2003 Toyota Camry overheated. Coolant/water full in both radiator & overflow. This is the first time this has happened. What could have caused this.

I would suggest that you have a cooling system pressure test done to see if you have a blown head gasket. It should not cost much. a radiator specialist should be able to do it for you.

It is best to be systematic about this. It could be either the water loss or the overheating which is the basic cause, either one could come first.

- there is a test for combustion gases in the water jacket, from a blown head gasket. This will very quickly cause overheating, and the excess pressure will blow the water out the overflow reservoir. If the car has already overheated and died, this is unfortunately quite likely

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_SIwHMLmkM


- the temperature sensor in the block may have failed. This will prevent the fans from running when the engine overheats, and you can see this. The fans are not driven by a belt. P68....

http://www.turboninjas.com/camry/eg2.pdf


- the thermostat may have stuck closed. You will have to get it out and test it, but this is not difficult. See p328


http://www.turboninjas.com/camry/eg2.pdf


- this model of Camry has a plastic top tank to the radiator, which eventually cracks. Look there carefully.

- it may be that a radiator hose has gone soft and closed up. Check they are allowing good coolant flow.

- it could be that in a car this age that the radiator has silted up and is not allowing coolant through. Disconnect the top and bottom radiator hoses, when cool, and run water through from a garden hose to get some idea about that.

engine running too hot.check coolant level, should be 50/50 antifreeze and water.replace thermostat and radiator pressure cap.check antifreeze level in the radiator,coolant level should be just below radiator cap, add coolant to overflow jug,should alway be at the full cold mark.empty coolant overflow jug will allow air be drawed in the coolant system causing overheating.if overheating happens when coming to a long stop.could have faulty engine coolant temperature sensor or bad coolant fan fuse or relay.

replace thermostat.then bleed coolant system, this is how you do it.fill the cooling coolant system with 50 / 50 dexcool and water to raise boiling point,straight water will evaporate boil away cause engine to overheat catch fire thats why you need 50 / 50 mixture antifreeze and water.to bleed coolant system first fill coolant system until coolant stay at the full cold mark on the the coolant overflow jug,then you start engine allow it to idle,place the heater and ac control in any ac setting except max and the temperature control to the highest setting,run engine until lower hose to water pump is hot. with the engine hot run the engine speed up to 3000 rpm and allow it return to idle, repeat this 5 times. slowly open the bleed valve on the thermostat housing or look for bleed valve at the water pump heater hose.open bleed valve for 15 seconds to expel any trapped air.then top off the coolant as necessary,and when top radiator hose hot thermostat open up.keep adding cooling to overflow until coolant level stop at full cold mark dont over fill coolant.if engine seem like overheating while looking at cooling gauge turn off engine wait a while until cool off add more coolant until coolant level stay stable and dont drop any.when open radiator overflow cap use large rag over the radiator cap to keep from getting scald open radiator cap a little at a time but dont open radiator cap until engine cool down first.replace the radiator overflow cap, thermostat,and engine coolant temperature sensor and check the cooling fans fuses and relays see what happens.

a leak in coolant system will cause air pocket in the coolant system around the engine coolant temperature sensor.coolant sensor is a thermistor in which when hot cool cause it resistance decrease which affect the voltage from sensor to pcm which will cause engine coolant to turn on.if coolant level okay,check coolant fan fuse and relay, if all is good,engine coolant temperature sensor could be bad or have vechicle code scan for pcm problems it control the coolant fan.fill coolant system to correct level make sure engine coolat reservoir is at full cold mark and not empty.fill coolant system check for leaks,refill coolant overflow jug back to full cold mark dont over fill, if coolant overflow stay empty you have leak either its leaking or you have radiator hoses or radiator leaking coolant.when coolant overflow jug run dry it cause air get in coolant system causing overheating problems.

thermostat is not opening

OVERHEATING CAN BE CAUSE BY MANY THINGS LIKE FAULTY THERMOSTAT AND FAULTY RADIATOR PRESSURE CAP,TOO MUCH WATER IN COOLANT SYSTEM NEED 50 / 50 WATER AND ANTIFREEZE.LOOK FOR WATER PUMP WEEP HOLE LEAK, IF COOLANT LEAKING OUT WEEP HOLE WATER PUMP BAD NEED REPLACING.CHECK FOR LOW COOLANT LEVEL, YOUR RADIATOR OVERFLOW JUG SHOULD HAVE COOLANT AT THE FULL COLD MARK IF NOT KEEP ADDING COOLANT INTO COOLANT OVERFLOW JUG UNTIL COOLANT STOP DROPPING AND FULL COLD MARK, IF OVERFLOW COOLANT JUG WAS EMPTY RADIATOR IS LOW ON COOLANT.WHICH CAUSE AIR IN COOLANT SYSTEM KEEPING THE ENGINE COOLANT TEMPERATURE SENSOR FROM BEING SUBMERGE IN HOT COOLANT WHICH TURN ON THE COOLANT FANS.WHEN ENGINE COOLANT TEMPERATURE GET CERTAIN SET TEMPERATURE LIKE 190 DEGREES THE PCM AND COOLANT SENSOR WILL TURN ON COOLANT FANS, IF VECHICLE OVERHEATING COOLANT FANS NOT WORKING EITHER YOU HAVE FAULTY ENGINE COOLANT TEMPERATURE SENSOR CHECK COOLANT FANS FUSE AND RELAYS. YOU CAN CODE SCAN CAR TO SEE IF YOU HAVE FAULTY PCM, FAULTY ENGINE COOLANT TEMPERATURE SENSOR OR FAULTY COOLANT FAN RELAY.IF COOLANT FAN AND ENGINE COOLANT TEMPERATURE SENSOR OKAY,YOU HAVE CORRECT COOLANT LEVEL IN COOLANT SYSTEM, THERMOSTAT AND RADIATOR PRESSURE CAP BEEN REPLACED, YOU COULD HAVE BLOWN HEAD GASKET CHECK ENGINE OIL LOOKS LIKE MILK SHAKE HEAD GASKET BLOWED ALSO WHEN HEAD GASKET BLOWED YOU CAN DRIVE CAR SHORT DISTANCE START OVERHEATING AND YOU LOOSE ENGINE POWER SUSPECT BLOWED HEAD GASKET.

Javier, have you checked the coolant overflow tank for holes, cracks, or loose hose? When the engine in your car heats up, the coolant expands. The coolant overflow tank (located near the radiator) takes up any coolant that is forced out of the radiator. If the tank is damaged or not connected to the radiator correctly, the coolant will not siphon back into the cooling system when the engine cools off.

Change the radiator cap, it may be the wrong pressure rating which will cause the coolant to boil at a much lower temperature than designed.

how do u change the water pump in a 1993 toyota camry v6 engine?