I am the original owner1993 Toyota Camry V6 that just turned 204,000 miles. The car runs absolutely great, except for a recent problem that I have yet to diagnose. Overheating. The car loses anti-freeze, needing re-filled about once a week. There are no leaks, however, during a recent cold snap, I noticed the heater doesn't want to heat up at all. I've replaced the radiator, fan motor, flushed the system, added stop leak radiator additive, replaced the thermostat, but it still over heats. There is no antifreeze in the oil crankcase.

I did notice recently, that after driving the car for about an hour, (it did not heat up), when I got home, antifreeze fluid was coming out the overflow resevoir tube.

Any ideas what I might try next? Its such a great car, I don't want to part with it.

 

wow .. seems that u r exactly explaining my problem here ... well i guess u should be ready 2 spend some $$$ ... don't u smell the anti-freez fluid while u start the car in the beging of the day !!! yup it goes out from the exhust as the head cylinder gaskit needs to be changed.
i've done everything related to cooling but now i noticed that its winter here in my coubtry & the car is still overheating ... so i might drop it by 2 the garage 2day to be repaired.

u can seek others opinion or a mechanic ...

wish u the best

 

If the coolant was leakinginto the exhaust you'd see thick white smoke out the tail pipe. When was the last time you replaced the water pump?

 

One other place to look is the engine oil. Have you checked all hoses, etc?

A bad water pump can cause over heating.

If you are sure there are no leaks as Camry313 states it could be going out the exhaust pipe. Thus would suspect a head gasket problem which is not that uncommon on these engines.

Suggest first doing a test of the coolant system for exhaust gases. You can buy a test kit for around $40 or take it to a repair shop for testing. If a head gasket, this would explain your overheating.

Thought Toyota came up with a new/improved head gasket some years ago because of this problems.

 

I replaced the water pump about 10,000 miles ago when I changed the timing belt.........

 

I would suggest you fill the system and run the car from cold with the radiator cap off. As the engine heatswatch for the coolant to start flowing into the rad as the thermostat opens. That will tell youif you are getting flow. You can also smell the coolant to see if you smell exhaust, and you may even see exhaust bubbles in the coolant as it goes by. Be careful to watch the temp gauge as you don't want to have coolant blow out the radiator neck into your face. It will also expand out the neck a little.Wearing eye glasseswould be the safe thing to do.Other than that buying a test kit for exhaust gas may be another way to go. The fact that you don't get hot air in the cabin leads me to the heater core, which may or may not be a separate issue. If that is blocked and leaking if maymay explain the loss ofcoolant and the overheat. You can check for wet carpet or the coolant might be running inside the housing and out the A/C drain, (not sure if their connected) which you'd see under the car by the firewall.

 

I took the car into my mechanic and we checked several things. The heater core was plugged, due to the stop leak additive. My mechanic took one of the heater core connections and blew some compressed air into one of the heater core tubes. He must have jarred some of the stop leak additive as the heater started working again. My mechanic still thinks it could be a head gasket as there is some foam coming out of the radiator while it is running. There is also some noticeable white smoke, although it has been cold here in Washington. So I am thinking about spending the $1K for new head gaskets. I hope I don't regret pulling the heads since it has 204K on it and they don't find other problems.

My mechanic did say that we should pull the spark plugs to see if any of them look fouled or have a distinct white powder residue on them, also indicating that a head gasket is the issue.

Any other thoughts? They are appreciated. Its hard to part with this car since I am the original owner of it.

 

You've just found out why "Stop Leak" is good for radiators but bad for heater cores and useless for HG repair. You may have to replace the heater core as well. A cooling system pressure test will tell you that the system is not holding pressure. If you can find no visible leaks then probably HG.If the coolant is leaking into exhaust then thick white smoke with a sweet smell will be unmistakable. If the coolant is leaking into cylinders there will be anti-freeze in theoil and you will also see thick white smoke from the exhaust. A $20 oil analysis will show anti-freeze in the oil if you can see no other signs like milky white color. Right now it looks like a HG to me.

So here aremy considerations:

1. How much longer do you intend to keep this car? It has 204K and is a 93 after all.What's its book value? What can you replace it with.
2. What if they find more things to fix when the heads areoff ?(believe me they always do) Ifa warpedhead needs too much shaving it may require replacement. Will the $1000 also include a valve job, which I would recommend anyway since the head is off. Will you be able to or want to spend the extra?
3. What shape is the car/engine in? Compression good? Rust? Wear'n tear?
4. I would also recommend sending the injectors to "Witchhunter" for testing, cleaning, etc. This is quite cheap but since most of the labor has already been done is not a lot extra.
5. Life has a way to reward thosewho have just spent a $1000 on their car - by bringing about an event that destroys the car or coming up witha reason to spend another $1000.
6. Never get emotional about cars -you will make wrong decisions.

Here is a product that I have heard works and will not block the heater core. The trick is you must flush ALL anti-freeze from the system first. I would also replace the heater core and back flush the rad.
http://www.heal-a-seal.com/
If you just want to keep this car going for another year or so this may be a good way to do it without spending the $1000 and you will probably not loose much to try.

 

woooooow $1000 for that kinda job !!!

well here in my country it will cost mmm lets say about:
$ 20 for the gaskit
$ 15 to the facing for the head
$ 75 for the labor charge

but by paying $ 1000 for that kinda job i would defnetly sell the car as for that price i can do lots of thing like buying a new head along with gaskit & fixing it additional with new oil & coolant change plus a major service for the car !!!

all the best with your ride & hope that u solve the problem with a cheaper cost

am droping by my car to the mechanic in few hours & will receive it next day ... i will update u with the actual cost when its done

as for the guys here ... i missed the forums alot but lately i was so busy with my job as hopefullu i will have time soon to follow-up

 

Thanks for the information Pedro. I may try out that Heal a Seal and see what happens.

As far as the car's condition, its is in great shape other than some paint starting to flake off on the rear bumper. Everything still works, the transmission shifts smooth, the engine runs great and I still get 21 mpg. running around town with its V6. Its a great high school car for my daughter, which is why its hard to part with since we purchased it brand new. It still doesn't even burn a 1/2 quart of oil between oil changes.

If you have heard from others that have used this Heal A Seal, I would like to hear from them.

Thanks again for your input. It is very valuable.