Need Help with 1990 Toyota Camry

Need Help with 1990 Toyota Camry

by Nfidel | Published on December 12th, 2008, 3:35 pm | Advice

My son's car has a problem I can't diagnose and I was hoping someone at Greensboring would have a magical and easy solution.

The problem is this, once the car has been driven 15- 20 minutes, sometimes the accelerator doesn't effect the engine. That's right, I push the gas pedal and the engine speed doesn't increase, for at least a few seconds. Eventually the engine responds, but as I said, after only a few seconds. Once today I drove through an intersection on the power of the idle speed setting. Even when this doesn't happen, it wants to hesitate when accelerating from a stop, and the engine sometimes jerks (sputters; seems to lose power ) at speed.

I should tell the complete story, though. The car left him stranded in the rain one day. We towed it to a garage. The mechanic told us the only problem he found was that the plugs were wet with fuel ( an obvious flooding problem) and when he installed new ones the car ran fine.

The car drove home fine, but on the way to school my son called to say it was running rough and acting as if it wanted to stall while at cruising speed. We knew one of three screws was missing from the distributor cap, so I cleaned the inside of the cap and replaced the screw. Again, it drove fine until the next day when my son drove it to school. Except for having a too low idle speed and running a little rough, the car seems fine until it's been driven for a while.

The car is 1990 Toyota Camry with a 2000 cc EFI engine and auto transmission. Any ideas folks. I'm the default parts changer and car lender, so I'd like a remedy. I really don't know what I'm equipped to do. I could replace the fuel filter. I could replace the spark plug wires, but they are made onto the distributor cap. The whole thing costs over $60 so I'd rather not spend the money on something that I don't know will fix the problem. There are a bunch of other parts related to fuel injection that could be bad, but these things cost over $250 each. You don't just go replacing parts that expensive on a $500 car. Hopefully I'm missing something obvious. Thanks for reading this far.

My guess: Check the distributer (try to turn it) is it loose? (was the hold down screw the "screw" you're referring to? If so, reset timing with a timing gun....

else...

I'm not a huge expert on Toyota but I'm thinking you can pull your own codes.... assuming you haven't already, I'd pull any error codes first: (TPS, would be my first guess.)

http://www.off-road.com/toyota/tech/codes/

If that doesn't work visit a auto-store, they generally do it for free. I'm working backwards to keep it as cheap as possible....

Assuming it's not a sensor, etc... fouling out the plugs....

I'd assume it's spark related. Borrow a spark tester or manually test (you can get creative on that one) each wire.... If the cap and distributor isn't wet or loose then I'd probably take your ignition coil in to be tested (though testing them isn't full-proof)

Check out the ignition system, it's easy - especially after dark. If the plug leads or distributor cap needs replacing you'll see sparks flying everywere.

I suspect fuel rather than spark though. This sounds very like fuel starvation. A clogged fuel filter won't prevent the engine from flooding but it will stop you accellerating through junctions or going up hills and the symptoms can be intermittent. They are cheap and usually easy to replace. Water in the fuel can cause bizzare problems. Add some methanol (methyl hydrate) to the gas tank

Just to throw a third avenue into the queue..... could be a plugged catalytic converter too....

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll try them all this weekend. I don't know how to test the converter, though. I did check that exhaust was exiting the the system. It was, but I can't say how much. Thanks to you both.

Just remember,

"All you people that buy all your Toyotas and send that money to Japan, you know, when you don't have a job to make your Toyota car payment, don't come crying to me," Welch says in the ad. "All those cars are rice ready. They're not road ready."

Smooches,

O.C. Welch

http://greensboring.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=9561

Funny thing is... Toyota is pratically GM as is... kind of ironic.

You haven't been driving it on Payne Road, have you?

AwaitingUserName wrote:You haven't been driving it on Payne Road, have you?

It's my son's car, but no I don't think so.

Ok in order here
1. Check brakes for dragging
2. Check for Engine Vacuum leaks
3. Check for a clogged air filter
4. Pull Diagnostic Trouble codes and troubleshoot any problems (Auto Zone or Advance will pull the code for free but then try to sell you a part)
5. Check ignition system
6. Check ignition timing
7.Check fuel pressure- 31-37psi idle 38-44psi under load.
8. Check for clogging injectors
9. Check for malfuntioning sensor (May be detected in step 4)

Just from what you wrote my best guess would be
1-Mass airflow sensor
2-Throttle position sensor
3- Engine coolant tempature sensor
3-Fuel Pressure regulator

A clogged converter will most times allow the engine to rev up ok in park or N, but when you drive it the vehicle can't get over 20mph. It sounds like there is too much fuel being injected. If a sensor is giving the wrong information to the ECU it will inject as programed. Extra fuel hitting the converter will melt the substrate and eventually clog it. Check the air intake system to make sure no air is getting to the engine without the airflow sensor picking it up- holes in the rubber parts or a sucking sound around the intake system. That vehicle has a VANE type airflow meter (if memory serves). Look down into the sensor and see if it is propped open or stuck in one place. It should be a little door that is spring loaded and should move freely when you push on it- air going into the engine opens the door a calibrated amount and the sensor is read by the ECU. If it runs good when cold then crap after warmup I would suspect the temp sensor as a cold engine requires more fuel but if the ECU sees it cold all the time it will dump a lot of fuel when the engine doesn't need it. The TPS tells the ECU how much the throttle plate is open and determines fuel injection requirements based on it as well as many others. Without having DTCs, sensor input values, and driving the vehicle myself, that is the best I can dude.

Thanks for the detailed diagnostic list Jack. I don't have some of the tools needed to perform a lot of the tests, though, and not enough knowledge for some others. We just now took it back to the mechanic, giving the specific detail that the problem would not occur until the engine was warm.

I found a problem on my own while under the hood earlier today. I don't know what bearing it will have on the car's overall performance problems. There is some kind of vacuum controlled thing that I think controls the idle speed. It seemed strange to me that the end of it never contacted the throttle mechanism that the cable is attached to. When I removed the vacuum line, the plunger in the end of the idle speed controller extended, contacting the throttle mechanism causing the engine speed to increase and smooth out. I don't know if this part is bad, or the big expensive part the vacuum line attaches to is bad. I guess the mechanic will know. I've made him aware of this problem also. What do you guys think? And thanks again you bunch of grease monkeys.

That sounds like the idle speed (Idle Air) control valve. They can get sticky with age and can be cleaned or replaced.

The IAC should show on the check engine codes I would think...

Nfidel wrote:There is some kind of vacuum controlled thing ...

On your car or the Toyota?

Jack Aubrey wrote:
Nfidel wrote:There is some kind of vacuum controlled thing ...

On your car or the Toyota?

I was talking about the Toyota still.

In Detroit, they shut down the factories (the ones that are left there) for nearly a month. Toyota, seeing their first operating loss since 1950, seems to have a slightly different way of handling tough times. Makes you wonder how this management team has stayed in place all these years, what with not making stock value the only criterion for "success."

I thought they just practiced that Toyota dance move where you jump in the air and clap your ankles.

it could be the mas airflow censor over the air filter it will do all of what you are saying the first thing i would do is take it off make sure the little door in there moves free and clean it with parts cleaner not carb cleaner if that doesn't work you should check the coil it is under the distributor cap it can leak jell out, crack, and retard the timing a little this would also cause this or the timing belt could have jumped a tooth and caused it but i've only seen that once in ten years if those things are good i would change the mass airflow censer i hope this helps thanks for being a real dad to your son it is a rare thing these days

Hi! im from Venezuela! my english is very bad but I need your help.
I have a Toyota camry 90 LE
the problem is this:
I had a lot time parked, i turn the car and when i try put the car in drive or retro, does not respond, only serves the neutral, what is the problem??
I need your help as soon as possible! thanks!
Carlos Manrique

Check the fluid in the torque converter

hi i also have a 1990 toyota camry dlx 4 cyl the symtoms were the same but the coil was melted and the efi fuse was blown. so i replaced the coil and the rotor button put it back in and wont start. turns over but no fire????

jkooldude22 wrote:hi i also have a 1990 toyota camry dlx 4 cyl the symtoms were the same but the coil was melted and the efi fuse was blown. so i replaced the coil and the rotor button put it back in and wont start. turns over but no fire????

Bad wire, shorting out the car's ground?????

I have a 1990 toyta camry2000L,and when the checkeng. light pops on,i loose powereven at 65mlsph

Buy an OBD-II code reader and find out what the code is. Then look it up Lots of things could cause your symptoms.

What AP said... and/or...

The first step would be to find out why the check engine light is on, this can be done by locating the diagnostic connector under the hood then putting a jumper wire between terminals TE1+E1 with the key on, the check engine light will flash the trouble code, it's a two digit code (one blink followed by two would be a code 12) and so on, after the codes are known let me know what they are. cite