Following the inital battery change, 2007 Camry SE sinking.....S.O.S.!
Asked by GuruXBPT Apr 07, 2017 at 08:59 PM about the 2007 Toyota Camry SE
Question type: Maintenance & Repair
Thus far, this gal has loved her 2007 Camry SE. BUT..... at 150,000 miles,
'my maintenance zone' opted to change the original and still strong battery.
Battery was installed, vehicle's idled poorly and lacked power. Toyota
dealership reported, vehicle would reset itself in a few miles.
That was a week ago.
My vehcile continue's to idle poorly, has A/C but blow's no hot air. The temp.
guage has hit "H"; although only for a few min.'s because I park the vehicle.
It's quick to recover from "H", I don't smell or see anti-freeze. Although, the
anti-freeze level appears to have had dropped.
I scanned the vehicle, PO420 and codes 4(Eng. Cool Temp), 6(RPM Signal
Crank Angle Pulse) and 10(Starter Signal). I cleared the codes and the
check engine light remain's off. I'm thinking.....Fuse's, Sensor's, Faulty
Hose's?
I just lost the roof of my home to a winter blizzard and dread (un-necessary)
vehicle repair costs. So, any thought's and feedback are greatly appreciated.
7 Answers
enginecreator answered 7 years ago
Loosing coolant with no sign of where it went (BAD), runs hot sometimes but careful to let cool down (BAD). The rough idle too. Have all cylinders checked for compression lose and have the coolant tested for exhaust gases. Check oil for coolant looks milky if there is a lot or white foamy, tiny bubbles or oil level rising. Check radiator & or coolant for oil in it. Check spark plugs to see if any are wet. Does the exhaust have a white smoke or steam and/or have a sweet smell to it. Does your coolant reservoir boil or bubble? Look for any wet places around the engine head. Before you spend any money on it do these test to confirm if head or intake gaskets are blown(may or may not have all bad gasket symptoms. Otherwise see if have any coolant leaking any where, Pull & test thermostat, See if you coolant cap/lid it leaking/sucking air. Bleed the air out of cooling system. Change any cooling hoses that are weak,spongy,dryrotted looking or swelling. Check you passenger floor board for wet area. See if when its running hot if the cooling fans run(still may have head gasket blown). Test cooling temp switch. Confirm water pump is good. Does temp gauge go up then down as its running hot or does it continue to rise and rise never going back down until you cut it off for a rest. Flush cooling system if its been a while. Catalytic Converter clog possible. If running hot see if exhaust manifold is glowing orange or red. Any puddles under the vehicle. Cold spots on the radiator indicate a bad/corroded unit. Bottom radiator hose cold/top hose hard to squeeze indicated bad/stuck closed thermostat. Top hose never hard/easy to squeeze is stuck open thermostat, temp sensor bad possibly. A/c may need charged also a/c cooling fan may not be working, bad relay or switch(should come on when a/c comes on).
enginecreator answered 7 years ago
Did you leave it with them to do the work or were you present when work was done?
To the individual's whom posted and shared these amazing troubleshooting tips, I am amazed and grateful. Directly, I would like to reply to these answer's. However, as a newbie with my only source of transportation very ill, I've yet to coordinate that task. But I will, this site and it's users are a valuable connection and resource....Thank-you. PS The repair of my Camry, I'll be sure to post and share.
EngineCreator, Gradually, I am working through the trouble shooting tip's that you had graciously extended to me. I've discovered that the anti-freeze is leaking. Once the anti-freeze was restored, my car regained it's heating system and normal readings with the temp. gauge. However, the anti-freeze is leaking. The color is pink. It's dripping in the driver's side front quarter of the engine. The dripping land's (fairly) close to the driver's side front tire. I'm hoping it's the *lower cooling hose?
enginecreator answered 7 years ago
It may be dripping & going down on the radiator lower support, and going toward the left front tire if its close to radiator or leaking from radiator or spraying that direction. I use a telescopic magnet with a adjustable mirror and flash light to look in tight places, Most auto parts stores sell the telescopic mirrors, may help to locate it.