Ran over curb, Exhaust system pulled out from header

I ran over a parking curb with my 98 camry le. Once it got done ripping the heck out of my undercarriage I assesed the damage. From what I can see there are only 2 things wrong. The exhaust system was pulled backwards and the expansion pipe is completely expanded. The sensor (or whatever it is) behind the catylitic converter was ripped out.

There seems to be no damage to the header, the cat, or muffler. It just pulled everything backwards enough to sever the wire connected between the cat and the muffler.

Problem is that it will not start now. Is there a kill switch that may have gotten jolted? Does this unknown sensor have to be connected? With a little blood and sweat I can get the piping back in place and it will be as good as new.

Why isnt it starting.

The engine turns over and all my electrical seems to be working.

I'd really appreciate the help as I am in desperate need of my car this week. Wife is going to the doctor for sonigram on Monday.

The only sensor that is attached to the exhaust system is the Oxygen sensor. I really doubt that this would have anything to do with the car not starting, although it would greatly decrease your gas mileage. It's possible that maybe something else was damaged underneath the car that you haven't yet found, or couldn't see.

yotatechie04 is correct; the sensor you have pulled out is the rear O2 sensor (assuming it's a 4 cylinder). Toyota refers to it as "bank 1 sensor 2. It shouldn't effect whether the car starts or not. Look for something else. Incidently, I just replaced that rear sensor on my 98 4 cylinder and the price of the sensor alone was $138 from the dealer. If it is still intact and the wires are ripped, I would try doing a good job of splicing all 4 wires back together and sealing them properly and trying to reuse it.

Good luck with the problem.

Mike

Thanks for the info. I still haven't been able to give it an extreme look over. I did check the oil and it smelled of gas bad. Figured it was flooded while trying to start the vehicle. I will look into it more. Is there a factory kill switch on the 98 Toyota camry? and yes it is the 2.2 4 cyl. I just hope that there was no internal engine damage. If I can't get it fixed today then its off to the shop for a diagnose. I just wished I didn't have to have it towed there. Is there a way to get engine light blink codes or beep codes from the 98 camry?

Another thought. Could the impact of the curb have caused the engine to jump time? If so how could I tell?

There is no kill switch that I know of. I would check for other bits of wiring that may have been pulled out. Incidently, the connector for that rear O2 sensor can be accessed by putting the driver's seat all the way forward and looking/reaching in to the cutout for the heat that is aimed at the feet of the rear seat passengers. That's as good of a place to start looking as any I can think of. I wouldn't think that the wires being torn apart there would keep it from starting, but you never know. You can try splicing those wires back together and see if it starts.

Mike

how about your fuel line. the feed coming off the fuel tank to your engine. Is it still intact or has it been jerked off. This are hold together by just a pressure clamp and in time the clamp would have rusted.....

Checking all of your leads tomorrow. Thanks for all the information. I will post back on what it was.

Thanks for all your help. When the O2 sensor wire was ripped out it shorted a fuse. This fuse caused the car not to start. Replaced the fuse and everyhting is running good again and now I can focus on that sirrius radio that I have been looking at.

Thanks again,
I will be sure to keep this site in my favorites

Glad to hear you got it fixed and that it was something easy and cheap to repair. For future reference for all of us here, what fuse was it?

Mike

It was the EFI fuse. It was causing no spark to Engine. Hope that can help someone in the future.