84 Camry Issues

[ssdd]

Faulty temp. gauge pegs above the red line after running only a few minutes. It will often drop back to norm in a split second & go back up just as fast. Then it will have days at norm. until you hit a bump, all while running at norm. temp. o.k. for cooler months; then on a short trip, no warning (bad gauge) antifreeze hit the windshield. stopped right away & topped off the h2o. the fans weren't running so unplugged switch so both would run all the time & let it cool. A few miles later the oil light went on. Stopped added more h20, checked oil, then hit the next station. Nothing in the overflow & h20 way down. Oil level full & no sign of water. Cooled, got it home, changed the radiator cap & thermostat. Oil lt. stays on but drove it for an hr. + checking every 10 min. for overheating & had no problem. the last 5 mls. home parked & there came the steam from the engine compartment. h20 way down, oil still full with no h20 in it & oil lt. still on. What to do, what to do???

[Chris_Camry]

I take it you have checked for leaks and there are none?? Woiuld have though if it was a leak losing that much water you would see puddles under the car.

If not are you getting any steam out of the exhaust?? Headgasket can go and just evaporate the water without it getting into the oil.

I would start with a compression test me thinks to rule out the gasket

[ssdd]

I take it you have checked for leaks and there are none?? Woiuld have though if it was a leak losing that much water you would see puddles under the car.

If not are you getting any steam out of the exhaust?? Headgasket can go and just evaporate the water without it getting into the oil.

I would start with a compression test me thinks to rule out the gasket

Someone told me I could have a small gasket leak that is just pushing pressure into the water system without swapping oil or water one way or the other. Would be nice if the temp. gauge was reliable ! Drove 1 mile & it climbed stesdily to hot (2 or3 min.) but didn't spike above hot as is typical; but I didn't boil over. The oil light problem seems to have fixed itself, it's out now. I'll do the compression test & see if Ican hook up some kind of temporary temp. gauge.

ps: NO puddles, leaks, exhaust steam, oil with h20, & plugs are dry. Thanks for your input & ideas, they are appreciated.