1984 Toyota Camry / Vista with 1.8l turbo diesel 1C (3 Viewers)

[Mike NXP]

Yeah, I tried replacing that sensor as preventative maintenance, it was easy enough to remove, but the one I ordered on Amazon didn't fit. I'm not sure which one I got. I ended up putting the old one back.

Haven't gotten around to working on the Camry. I ended up just buying a cheap 03 Tdi 5 speed sport wagon that became available in my area.

Now that I've got something to daily I really have to motivate myself to either work on the Camry or sell it.

Ah interesting, I bet I bought the same Amazon junk....There were two options, both from brand new sellers with no reviews shipping from China...I bet there must be other Toyota sensor that would work , may just need to clip the old school circular connectors and replace with new style......I know my fan works so maybe wiring a switch wouldn't be the worst case. Let it do it's thing most of the time but if I saw temps getting high I could switch it on....Not sure yet, still trying to keep all the coolant from leaking out lol then can test everything more....
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Sweet, good find! That must be plenty of fun to drive...Yeah I hear that. I go back and forth on the pros and cons of owning that old Camry , but I tell you what man everytime I fire up that engine and chug along to work I just feel good.. Let the jabronis blow by you doing 80+ in their overpriced vehicles while you just fart along . Best is lining up at red lights with big trucks in snow storms, they r sitting on like monster truck tires with all this gear kitted out lol and then the Camry with studded tires just blows by

 

[Mike NXP]

I ended up canceling the Amazon order for the China knock off sensor. Local Toyota shop claims there may be one available in the nation and are attempting to source it.

Otherwise, I bet I can find a sensor off another model like Tercel or later year Camry and just retrofit the plug to the new connector style. I imagine most of the older sensor are just two wire plugs like I have.

Part of me wishes I never installed the temp gauge, now I've got temp paranoia lol
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Engine temps for my future reference :
Outside air temp - Under 50F
- Idle, heater not running- Seems to stay consistently under 194
- Idle, heater full blast - Cools things down a bit to 180s
- Although I've heard my fan in the past, I haven't heard it kick on at all for these tests
- Cruising under 50mph - Seems to be able to regulate temps and stay under 200

- Heat off.....Once I start creeping up to 55-60mph and hold that for highway driving - Temps climb. I've seen up to 210 before I get worried and crank the heat
- Heat cranking at highway speeds ( 60mph ) - Temps drop a bit closer to 200F but still running too hot for me
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Once the outside air temperature increase I'm sure this will become more of a problem so I hope to sort it out soon. Running the electric fan full time seems like it will wear it out pretty quick right? Installing a switch and constantly monitoring temps / flipping switches also doesn't sound ideal , so I need a real fix

 

[Mike NXP]

I didn't realize the problem could also be the relay or fan motor ( probably not the motor since it was spinning with switch disconnected )

Posting service info below to help with diagnosing :
- Remove switch, set in boiling water, and check for continuity as described below. Should have continuity below 181 and no continuity above 194
- If it all checks out, then move to checking fan relay . Don't want to try and locate that so hopefully its the switch and Toyota can find one

 

[AndyMax]

I ended up canceling the Amazon order for the China knock off sensor. Local Toyota shop claims there may be one available in the nation and are attempting to source it.

Otherwise, I bet I can find a sensor off another model like Tercel or later year Camry and just retrofit the plug to the new connector style. I imagine most of the older sensor are just two wire plugs like I have.

Part of me wishes I never installed the temp gauge, now I've got temp paranoia lol
------
Engine temps for my future reference :
Outside air temp - Under 50F
- Idle, heater not running- Seems to stay consistently under 194
- Idle, heater full blast - Cools things down a bit to 180s
- Although I've heard my fan in the past, I haven't heard it kick on at all for these tests
- Cruising under 50mph - Seems to be able to regulate temps and stay under 200

- Heat off.....Once I start creeping up to 55-60mph and hold that for highway driving - Temps climb. I've seen up to 210 before I get worried and crank the heat
- Heat cranking at highway speeds ( 60mph ) - Temps drop a bit closer to 200F but still running too hot for me
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Once the outside air temperature increase I'm sure this will become more of a problem so I hope to sort it out soon. Running the electric fan full time seems like it will wear it out pretty quick right? Installing a switch and constantly monitoring temps / flipping switches also doesn't sound ideal , so I need a real fix

Definitely want to get the engine running cool, that gauge is worth it.

How does the OEM gauge correlate to the aftermarket one? I am suspicious that the old Yota gauges are very inaccurate which could lead to more frequent overheating events.

Mine also gets warm when pushed and I think it's a worn out water pump.

 

[Mike NXP]

Definitely want to get the engine running cool, that gauge is worth it.

How does the OEM gauge correlate to the aftermarket one? I am suspicious that the old Yota gauges are very inaccurate which could lead to more frequent overheating events.

Mine also gets warm when pushed and I think it's a worn out water pump.

So the dash gauge doesn't tell us much at all. I've seen the temp climb to around 214 before I blasted heat and slowed down a bit and the needle on the dash didn't move. I'm not sure at what point it would spike and hopefully don't ever find out

After a few heat cycles she managed to take in another bit of coolant. Last few drives have been managed under 206-210 but I'm keeping speeds under 60mph and its still not hot outside. Heat is also on most times.

Worn out water pump is an interesting idea, I'd like to get mine replaced at some point......I mean its spinning, coolant is flowing, but temps aren't being regulated right.....Especially since at idle, everything is fine....I wonder if your fan is turning on at 194F like its supposed to be? Without it, I can see how temps struggle to stay in check

My local Toyota claims they have the part on order, if they fail to get it then I'm going to do some research and figure out what other vehicles have this circuit for the electric fan and make the wiring work.

 

[bj70bc]

my 3b will not go over 180 unless i push it hard and its above 70f outside, otherwise never goes over 180...
210 max

 

[Mike NXP]

my 3b will not go over 180 unless i push it hard and its above 70f outside, otherwise never goes over 180...
210 max

good to know, so it seems like I should be able to get temps down lower for sure....I let it just sit around and idle up to about 200+ today with the heat off and the fan refuses to kick on

Also, turned the AC on, can hear compressor kick on and she makes cold air ( eventually ) but that fan doesn't kick on either

But when cruising at highway speeds, I wonder if the fan is even a factor or if like mentioned above maybe the issue is somewhere else in the system like a weak pump or failing thermostat.


I liked it better when I was blissfully unaware of the temps

 

[bj70bc]

water pump would be 2nd after the fan ....
an on off switch would at least tell you if it CAN run in proper temp, if not its more likely the water pump

 

[Mike NXP]

water pump would be 2nd after the fan ....
an on off switch would at least tell you if it CAN run in proper temp, if not its more likely the water pump

Good call. I need to make sense of how to wire a switch and / or just go pull the plug at the bottom of radiator to keep fan on full time to see if it stays cool

 

[CJL5]

good to know, so it seems like I should be able to get temps down lower for sure....I let it just sit around and idle up to about 200+ today with the heat off and the fan refuses to kick on

Also, turned the AC on, can hear compressor kick on and she makes cold air ( eventually ) but that fan doesn't kick on either

But when cruising at highway speeds, I wonder if the fan is even a factor or if like mentioned above maybe the issue is somewhere else in the system like a weak pump or failing thermostat.


I liked it better when I was blissfully unaware of the temps

Just acquired a 1984 turbo-D. 180k miles but most pulled behind a motorhome from what I understand. Have been watching your posts for a few weeks now and have been very helpful. I’m in North Idaho. Runs great but has some things that need a little work. Please keep posting.

 

[Mike NXP]

Just acquired a 1984 turbo-D. 180k miles but most pulled behind a motorhome from what I understand. Have been watching your posts for a few weeks now and have been very helpful. I’m in North Idaho. Runs great but has some things that need a little work. Please keep posting.

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Yayyyy more old diesel Camrys are appearing, and a 1984 so you must have the 1C motor ?

Awesome to see another one. Hows your interior holding up ? What type of work do you think it needs?

 

[CJL5]

Yayyyy more old diesel Camrys are appearing, and a 1984 so you must have the 1C motor ?

Awesome to see another one. Hows your interior holding up ? What type of work do you think it needs?

Yes it has the 1C. Interior is pretty good. Replaced rear seat… old one was torn up. Replaced oil lines to the alternator/vacuum pump because they were both leaking. It seems to be running a bit warm on the original temp gauge so I need to do some more investigating. Temperature wise I think it likes the around town driving more than doing 60 on the highway. Probably will replace the fan temperature switch and clean the radiator.

 

[Mike NXP]

Yes it has the 1C. Interior is pretty good. Replaced rear seat… old one was torn up. Replaced oil lines to the alternator/vacuum pump because they were both leaking. It seems to be running a bit warm on the original temp gauge so I need to do some more investigating. Temperature wise I think it likes the around town driving more than doing 60 on the highway. Probably will replace the fan temperature switch and clean the radiator.

Wild. Yeah I have the same things going on. Managed to get the oil lines to seal up with new copper washers on both sides of banjo bolt / fitting

Where did you find a rear seat , junk yard?

I agree on keep speeds down to keep her happy but like any engine a proper cooling system should keep temps more consistent than what ive been seeing.

I did a highway drive yesterday with heat off and she remained under 200 but its still not that hot outside.

I need to get this fan working as it should which will help.

I parked it when the temp was semi hot yesterday, like 206ish . I let the engine run and went down to remove the temp sensor plug on bottom of radiator. Fan kicked on and it took about 1-2 minutes but temps consistently started drop back down within range

 

[AndyMax]

Wild. Yeah I have the same things going on. Managed to get the oil lines to seal up with new copper washers on both sides of banjo bolt / fitting

Where did you find a rear seat , junk yard?

I agree on keep speeds down to keep her happy but like any engine a proper cooling system should keep temps more consistent than what ive been seeing.

I did a highway drive yesterday with heat off and she remained under 200 but its still not that hot outside.

I need to get this fan working as it should which will help.

I parked it when the temp was semi hot yesterday, like 206ish . I let the engine run and went down to remove the temp sensor plug on bottom of radiator. Fan kicked on and it took about 1-2 minutes but temps consistently started drop back down within range

Seems to be a common theme here.
My research shows that the cooling system on these when new was just adequate enough to keep it cool, with any increased strain resulting in overheating and the head gasket blowing or head cracking. There was a post that I read a while ago of someone remembering their father getting the head gasket replaced four times under warranty before deciding to sell the car back in the 80s/90s.

Have you flushed the cooling system yet?

The 40-year-old radiator and coolant passages probably have some crud in them and could use a good flush with Thermocure and a garden hose. However, I think the best thing would be to remove the radiator and either get a custom one built to a higher standard that still fits in the engine bay or, if you wanna keep the OEM, take it to a radiator shop and get the rods cleaned.

The Nissen‘s radiator that I tried ordering on Amazon still hasn’t shipped and it’s been over three weeks… So it’s probably out of stock.

There’s probably some tuning with the EGR/intake/exhaust as well as auxiliary cooling fans that could be done to remedy its propensity to overheat.

I don’t really trust the OEM fan set up, it just doesn’t seem adequate. By the time it kicks on, its too hot

Seeing as how difficult it’s been to even sell this Camry, I may end up stuck with it, and in that case would just restore it as a piece of diesel history. If I do that, I’m either going to try to revitalize and modify the original cooling system or just have one made aftermarket.
(if anyone is interested in buying my running and driving 2CT Camry in VA, hit me up! lol)

So, TLDR: flush cooling system. If that doesn’t work, remove radiator and have it professionally cleaned or get a new one made for it. Try to rig those fans to function properly either with the OEM temp sensor or just find an aftermarket solution.

Oh, and change that timing belt, and water pump.

 

[CJL5]

Wild. Yeah I have the same things going on. Managed to get the oil lines to seal up with new copper washers on both sides of banjo bolt / fitting

Where did you find a rear seat , junk yard?

I agree on keep speeds down to keep her happy but like any engine a proper cooling system should keep temps more consistent than what ive been seeing.

I did a highway drive yesterday with heat off and she remained under 200 but its still not that hot outside.

I need to get this fan working as it should which will help.

I parked it when the temp was semi hot yesterday, like 206ish . I let the engine run and went down to remove the temp sensor plug on bottom of radiator. Fan kicked on and it took about 1-2 minutes but temps consistently started drop back down within range

I was given the car by my parents. It was sitting for 5 years prior to us getting it up and running again a couple weeks ago. They actually pulled the seat from another Camry in a junk yard years ago. My fans seem to kick on but maybe a little later than they really should. An upgraded radiator would be the ticket if there was one that would easily drop in keep the engine temps lower.

 

[AndyMax]

I was given the car by my parents. It was sitting for 5 years prior to us getting it up and running again a couple weeks ago. They actually pulled the seat from another Camry in a junk yard years ago. My fans seem to kick on but maybe a little later than they really should. An upgraded radiator would be the ticket if there was one that would easily drop in keep the engine temps lower.

I'd love to hear Your parents experience with owning it. Did they ever have head gasket issues? It seems to be the main killer and reason a lot of these cars got scrapped or are sitting off the road.

Any major maintenance he did? I would think after five years sitting and over 100 miles, the injectors might need a little cleaning