5s-fe overheating/coolant problem

[s e y t o n]

searched on this but nobody seemed to have a similar problem.

two days ago i took my car to flush my coolant because when i bought the car in june i noticed the coolant was a little mucky. the shop told me the car is overheating and i shouldnt drive it until i get it fixed. my temp gauge has always been just about half since i bought the car. the day i got it back after the flush, the coolant was slightly above "full" and it was so clean i could see through it. today i checked it and it was all mucky and almost at "low". the temp gauge hasnt changed since i bought the car and i dont know how long its been running like this. all this time ive been under the impression that its been at normal temp. does anybody have any clue as to whats wrong? anything i can do to at least temporarily solve the problem? my mechanic is coming over to check it out tomorrow evening.

Thanks

-Sam

[bronzemaxell]

the coolant in my 99 v6 was green, and i flushed all the green fluid out with a garden hose while the engine was running, and put a pan at the bottom collecting water until fluid coming out pretty clear, then put almost a whole gallon of toyota red coolant in. i was told let the engine run for a while so the fluid circulate, and add more coolant in if needed, then fill the coolant reservior to full, took me nearly 2 hours for a 95% full flush.

[geminimouse]

The coolant in the reservoir usually fluctuates.
What kind of coolant did you use?

[s e y t o n]

The coolant in the reservoir usually fluctuates.
What kind of coolant did you use?

prestone. a little over a gallon.

the coolant in my 99 v6 was green, and i flushed all the green fluid out with a garden hose while the engine was running, and put a pan at the bottom collecting water until fluid coming out pretty clear, then put almost a whole gallon of toyota red coolant in. i was told let the engine run for a while so the fluid circulate, and add more coolant in if needed, then fill the coolant reservior to full, took me nearly 2 hours for a 95% full flush.

i had it professionally done at a shop.

[TadS]

That sounds like that temp gauge is sitting about where it should be. I know that mine sits at half all the time (since I got the car new), so I would think about taking it to Toyota because it sounds like a fishy bit of information you got there.

[Solaradude]

That sounds like that temp gauge is sitting about where it should be. I know that mine sits at half all the time (since I got the car new), so I would think about taking it to Toyota because it sounds like a fishy bit of information you got there.

yea maybe they didnt mix it right?

[Jai_Jai_Binks]

for a 5s its right. Just add more distilled water to the resivor. and guage it every morning for the first week. This doesn't happen on my imz's but just on my 5s. I know what your talking about. (for some reason, the imz engine runs more cooler in temp guage than a 5s). Both my imz's operate at SLIGHTLY BELOW half, my solara operates DEAD on half (same was for my 5s celica). If the temp starts jumping then thats when you investigatge more..right now, just pop ur hood and add more distilled water.

[s e y t o n]

had my (toyota certified) mechanic check it out today and turns out theres nothing wrong with the car, its not even overheating. he did say that the shop did not properly flush the engine. the coolant turned mucky and the level was low because there were air bubbles and it wasnt flushed out 100%. so after a few days of driving, the bubbles got out of the system and the old coolant mixed in with the new. he said that the 5s-fe is tricky to flush and a lot of places dont know the proper techniques to fully flush the engine, mainly the head. so for everybody with a 5s-fe, my mechanic highly recommends flushing at a toyota specialist because most places dont do a proper flush. i was kinda shocked cuz this engine is so common, theres a whole bunch of 5s camrys and solaras and celicas and i dont know what other toyotas have it. but anyway, i got it done at a unocal 76.. can i take it back and tell them what happened? will they do anything? they had the nerve to tell me that my car was overheating because they didnt do a good job.

[onefiend]

I actually did my coolant flush this morning by myself, its my second time doing it. It wasnt to hard, but after thinking I filled it up all the way I drove around the block and my car's temp guage started rising above half, so I pulled over and opened the hood to find that all the coolant/water was being sucked from the reservoir, it needed more coolant/water, so I went back to the garage filled it up while still running, and all through out the day the car ran great with no problems, the temp. guage needle is sitting right below half-way point.

how much would a coolant flush service cost at a gas station or jiffylube? I try to avoid paying for services that I can do myself, I'd change my own oil, but thats too much work.

[s e y t o n]

how much would a coolant flush service cost at a gas station or jiffylube? I try to avoid paying for services that I can do myself, I'd change my own oil, but thats too much work.

i was going to do it myself, i had already bought the coolant and everything.. but my dad found a coupon from the 76 station thats a few blocks away from my house for $30. shops usually charge around $70-80.. toyota dealers charge $100.

[Jai_Jai_Binks]

5s guys...ALWAYS top off the resivor when doing the coolant flush. and ALWAYS have an extra gallon of distilled water in the trunk for the first week. (i've had my 13 yr old celica with a 5s) and now my solara 5s. YES, the airpockets. (or whatever you call it) is common on the 5s..but if you add extra water..and when it sucks it off..at least you have more to add (cus' not all of us are next to our garages). GL.

[Parke10]

i was going to do it myself, i had already bought the coolant and everything.. but my dad found a coupon from the 76 station thats a few blocks away from my house for $30. shops usually charge around $70-80.. toyota dealers charge $100

They charge $100!?! they only charge like $45-50 here

[Parke10]

i was going to do it myself, i had already bought the coolant and everything.. but my dad found a coupon from the 76 station thats a few blocks away from my house for $30. shops usually charge around $70-80.. toyota dealers charge $100

They charge $100!?! they only charge like $45-50 here

[bronzemaxell]

i was going to do it myself, i had already bought the coolant and everything.. but my dad found a coupon from the 76 station thats a few blocks away from my house for $30. shops usually charge around $70-80.. toyota dealers charge $100

They charge $100!?! they only charge like $45-50 here

i spent $15 buying a gallon of toyota red antifreeze, but the quality of work doing my self is much higher than going to shop/professionals in my opinion. my friend who is a mechanic told me most shop just full drain and fill the coolant, they do not have the leisure to spend hours flushing til all old coolant out. while i let my engine running, radiator plug was unplugged, and continuouly fill in water with garden hose till i see pretty much clear water coming out from radiator.