camry fuel filter

[y13supio]

hi,
i just changed my fuel filter in my 92 camry 4 cyl. when i was done i started it up and now the check engine light is on. and ONCE it starts once and warmed up you can turn it off and then starts right up. but after it cools down it takes some time turning the motor over until it sounds like it might start. once it starts if you touch the gas it dies. so i have to let it idle for a couple mins (under 500 rpm) then if you flutter the pedal and get the r's up over 2000 it comes back down to where it normally idled. and say i'm doing 60mph and step down on the gas, it just falls on it's face until i come off the gas.

i have the fuel flowing through the filter in proper diretion.

almost forgot... when i was done with the filter and it was running crappy i found the there was a sensor that plugged into the side of the box that houses the air filter was just laying there so i shoved it back where it belongs and that didn't change a thing.

any imput or a direction to procede in would be much appriciated, already missed work today.

Thank You, Jon

[jdmccright]

Check to be sure you didn't unplug the connector to the Idle Air Control (IAC) valve, located just underneath the throttle body (TB) opening. If it is connected, it may need some cleaning. Best way is to remove and clean but it is a bear to remove without removing the whole TB...the Philips screws holding it on are tight!

Start by squirting some carb/fuel injector cleaner into the little squarish hole you can see just in front of the TB's circular butterfly. Let it soak. Meanwhile clean up the TB bore itself and butterfly with more carb cleaner, some rags, and an old toothbrush. The surfaces should be clean and metal grey, not brown or tan, and the butterfly like dull brass. Try to get as far into the intake as you can.

Then start up the car...it won't want to start because of all the carb fluid in there but it will eventually chug to life. Reinstall the intake hose between the filter box and TB. Then squirt some carb cleaner at all the vacuum hose connections. If the engine stumbles, then you've found a vacuum leak where you squirted. Repair or replace that section of tubing.

Hope this helps!

[y13supio]

jdmccright,
thank you for your response. i sprayed carb cleaner and cleaned thebest i could. seemed to work.........kinda. it starts right up now and the check engine light went off. but now i'm right back where i was before i changed the fuel filter. everything will be great when all of a sudden it loses power and giving it gas makes it worse. i find when it does this that i can put it in nuetral and turn the engine off and coast for 30 secs or so and starts right up, i put it in gear and away i go, with no hesitation. then a couple miles down the road it starts all over again. any ideas?

Thank you, Jon

[Mike Gerber]

It would be best to know how many miles are on this car and if it is a no fuel problem or a no spark problem when the car dies and will not restart right away. In any case, here are some things to check:

1. Check the coil inside the distributor for being out of range or for having cracks in it. You will need a digital volt/ohmeter and the specs from any manual to do this. If you don't have a manual you can download the Toyota factory service manual for the generation 3 Camry stickied at the top of this forum's home page. Here is the link: http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbul...d.php?t=497839
You will probably have to remove it from the distributor to check it for cracks.

2. Check the engine coolant temperature sensor for being out of range. Again you will need the digital volt/ohmeter and the manual to do this.

3. Test the fuel pump by checking the fuel pressure. Again, the manual will tell you how to do this.

Mike

[y13supio]

o.k, it started like this....... on day i had run it very low on gas. about 15-20 miles after i put a half tank in it, it started acting just like the fuel filter was clogged. i found that if i stop on the side of the road for a couple mins that it would start right up and i would get about 3-4 miles and it would act like the filter was plugged again. it was late by now and my only objective was to get it back home. i quikly realized that instead of pulling over that when it started to act up again i would throw it in nuetral, turn it off and coast as long as i could, which was 1/2 mile to a mile,i would hit the key and it would start right up and i was good for another couple miles. and then i would start the coasting process all over again. i got it home and figured it was the fuel filter and by turning the motor off all the debris pulled into the filter had a chance to flow back towards the tank, giving me a couple miles befor it worked back up to the filter and clog it again. so i picked up a filter the next day and put it on and went to start it, and it wouldn't start until pumping the pedal while turning it over for 3-5 mins. everything was good after that except when the motor cooled off, like the next morning. then it was back to pumping the pedal and turning it over for 3 minutes or so to start it. i took the advice i received in a reply to my post and cleaned the throttle body and butterfly, which was fairly clean on this side of the butterfly and was black on the other side, so i cleaned the best i could and shot carb cleaner in the square hole right before the butterfly. even with all that raw carb cleaner i hit the key and it fired right up. problem solved right.........wrong. .now it fires right up when i hit the key. i get it out on the road and was pretty stoked that is was fixed. but then just like before it started acting like the filter was plugged again so popped it into nuetral turned it off and coast a little ways down the road. i hit the key and it fired right up. put it in gear and was running like a top. so i'm still having to do the coast thing but not nearly as often as what i have had been. and that puts me right here, right now

it's the 4cyl motor with 280,000 miles on it. i put a tune-up, timing belt, crank seal and cam seal in it about 5000 miles ago. there is a canister right before the fuel filter under the hood that the gas comes right out of that directly into the filter. i don't know what that is or how it works.

changing the cam and crank seals i was hoping to stop an oil leak, but it's still there. i understand there is an "o" ring for the oil pump that may be the problem, is this correct? and is there any other gaskets / seals in there i should change while i have the front of the motor torn off again? and i have already replace the valve cover gasket too.

Thank you, Jon

[Mike Gerber]

Jon,

The oil leak is a separate issue. It is not causing the car to die. I would try to check the 3 things I mentioned above. If I were to take a guess, I would say the coil is the most likely suspect (check for a crack), but check all 3 items I mentioned.

Mike

[y13supio]

o.k. i'll get on the 3 items you have suggested.


just for the record i didn't think for a second that the oil leak had anything at all to do with my current problem, i was just asking around about the "o" ring to see if that is the only thing left to replace as far as possible things that might be leaking oil while i have the front of the engine exposed again.

thank you for your input, suggestions, and ideas. you've been a great help and i will post back when i figure something out.


Jon

[y13supio]

hey Mike,
i got to looking at the coil, like you suggested. having checked prices on fuel pump and coil prior to inspecting the ones on the car, i have to say i was pretty happy when i found a crack in the coil that went from one side to the other, seeing how the fuel pump is $140 more than the coil. so i picked up a new coil and put it in.got it all back together, hit the key and it fired right up. got it out to the road and about 1/4 mile down the road during acceleration the motor fell flat on it's face, exactly how it was reacting with the cracked coil. so i went to pull the fuel pump. 1 of the hoses to the pump just has a clamp on the rubber hose, came off no problem. the other 1 is metal tubing and i can't get that disconnected. i tried both ends, the fitting nearest the pump loosens a little, just enough to where fuel leaks out then it binds up. the end under the tank i can't even break it loose. so the metal tube that comes out from the pump interferres just enough to where i can't manuver the pump out of the tank. so even if i drop the tank i won't be able to disconnect the fuel line without damaging it. i'm not familiar at all with these fuel systems with the relays and regulators and such. most of my experience has been with my 79 Z-28 and 72 K-5 blazer.what i'm having a hard time with is why when i'm driving it if i play with the gas pedal i can keep it running but it jerks around and doesn't get any better until i turn the key off for as little as 15 - 20 secs, hit the key and it fires right up and it accelerates smooth, sounds good , feels like it should. is there componet of the fuel system that when the key is turned off for a few seconds and then back on resets itself? when it does this if i turn the key off and then right back on it remains running like crap, it has to be off for like i said 15 -20 secs. i'm about ready to light my head on fire and put it out with a hammer. i have a feeling that to get the pump out it's gonna get damaged and i'll somehow or another get a new pump, put it in and that wouldn't have fixed the problem so puts me down another $200+ and nothing willl have changed. [bleep], i didn't mean for this to turn into snivell fest 2010. thanks for your help it was smuch appreciated. i wish i had the patience and the funds to figure this out.

Jon

[Mike Gerber]

Jon,

Sorry I haven't responded sooner. I was on vacation and just got back late last night.

This is a strange one. Here are a few more thoughts.

I'm thinking fuel pump too about now, but that's just a guess. It would be nice to know exactly what's happening to the fuel pressure when it's running right and when it dies and won't start. Did you ever get a fuel gage on the fuel rail (like in the manual) to check actual fuel pressure, both when it's running and when it dies? Autozone has a tool loaner program, if you have them in your area. I'm not sure if they loan out a fuel pressure gage, but it might be worth a phone call or 2.

One other thing I can think of is the fuel pressure relay. This is a quick test you can probably do for free, just to rule out the relay. Locate the relay and see if there is another identical relay in the car for another non-critical component. Switch the 2 relays and take it for a ride that way. See what happens.

Did you ever test the engine coolant temperaturre sensor with a digital volt/ohmeter? It may be out of range and causing an overly rich mixture at times. This could flood a warm engine and cause it to bog down.

You also mentioned in your original post that the car threw a check engine light and later went off. Did you try to pull that code, and if so what code was it? If you haven't, get a paper clip and pull that code. It may still be stored in the computer's memory. The procedure is in the manual.

Mike