95 Toyota Camry problem

[uffdapete]

First a little backround because it may be relevant to the problem. 4 months ago our 95 Camry (4 cyl/auto) t-boned a 1/2 ton pickup that didn't stop for a stop sign in town. The Camry was travelling approx. 20 mph and was still drivable although the driver's door didn't open more than a few inches and the hood was pushed up a 4-5". Got a satisfactory insurance settlement and also fixed it enough to get back on the road - new left front fender and hood. Found out within 100 miles the radiator had a small leak that was resolved with a can of stop leak.

3 weeks ago it began randomly starting hard and then sometimes stalling when putting it in drive or reverse. By starting hard I mean cranking it for 30 seconds or more and then, or after a few attempts like that, it will start to fire and it might keep running if you baby the accelerator. That's usually followed by hesitating and coughing if accelerating anything beyond very gradual. I emphasize this is all quite random. It will run okay for a 1-4 days and then start hard and stall a few times. A local, reliable mechanic in town didn't find anything testing it so drove it 3 miles in town and 6-7 on the hwy and of course it ran fine. He suggested a couple trying a couple different things to try and get a hint at the problem. Thinking it might be bad fuel or water in the tank I added isopropyl a couple different times, a fresh tank of gas and also tried turning the ignition on and off 4-5 times before starting it. Those attempts haven't turned up or changed anything.

If not just putting $ in new tires, struts, front coil springs, brakes and rotors in the last 18 months I'd just junk it and move on. At 190,000 miles it has showed no signs of imminent death - doesn't use oil, gets good mpg (30-33 hwy), tranny is solid and starts and runs very good, be it at 90 above or -40. I don't think this is that much of a problem but am currently stumped and don't wish to sink much into finding what the problem is. If I knew $300 would fix it okay but don't want to spend $500 to experiment.

Any experience with a similar vehicle and problem or suggestions?

[Jeremy airjer W]

When it does it again shut it off and check for condensation in the distributor cap. At least i think the 95 still has a distributor.

When its running fine spray the distributor cap with a spray bottle and see if the symptoms appear. Also hit the spark plug wires to see if there leaking as well.

[trolloni]

fuel pump ,fuel pressure regulator, or fuel filter id start there first its easiest.

[uffdapete]

Thanks for the input.

The mechanic did test the fuel pressure and said that was good. Assume that test was done in front of the fuel pump and filter, ruling those out, but will check with the guy for sure.

Will follow through on the distributor suggestions.

I took it for a 20 mile drive tonight and found one consistent problem. It will accelerate only slowly at any speed. It did seem to run better if I kept the overdrive off or in a lower gear keeping the rpm's up. Also usually doesn't like to idle very well after driving at hwy speeds. A couple times it killed and started hard but it seemed to help if it idled in neutral for a bit.

BTW I did learn an important lesson along the way with this vehicle, not related to any of the issues above. The new struts are very noisy! It sounds like new ones are needed every time it hits nearly any bump. Like most railroad tracks are terrible. The situation I was in at the time didn't leave much choice of shops. A few months later another mechanic checked them over and said the struts were new and working okay, just cheap. From here on when new struts are needed I'll request quality and quiet.

[Ryan_Johnson]

Your hard starting and stalling problem is most likely an efi coolant temp sensor that is bugging out. If you can get it to act up on a scan tool, you'll see the temp reading drop to -30 or something like that and it'll pour fuel in and stall the engine. This also causes the hard start where it will crank and crank, almost starting up but not quite.

The other possibility would be the ignition coil starting to fail.

The noise from your struts is the upper strut mounts. It's a loud crunchy noise over smaller bumps and gets worse over bigger bumps.

If you have a big clunk from the rear end, your sway bar bushings are worn out. If you can grab the swaybar and move it around, replace those bushings.

[Jeremy airjer W]

The mechanic did test the fuel pressure and said that was good. Assume that test was done in front of the fuel pump and filter, ruling those out, but will check with the guy for sure.

A plugged fuel filter would not show up when checking fuel pressure. It may show a decrease in volume if that where checked.

[uffdapete]

The dist cap and rotor are bad for sure. Going to replace the plugs too as it's time and they're looking bad after burning too much gas the last few weeks. Hopefully that's all.

The struts aren't necessarily worse over bigger bumps. They're simply noisier than new struts should be. No clunks from the rear end. They were actually inspected by a team of engineers who work up here during the winter testing Kia and Hyundai vehicles. Guess they won't be using the same brand on their vehicles!

This car paid for itself a long time ago. In terms of maintenance and repairs in 100,000 miles the plugs, brakes, rotors, struts and front coils have been replaced once; a few air filters, one alignment, tires twice and changed oil every 3-4,000 miles. After 2 insurance settlements (accident & hail), depreciation amounts to $1,300 over 6 years. At this point it's more about how many miles can I get out of it until it's no longer cost effective.

[Jeremy airjer W]

We have several customers with over 250k on there camrys. It will be a while before yours expires!

[1johntimm]

I've got a 95 Camry with 235000 mostly trouble free miles on it. Still runs like new but the suspension is pretty bad being it's the original equipment. Gets good mileage and I'm hoping to drive it for a long time!

[uffdapete]

We're at 189,000 - best car I've ever owned. Quietest, easiest starting, fastest to warm up, and among the best gas mileage. I've had 8 other Toys too and have been happy with all of them.

[bak2MN]

I have a 94 just turned it over last weekend to 263,000 miles.

[uffdapete]

Replaced distributor cap & rotor, a bad wire to one of the injectors and plugs. Good for another 100,000.

[uffdapete]

Been driving the Camry regularly since last time on this thread and in fact have put on 8,000 miles. It consistently gets 31-33 mpg hwy but is also consistently not running right. After running 20-40 minutes at 60 mph and slowing down for a reduced speed limit or stop sign it will begin running rough. If it runs at a lower speed for awhile it runs better, but if attempting to accelerate hard without letting it settle at a lower rpm for 5-10 seconds first, it coughs and may kill. It seems if the rpm's stay up (at any speed) it's okay so I downshift when needed to accomplish that. Warmer weather increases the problem, cooler weather decreases it. Yesterday it was 50-60 degrees while running 70-75 (2500-2600 rpm) on I35 and it ran perfect.

Since the last post, the EGR valve has also now been replaced - with no benefit. Was advised to try replacing the throttle position sensor.

I can live with it, but need to sell the car and nobody else would likely want it as is.

Any thoughts?

[1johntimm]

Airjer?

[Jeremy airjer W]

Sounds like secondary ignition to me. You said you replaced the cap, rotor, plugs, but didn't say if you replaced the plug wires?

Secondary ignition problems are usually prevalent under load. That's why we power brake vehicles when checking secondary ignition. At high RPM there is minimal load on the secondary ignition and all is well.

Another thing I have run into is week injectors causing the same problem with the engine under load. More load requires more fuel. If the injector can't deliver than your going to feel it.