My engine is overheating?

Welcome to 2CarPros.

Can you tell me if the car overheats if you are driving at highway speeds or does it seem to happen when in stop and go traffic only?

this guide can help us fix it

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/engine-overheating-or-running-hot

Also, you said the radiator was always full. Is there any indication that the coolant level is slowly going down?

Let me know.

Joe

The car had overheated while waiting at a stop light. Had at least a cars length between me and the other car. After i replaced the thermostat it over heated with me just going down a block and quickly coming back.

From what i was able to tell from the time it first over heated till i changed the thermostat the level didn't seem to lower at all. After changing the thermostat and refilling things it doesn't seem like its gone down. I did my best to get as much air out of the tubes as possible. Of course adding fluid as the air was released and before i tried going down to the next block.

Welcome back:

If it overheated within a block of driving, are you certain the thermostat was placed in correctly? There could be air is still in the system. Did you notice if the cooling fans were turning on? Also, when it overheated, was coolant boiling in the system? I can't imagine that a block would even be enough distance to get it that hot.

Let me know.
Joe

Hi Joe,

Yes i put the thermostat in correctly as i had double checked it before i sealed it closed. Yes the cooling fans did and do turn on. No the coolant never was boiling in the system. I wouldn't have thought so either but for some reason it was. As it was pretty hot outside when i tried going the block.

There must have been some air in the tubes some where. As after i had responded back to you last night i decided to check everything again to see if i missed anything. I squeezed the top and bottom radiator hoses to make sure no air or at least to try for non. When sneezing both fluid popped out. From there i went down and around the block to try it again and this time it stayed at normal temperature. Ran it this morning and no over at all. So i am hoping it was just air caught and not the water pump starting to go out on me like a friend is saying. Especially since they were telling me that it not taking care of the extra air is a sign of it going out. It would be extremely be appreciated and i would be extremely grateful if i could get your thoughts and or opinion on if my friend might be correct about the pump.Thank you for all of your help and advice.

Welcome back:

I totally disagree with the pump being the issues causing the air pockets. It is common to end up with pockets of air in the system which prevent normal circulation. So, no. I'm not saying something isn't wrong with the pump, but if it isn't leaking, chances are it is fine.

Let me know if you have other questions.

Take care,
Joe

How can I troubleshoot whether the fan is burned out or the thermostat is bad? Are there 2 poles I can jump to make the fan turn on to test the motor?

To test the motor, a quick way is to remove the cover from the fan relay, reinstall the relay in the socket, and squeeze the contact. If the fan runs, you know the high-current half of the circuit is working which includes the fuse, 12 volt supply circuit, fan motor, and ground return circuit. If the motor doesn't run, or if you can't find the relay, you can connect two jumper wires from the two battery posts to the wires in the motor's electrical connector.

caradiodoc

I just flushed my radiator and filled up anitfreeze and the car is overheating...fans not kicking on and hoses don't feel like there is any antifreeze in them. How can I test the water pump vs the thermostat is bad? Fans should have kicked on by now.

Thanks,Matt

if fans not coming on then that is the problem and neither the water pump or thermostat...check fuses and cooling fan relay(s)

Thanks for your reply. I had changed the thermostat as the lower radiator hose wasn't hot, thinkiing maybe it was stuck closed. Refilled radiator & same thing once @ operating temperature...no pressure on the return radiator hose & feels empty, coolant not moving in radiator when running...tells me water pump is not circulating. fans won't come on as coolant isn't hot since its not getting into the block to cool off & engine overheating.

only 1 rad. hose will be hot, other should be cool, that means radiator is doing its job. if you can't feel pressure in either hoses though that does indicate poor circulation, since you already flushed system it must be weak water pump

Thanks bluelightnin6...I kept squeezing both hoses closed no problem and figured has to be no circulation. Thing is timing belt has to be removed to get to the pump. only 70k on the water pump from the last time timing belt was done and pump also....aren't they normally supposed to last longer than that?

normally they do yes but 70k is still a lot of miles so doesn't necessarily mean it's failed prematurely . water pump will usually weep coolant and start whining when it is failing though

that probably explains why mechanic told me to keep eye on coolant after I had it inspected last...seems I was losing a little..rather lose it that way vs head gasket. guessing its a 4-5 job at most for the shop. might try to tackle it myself since they are closed until next week. thanks for your advice bluelightnin6

for the 4 banger motor, it will only take around 4 labor hours to replace water pump at experienced shop, yes.

I have a 1996 Toyota Camry with 194000miles and runs very strong. After driving about 16 miles on the highway, at my destination, I turned off the car and heard a water rumbling sound. I opened the hood and the coolant in my overflow resevoir was boiling heavily. I know the coolant is hot but I've never seen it boiling in the overflow before. Is this normal?

HI there,

No this is not normal, i would be checking that the cooling fan is running, also it may be a good time to give the cooling system a check over. flush & flow test the radiator, new thermostat and check the pressure cap start there.

Mark (mhpautos)

My car is idling really low in the morning when I first start it, and its loud....sounds and feels likes its going to stall out. Now its also overheating, but the heat works just fine, so i dont think its the thermostat but i dont know much about this stuff so I need your help. when i first noticed it was overheating I checked and I was out of antifreeze but I put antifreeze in it and it is still overheating. Do you have any ideas???

Loud when first starting? it what sense? does it sound like an exhaust leak?

In regards to the overheating issue you may have a system leak which can be an attribute to your overheating issue. If the system is full with healthy coolant and your stilll are overheating i would suspect a thermostat. Also are your radiator fans coming on? The fans may not also be coming on causing the car to overheat which can because of anything from a bad fuse, fan motor, wiring fault ect.

First find out why you are loosing coolant. Either a system leak is present, poor coolant boiling point, poor radiator cap not allowing the system to go under pressure to spec causing coolant to boil over.

This should give you an idea of where to start. If you have any questions feel free to ask.

I have a 93 toyota camry and just had the head gaskets replaced, water pump, timing belt, hydraulic tensioner and radiator replace.The car runs well while idling and eventually the temperature rises. When driven the temp rises rapidly and the water in the coolant resivor tank begins to boil. I just took the thermostat out and will probably change the coolant temperture sensor to see if that will help. One thing that I noticed when changing the raditor the old one was clogged with some type of seelant solution. Can someone please give me some suggestions in helping me resolve this issue. Thanks

The sealant is probably stop leak and that will plug up heater core radiator etc.I would everything real good even the heater core replace the thermostat and see what happens.

Ok I ended up taking the thermostat out and drove the car with out it for 17 miles the temp htemp hand stayed in the middle the whole trip until I put the car in park and the temp went back up. The thermostat seemed to fix the circulation problem but don't know why it ran hot when I placed the car in park. Could this be a sluggish fan issue? I also have a small hole in the top of the overflow bottle don't know if this is a factor. Thanks

With the thermostat out you also increased circulation beyond what it would be if it were there and opened.Did you flush everything good?I hope you just replaced the thermostat since you had it out.Also if you have a leak and it looses enough coolant it will overheat.So when its running hot is the radiator fan on?Also what temp is the fan coming on if it works?

Hi: Good Morning.

Recently I have replaced radiator, thermostat, hoses, water pump, timing belt, valve cover gaskets etc. When the engine runs first 30 minutes the temperature is OK. After that it starts over heated and the coolant starts boilng in the plastic resorvoir tank and comes out of the bleeder vent pipe.

I checked the coolant circulation, it's OK, the water pump, fan, temperature gauge all are working. No white smoke from the exhaust, so perhaps not head gasket.

I am afraid of taking the car on the road. Please help. Thanks.

i also have a 93 camry. my car's engine would heat up then shut off without the fans ever kicking on.and the car would turn off wenever its idle usually at stoplights i had my friend who is a mechanic look at it today. he realized it was the temperature control sensor. and the fan switch that were bad. we went to autozone got new ones the total was about $40 and we replaced them. now the car runs like new. they are located on the driver side of the engine. jus unscrew them and put the new ones in

Engine Cooling problem
1993 Toyota Camry Two Wheel Drive Automatic 168000 miles

Hi

My car has problem of over heatin while drive more than 5 minuts. I found that both fan is not working.when i disconnect the fan wair its on and heat goes down.could you please suggest me what happen in my car.

HI there,

One fan is the normal engine cooling fan, the other is the A/C fan, if the standard fan is not coming on, have the fan sensor switch checked, it his is just under the thermostat housing if i remember correctly, If you have not serviced the cooling system, replace the thermostat and flush and flow test the radiator as well.

Mark (mhpautos)

Replaced radiator no leaks, still overheating. Blows smoke but not all the time just now and then. No water and oil mix. Any suggestions?

Is the smoke white and out the tailpipe? If so, then it is most likely a blown cylinder head gasket. Remove all the spark plugs and look for coolant on any. This guide can help us fix it

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/engine-overheating-or-running-hot

Please run down this guide and report back.