning properly. I did notice that top radiator hose was hot while lower one was cold with thermostat in. Whe thermostat was out both hose were warm after 1/2 hour of idling. Would it help to install high flow thermostat?
Answerthanks for the reply, use the thermostat that is recvommended by the factory, I doubt if the radiator is the problem again, the fan is supposed to spin fast when the engine gets hot, if not check the electrical connection on the top of the power steering pump, there is a solenoid that is regulated by the fan computer to apply power steering fluid pressure to make the fan turn, it's one of the dumbest designs to ever come from toyota.
