2000 Toyota Camry V6 3.0 engine, Coolant empty: ?

Hi liszt85,

Thank you for the donation.

First thing you need to do is top up the coolant and bleed the system by running the engine with radiator cap OFF. When coolant level drops, top it up, continue until the coolant stabilises then close the rtadiator cap.

Is the recovery tank dry as well or only the radiator side is low?

If the recovery tank is low, then it might not be too bad and hopefully you have not damaged the head gaskets. Get a pressure test done to check for leakages and rectif accordingly.

If the recovery tank is full and only the radiator is empty, it could be bad news, the head gasket could be bad. Check if the radiator cap is bad.

The Firestone mechanic could have missed out checking the radiator or it was good and a leak occurred on the way resulting in the loss. A pressure test should confirm if there are any leakages.

I have no idea about cars.. and I don't know where to look for the recovery tank. Do you have a diagram that could help me locate these things that you are talking about?

Thanks.

Sorry I could not find any diagrams to show you.

At the radiator cap, there is a hose coming out of the filler neck. Follow the hose and you would come to the recovery tank ( coolant reservoir).

So let me explain to you what I see.

I see a white plastic (or some such translucent material) tank that says "coolant". It looks like a 2 gallon can of juice. The fluid in it is empty.

There is a hose that starts at the bottom of this tank that follows into something that has a cap, I opened the cap to find fluid at the top, so I assume that container has a full level of fluid in it.

So from what you said, I'm guessing I initially looked at the recovery tank (with "coolant" printed on it). So the recovery tank is probably the one that is empty.. Am I right?

If that's the case, it probably just needs a refill? My wife tells me that it was empty at the time we saw the car initially..so its not a leak on the way here. Please let me know what you think. I apologize for the ignorance.. I've never owned a car before (The first one I owned was bought a month ago but I sold it because I wasn't happy with it).

Thanks.

The reservoir is empty and the radiator is full as per your decription

The recovery tank is also called the reservoir and has the words " Coolant" printed on it. It has a MIN and MAX line in at the sides. The coolant is meant to be between the 2 lines under normal circumstances.

Top up the coolant to the specified level and you are ready to go.

If the tank is dry, it usually points to a minor leak in the cooling system and usual places would be hose joints. Look out for signs of coolant leakages, they would be indicated by formation of white/reddish powder if the coolant used is Toyota original red colored.

Thanks! That was very helpful. I have a new question:


What tires would you recommend for a 2000 Camry XLE, V6 3.0, with 118K miles on it? I live in a place where the winters are quite extreme with a lot of snowfall. The summers are warm, sometimes humid, sometimes dry.. I drive smooth, brake smooth (so the braking distance is slightly longer when I drive), and usually drive at constant speeds, not making huge accelerations/decelerations.

What's your opinion about the Firestone Affinity Touring P205/60R16 tires?

Reduced noise and all season handling is important as far as I'm concerned.

Thanks.

Sorry I am located in a different continent so is unable to help you on this.

I am not familiar of the actual conditions over there and the tire that you mentioned is not found here so I am not able to comment.

Hope someone else who reads this can give you some idea.

Thanks for all the excellent advice so far.

You're welcome and glad to be of help.

Have a nice day.

Hi,

I have a question about something different. The seller told me that the CEL came on a few days before the sale. He took it to the dealer and got some code and the dealer told him that the code meant that he had to replace the charcoal canister. The dealer gave him a quote of $400 to do it but told him that it wouldn't be a problem even if he didn't change it. I have two questions:

1) Is it true that its not problematic not to replace the charcoal canister? What would you advise me to do?

2) Is the estimate of $400 a fair one? How much does a toyota part cost?

Thanks.

Get a free scan done at Autozone and let me know the EXACt trouble code so I can understand what is wrong. Withoutunderstanding the cause of the CEL I am not able to comment.

Results of the autozone scan:

Troubleshooting P0446
OEM Brand: Toyota

Definition
Evaporative emission control system vent control
circuit fault

Probable Cause
Open or short circuit condition
Poor electrical connection
Faulty CCV vent control solenoid.


Thanks.

P0446 = EVAP vent control circuit. The diagnostic procedure is rather lengthy and I would suggest you try the folowing first before going to diagnostics. At rear there is the pressure switching valve VSV. Check if it is bad.

Two questions:

1) Where on the car is the valve (by "rear", what do you mean exactly)? What tools do I need to get there?

2) How do I check if its bad? Just a visual inspection? IF so, what do I look for?

Thanks.

P.S: Once again, I apologize for my ignorance.. it should be quite clear by now that I have no idea whatsoever about cars and car repair!

It is located on bracket at charcoal canister near fuel tank and contains 2-pin electrical connector with Violet and Black/Yellow wire.

Look out for broken wires, damaged valve or diasconnected/contaminated wire couplers. Don't feel bad about not knowing anything about cars. It is never too late to learn and the best way to learn is to ask.

I went ahead and got engine diagnostics done at the local mechanic's. Here are the results and the estimates that I received. Please tell me what you think..

He says that the oil seals are leaking oil and that the water pump seems to be leaking a bit. He also told me that the back tires are cupping and that it means just one thing: the rear struts are bad and need to be replaced.

The CEL is on and will go away if the closed vacuum switching valve is replaced and the sway bar links on two sides need to be changed but these, he said, aren't crucial but the water pump, seals and the struts are crucial and need to be changed before the winter. He also tells me that its better to use the green coolant because the red one eats into the water pump due to its acidic nature and so he recommends a cooling system flush to replace it with the green stuff and he says that the red coolant is responsible for the water pump leak. Here are the estimates:

Labor:
Item Unit price Total

Rear struts $78 $234

Water pump $78 $351
(includes replacing front oil seals, water pump and serpentine belts)

CSFF $39 $39
(Cooling system flush and fill)

Mount and balance tires $15 $30


PARTS:
Item Unit Price Total

Timing Cover Set $15.58 $15.58
(ref TCS 45890)

Timing Cover Set $23.80 $23.80
(ref TCS45889)

Quick Struts (2) $224.56 $449.12

Water Pump (new) $109.52 $109.52

Belt $20.73 $20.73

Belt $19.73 $19.73

Anti $14.99 $22.49
(Coolant)

Tires (2) $94.56 $189.12
(Uniroyal Touring 75000 mile tread warranty)


Labor total: $654.00
Parts total: $1136.21 (Discount: $286.12)
Parts less discount: $850.09
Shop supply charge: $39.80
Sales tax: $104.21


TOTAL ESTIMATE: $1654.10


(The estimate with the other stuff like the sway bar links, the vacuum switching valve, etc total to $800 but he told me that those were not necessary immediately and I could do without them for quite some time).

Let me know if this is a fair estimate and if you think his recommendations are precise.

Thanks.

The estimate for the work and the items recommended for repair seems reasonable but be prepared for some unexpected cost as during the work, some other things might crop up.

I would agree about the coolant, the green type is better.

For the struts, you ought to have the bushings and alignment checked first.

He checked the alignment, and it was alright. I don't know about the bushing but he usually looks at that, so I'm guessing he looked at all of that too. So the tires probably cupped due to the struts being bad, am I right? So he told me to get the struts before I put on new tires.

Cupping are usually caused by struts or the tire itself. you can perform a bounce test on the struts and if it takes some time before the bouncing stop, the struts is bad. Look out for signs of oil leakages at the struts to confirm.

Yes, the strut should be replaced before the tires.

The estimate for the parts that I got for the rear struts was as follows:

Part no. 271680 Quick strut $224.56
Part no. 271681 Quick strut $224.56
(W/ Chassis # SXV20 W/Chassis #VCV20 W/Chassis#MCV20)

I don't understand what's in the brackets, could you please explain?


It says $225 for a pair, does it mean that I'll spend just $225 for BOTH quick struts if I buy from that ebay seller? Please advise if this is a good idea.

Thanks.

Similarly the water pump estimate is as follows:

Reference 42340 New Water Pump $109.52

I found what I believe is the same water pump on ebay for about half the price:

Please tell me if you think that my mechanic uses superior quality (better known brands?) parts and if you think that explains why his prices are almost double that of what I'm able to find.

Those in bracket means applicable for those with VIN as specified for body models.

I am not familiar with online ordering of parts so is not able to comment on them.

I would get my fellow technicians who are based in the U?s to help on this.

Hang on and they should be with you shortly.

Great, thanks. I really appreciate the help. I'm a student here on a budget. Its a huge deal as far as I'm concerned if I can save $300 by buying this stuff off ebay.

Usually when you buy direct from a source, it wuld be cheaper than through the mechanic. Simple reason is that the mechanic would incur transportation and other cost and on top of that, they would mark up for some profit so the cost to the customer would be higher.

Seems my fellow technicians are not onliine at the moment so you would have to hold on.

No problem, I'll wait for as long as it takes.

First of all thank you for your donation.What part's are you trying to purchase online.Let me know and i will give you a hand with them.

Hi, thanks. So these are the parts that I'm trying to buy online: rear struts and a water pump. These are the estimates that I got from the mechanic:

Reference. 271680 Quick strut $224.56
Reference. 271681 Quick strut $224.56
(W/ Chassis # SXV20 W/Chassis #VCV20 W/Chassis#MCV20)
Reference 42340 New Water Pump $109.52

However, I was able to find these parts with the same reference numbers on ebay for about half the price quoted here. I'm afraid though that if I buy my own parts, the mechanic might refuse to give me the 24 month warranty that he usually offers on his work. I can save $300 if I buy this online. However, if the mechanic does what I suspect he might do if I offer to buy the parts online, is it really worth the $300 saved?

Thanks.

If he won't stand behind his labor then i would use someone else to put your part's on.I could see him not warranting your part's you brought him but if he won't warranty his labor to put them on just because you wouldn't let him make money on the part's he was trying to sell you.The quick strut is the whole strut assembly with the spring strut mount etc it's a bolt in unit.If you were handy with with tool's even you could put it in.There made by monroe they have the sense trac srut's on them.There 169.78 ea plus shipping on www.rockauto.com just the struts that come on the quick strut's are 60.79 ea plus shipping.If i were you i would just get the strut's without the spring's and have them replaced.To replace just the strut it's only less then a hr labor more the what he is doing by replacing the whole assembly.Look at how much you would save by just getting the strut itself and having someone put it in.Now for your water rockauto .com has the water pump for 45.79 plus shipping it's a airtex brand which is a good brand.So i would think about doing what i suggested doing and save yourself some money.

Looking at the reference number that was given in the estimate, I guess the water pump that he wanted to put in was the following:

GATES Part # 42340 {#121} Cast Aluminum, Standard Rotation - Timing Belt Driven *May Not Include Pulley* Water Pump (Standard)
Timing belt driven

Does this sound right? I'm going to do as you say.. I'm buying the rear struts (I might buy the entire assembly) and I'm going to buy the water pump from rockauto.

Thanks for your advice! The idea has saved me $200 already.

It doesn't make sense it look's like the water pump pulley is part of the pump and doesn't come off.I would check and make sure the pulley come's with it i don't see how they could use your old pulley.Hey put this number in the how did you hear about us box when you place your order at rock auto and you will save 5 percent off your order 36088372968957 it's good until sept 19th.if your not going to put the strut's on yourself i would get just the strut's because even the little bit of labor difference in replacing just the strut's the price difference of the part's verus the whole assembly more then make's up for the little bit of labor difference you will pay.But that's all up to you.

Thanks for that code, I'll be sure to use it when ordering!

Part no. 271680 Quick strut $224.56
Part no. 271681 Quick strut $224.56
(W/ Chassis # SXV20 W/Chassis #VCV20 W/Chassis#MCV20)

When ordering these parts, what do I do for what's in the brackets?

I wouldn't worry about it if you look on rock auto they don't list different suspension option's they even list those same part number's for your car that the shop gave you for the whole strut assembly.So i think you can just go ahead and order what you need to order.

So I talked to the mechanic and asked him if I could buy some of the parts and if he would put them in for me. He said he can't warranty anything and so he wouldn't put them in for me unless I buy the parts from him. I asked him if he could warranty just his labor and not the parts and he said that its not possible.

So I guess I should stay away from this place? Would you suggest an AAA owned place?

What do you think of AAA owned facilities? Is it likely that they'll install parts that I give them? I'll give them a call but I'd like your opinion.

Thanks.

AAA refused to do it too. To have an independent mechanic put it in would save me $200-300 but I no longer know if its worth saving that money when I have to give up getting a 24 month/24000 mile warranty on the work and parts if I get my local mechanic's to do this.. Man, this is tougher than I thought it would be!

It's pretty sad that they won't even warranty there own labor if they don't make the money on the part's too.Even if you bringing them in the same exact part's there going to be putting in.I thought people are hard up for money and are will to be flexible to stay in bussiness and would be happy just to make the money on the labor alone.So you can't find anyone to put your own part's in and just warranty there labor to put it in?I would be happy to just make the money on the labor alone.Let me know what you found out.