Camry always running cold

[Tyler]

Hello, I have a 1999 Toyota Camry with the I-4 2.2 Engine. (5S-FE)

My engine does always seem to run cold for no particular reason. I noticed that it happened slowly over the course of months the car would run a bit colder and just a little more cold next week. I Thought the Thermostat was stuck open.
So I just changed it with an aftermarket one. Took it for a test drive and Still the same thing. Replaced it again this time with a new OEM Thermostat. It helped a bit more but still much too cold. Other things I have done is check the Coolant Temp sensors. I have 2 of them One is for the ECU and one is for the Gauge on the Instrument cluster. Both appear to read the same. ECU says it runs about 145-160F.
I took an inferred thermometer to the engine and I get almost the same reading. My heat also does not work that great. In Traffic everything is nice and warm and great.
Im at a loss of what I need to do. Cooling fans Turn on as they should at 205F and turn off around 190. I threw cardboard in the Rad and that has helped a lot.
Thanks for any help provided

Things I have Done:
Removed Air In cooling System twice
Changed Thermostat (New OEM is Installed)
Checked Coolant Temp Readings
Compared Coolant Readings to Actual Engine Temp
Checked Fan Relays
Cardboard in Rad.
Changed Coolant temp Sensors with known working
Checked for Codes Stored and Found none
Using 50/50 ish Collant Mix
Checked make sure belt is going right way
Removed Thermostat and saw Further Temp drop

This Video should be Helpful too.

Topic

[Nick]

had this same issue with a chevy s10 we fixed our issue by replacing the radiator which had a small crack. the crack was letting air in which kept the coolant from building up pressure like it should. might not be your particular problem but id look for a small leak somewhere

[Daniel]

Ok….. list EVERY single thing you have done to the car in the last year. EVERYTHING! Cause we are missing some critical piece of evidence.

[Tyler]

Hmm…Alright. I’ll do my best.

4 Oil Changes
1 Transmission Fluid Change
4 New Tires
Refinished Rims
Brake Fluid Change
Got A/C Tested
Coolant Flush (Drained Block and Refill)
Fixed 2 small Vacuum Leaks
Sealed Oil Leak From the Crankshaft. (If you Don’t know the 5S-FE They Replaced the Distributor cap with Coil pack and just plugged the hole)
Replaced coolant line going TO the Heater Core (From it Swelling from above oil leak)
Installed LED backlit Doorhandles (Everything?)
Added 2000W Infinity 15″ Subwoofer
LED Cupholders!
Lexus ES300 Instrument Cluster Swap
Increased idle RPMs from 500ish to 1000RPM

No major work was Done to the car. (maybe the Crank leak might count) But I believe that’s it.

I was Fliping through my Phones Videos and I have a Video from around November and I just happen to be driving and I notice that my Engine was running cold then But only a LITTLE. Like the gauge was down only a little bit. The Video was shot on Nov, 5 and it was 40F that day.

Tomorrow is Saturday, Just so Im thorough, I will Swap both coolant sensor with my Friend from his Camry. I would like to thank Toyota for making it one bolt. =)

[Tyler]

Swapped Senors and Still runs just as cold so unless someone else has something to add we can let this thread die.

[Daniel]

Sorry bud. I’m out of ideas. If I think of anything I’ll let you know.
If you get it fixed let us know.

[Alan]

Did you install the thermostat bleed hole at 12 o clock?

Did you get it fixed and what was the problem?

I have a 1999 Camry and does the exact same thing.

[Author]

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