I just bought a 92 Camry for my son. 200k. I got it cheap because the previous owner was broke from trying to keep this car from overheating. New t-stat, water pump, rad cap, rad flush, heater core bypassed, etc, no luck. It does smoke a little white smoke when cold, then quits. No water in the oil, no oil in the water. I have been using water in it (rather than go through gallons of anti-freeze). Does it have to have coolant to work properly? (temps mild here now). Water does push by the fill cap to the overflow when I squeeze the upper rad hose. Maybe just new cap?

 

It seems like overheating is a pretty common problem w/ these cars based on the posts... I have a 93 Lexus ES300 and I'm fighting the same thing. And I've done all the same things.... Flushed first. Then thermostat, then radiator cap(s), the new radiator.

What I've found is the fan isn't kicking on when it heats up. The ES300 is the V6 Camary, so it has the hydraulicly driven fan of the p/s pump. By default, the fan spins at the slow rate, and should kick up when hot. To test the fan you can jumper to bypass the sensor. Open the "diagnostic" port (it's on the left side up near the fire wall). Add a jumper to E1 & OS1 (from memory). When you start the car the fan should be at high speed. [The 4/cyl use an electrical fan, so check all the relays...... And I'm guessing you could just jumper 12V power to the fan to test the motor, but I haven't tried this.]

(make sure the engine is cold!)
Also, make sure the heater core isn't plugged and the control valve is working properly. If you remove the two 1" heater hoses (inlet/outlet) on the right side of the intake. You can install one of those "press on, fix a garden hose" connectors (the ones you crimp on the end of a garden hose). This will allow you to attach your garden hose to the inlet (or outlet) heater hose. When you turn on the water it will run through just the heater core. The heater control valve is up next to the firewall on the driver's side. Open and close the valve to make sure it's working and not leaking.

But my guess is the cooling fan isn't comming on.....

andy t.

 

What engine: 4 cylinder or V6?

Water works OK short term, long term coolant serves to prevent corrosion and rust (very important), plus prevent freezing in cold temps. Thus use a coolant for the long term.

Are you stating the coolant system is losing water, if so do you know where it is going?

Why was the heater core bypassed?

 

I just used the hose to provide water preasure to force any junk out of the core. Once it's put back together, the coolant in the system will mix w/ any water left in the heater core.

And I rechecked the jumpers for testing the cooling fan, it should be E1 to OP1 (not OS1)

andy t.

 

..
andy t.;

I’m not familiar with all the Toyota engines but most modern cooling systems do not have a shutoff valve in the heater core lines. The Heater core is a major part of the coolant bypass flow when the thermostat is closed. So reverse flushing (gently) is a very good idea.

gdh;

Running temperatures at 200 degrees are not un common with modern vehicles. Water boils at 212 at sea level pressures. If the cap is leaking pressure then the system is going to loose water. A proper mix of antifreeze will raise the boiling point and a working cap will raise it much more.

Have a good one.. Don S..
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