Quote:
Originally Posted by Old Mechanic
Radiators are like arteries in humans, they clog up over time. An easy check is put your hand on the top and bottom radiator hoses. If the temp of both hoses is similar that indicates your radiator is not removing enough heat. The difference in temperature needs to be about 60 degrees. At the point where overheating occurs the grunge in your radiator has reached a critical point and the radiator should be replaced. You are there due to age, I'm surprized it is not leaking at almost 20 years age, and replacements are not that expensive.
The symptoms ususally occur in springtime when ambient temps are on the rise. The cooling fan issue needs to be resolved, or unplug the compressor and see if the fans come on with the compressor unplugged.
A decent low milegae car like yours can be destroyed by serious overheating and engine damage. I didn't think it was related to the change in oil viscosity alone. In fact I don't think the oil viscosity has anything to do with it , which is why I asked about the radiator. Radiator degradation is very common and the processis so gradual many people miss the symptoms and loose a good car to a $120 radiator.
I think your cooling fan temp sensor is bad as well if I understand your last post. Fix that and the radiator and SAVE that old Camry. Make sure the cooling system is properly bled to get rid of air pockets when you replace the radiator.
regards
Mech
|
Problem is I work 2 jobs and I work everyday... I don't have the time to go and get it fixed. I just need something I can do to get my fans to come on and stay on. At this point I don't care about MPG, I just need my car to last through the month so I can get a couple days off.
Anyway, to clarify more, when I used to unplug the greed plug (see pic below) the fans would kick on. Period, from the moment I started the car, to the moment I turned it off, now it doesn't do it. However, the fans DO kick on if I turn on the A/C but that obviously counteracts and cooling effect the rad fans would have due to the extra engine load of the A/C...
