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Old 12-01-2003, 08:54 AM   #1
jsinton
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Advanced 88 Camry Problem

I have an 88 Camry DOHC 4 cyl. Over time (the problem has gotten progressively worse) there is a loss of power when given gas. It starts and idles nicely, but upon giving it the gas just doesn't have power. Here is a list of things I have tried:

Replaced fuel filter.
Replace Cap, wires, rotor, spark plugs.
Replaced timing belt with new kit.
Played with timing.

I suspect fuel system, but these units are generally quite reliable. Any suggestions?
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Old 12-01-2003, 08:58 AM   #2
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Re: Advanced 88 Camry Problem

Would a bad distributor or bad coil cause this condition?... Hrm.. maybe not because my car was just stalling. Did you swap out the plugs? Maybe you're having problems with the spark? Maybe you have a bad plug or something? You don't have any exhaust leaks do you? I just recently had my car serviced and not 5 minutes later my Y PIPE cracked and I had to get a new one. I had NO lowend power until the new one was put on and it sounded like a tractor. Wish I had something for you that you could grab onto and run with. Good luck.
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Old 12-01-2003, 09:08 AM   #3
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No, this does not work like an electrical problem. If it were electrical, it would probably not idle and start well. In any event, I have replaced all plugs, wires, etc. Also I have a completely new exhaust. It starts and sounds wonderful when it is just sitting there. But if you go to Florida with it (as I did last week) it has a top speed of 55 mph (going downhill with the wind to your back.) Today I don't think it will make it up the hill out of the neighboorhood. Anyway, thanks for trying.
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Old 12-01-2003, 01:00 PM   #4
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Re: Advanced 88 Camry Problem

Top speed of 55? Sounds to me like you're running on 2 cylinders! But hey I'm not a mechanic by any means. I sure hope you get your problem resolved. I almost gave up on mine.. loan was approved.. and I was going to trade it in when I finally got it to start running right.
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Old 12-02-2003, 08:22 AM   #5
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Re: Advanced 88 Camry Problem

Get computer diagnostics and stop wasting time and money on guessing. Something that wrong will show up with the diagnostic test.
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Old 12-28-2004, 03:14 PM   #6
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Re: Advanced 88 Camry Problem

Well, turned out the problem was not so advanced after all...

I'm sorry, looks like I failed to include my story. It's a really good one. Here's what happened:

My parents bought my 88 Camry wagon direct from Japan in Guam, drove it in the Philippines, then finally shipped it to the USA (important clue!) I finally got it when it was kinda used up. It never really ran right, always seemed kinda slow, but it still ran to Florida from Maryland well enough. One time in South Carolina, I started it up, and there was a faint "clunk" and suddenly it had no power. I drove on I95 about 400 miles that day at 45 to 50 mph (top speed) and made a lot of people mad, etc. all the way back to Maryland.

Ok, so what was wrong? I checked all the obvious things, I'm kinda proactive at changing parts, so I was confident in my machine. But I couldn't figure this out. Automotive Forums was no help.

Finally I took it to the mechanic, and he discovered the innards of the catalytic converter (CC) had completely deteriorated and collapsed, blocking the exhaust from escaping. It was caused by my parents driving it around the Philippines, where they still had REAL leaded gas, which toasted the CC. He cleaned out the guts of the CC and it ran like a rocket (ok, not really but you get the picture.)

Another interesting note is the performance of the CC in reducing the 3 major components of pollution. I got the acid tests to prove how good the CC is. When I had my Maryland emissions test done with NO innards in the CC I scored about 30% higher then the state's acceptible levels in NO2, CO2, and Hydrocarbons. I was forced to replace my CC. When I did replace it, it ran better, and there was no loss of power. When I had the emissions test done, the CC was a whopping 99% effective in NO2, 95% effective in CO2, and 90% in hydrocarbons in respect to pollution removal. I never would have believed it would be so effective.

I believe now we should put CC's on anything that burns gas, they work so good.

Thanks for reading and have a nice day
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