91 Camry Sputters

silvanusmoonspirit · #1 05-16-2007, 01:17 AM

I bought a 91 Camry from a friend. It has been well taken care of. It is having an issue, and I hope there is someone that can help. When driving the car at a constant speed, it acts like it is choking on its own exhaust. If you give it gas or let off of the gas, it stops. Occasionally it will do this in idle, but not very often. It has new spark plugs and wires. It also has a new coil and battery. I just bought a new timing belt for it, but have not had it put in yet. Any suggestions on what could be causing this problem?

big_hoovie · #2 05-16-2007, 04:46 AM

Basically there are three things an engine needs to run - air, fuel, and spark.

If you are sure that spark is good, check air(air filter, intake, throttle body, exhaust) and fuel(fuel filter, fuel lines, injectors, fuel in tank)

If after checking those, look into emmissions stuff, such as the PCV and EGR systems.

gl

RIP · #3 05-16-2007, 01:13 PM

I second all of big hoovie's thoughts. Did this problem come on suddenly? If so, the timing belt could have slipped. On your car, basic timing is easy to check with a timing light. Are you seeing a check engine light? Wouldn't hurt to check for codes either way. Vacuum leak, clogged cat converter are a couple other possibilities. Which engine?

silvanusmoonspirit · #4 05-17-2007, 12:02 AM

It is the 2.5 V6. I just bought the car, so I don't know a lot about it. I talked to the owner yesterday, and the only problem she had with it was sensors going out. I have a new PCV valve for it (came with the car), so that is going to be replaced as soon as I get the timing belt put in it. The car has 131,000 miles on it, so I figured it was probably time for a new timing belt anyway. The check engine light isn't on. I also have a new distributor cap for it. The catalytic convertor is new. Could it possibly be the oxygen sensor being bad that is causing the problem?

RIP · #5 05-17-2007, 04:46 PM

Ok. I'll say the problem happened overnight so makes it even more likely the timing belt has slipped. Easy way to find out is, as stated, check the timing with a timing light.

Timing belts should be changed every 60/80K miles. If the original is still in the engine, you're way overdue.

If the oxygen sensor was bad enough to kill the engine, I would think it would generate a code and a check engine light. It can be tested using a multimeter. In anycase, there is a growing consensous that O2 sensors should be changed on a scheduled basis. For your car that would be around every 60K miles. Considering the cost that would be a bit much for me. If the sensor has 100K miles on it, I would think a new sensor would be money well spent. Will it fix the problem? Probably not but, I'm not going to say no.

Which sensors did the previous owner change?

silvanusmoonspirit · #6 08-07-2007, 03:09 PM

I have got the sputtering problem fixed. The distributor, rotor, spark plug wires, and spark plugs all had to be replaced. Car is running awesome. Now I have to get the brakes replaced as they have decided to go out! Wish me luck!

Silvanus

JOET/CAMRY · #7 08-07-2007, 07:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by silvanusmoonspirit

I have got the sputtering problem fixed. The distributor, rotor, spark plug wires, and spark plugs all had to be replaced. Car is running awesome. Now I have to get the brakes replaced as they have decided to go out! Wish me luck!

Silvanus

In your first post on 5-16-2007 you said you had the spark plugs and spark plug wires replaced. did you replace them again?

Was the entire distributer replaced or just the distributer cap?

Which brakes are going out on you back or front?

Regards,
JOET/CAMRY

silvanusmoonspirit · #8 08-08-2007, 12:42 AM

My friend's husband said that he had changed the spark plugs, but there was two he couldn't get to and he never bothered saying any of that. I bought the distributor cap along with a timing belt, but hadn't got it put on at the time of the first message. The rotor/distributor cap were both bad. The mechanic also replaced the spark plugs/spark plug wires.

As far as the brakes are concerned, I am not sure what is going on with them yet. My friend's husband said he changed those too, but I wouldn't count on it. I was driving home from work, there was no pressure to the brake petal. It went to the floor and barely came to a stop. Checked the brake fluid, it was fine. I will keep you posted on what happens.

JOET/CAMRY · #9 08-08-2007, 07:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by silvanusmoonspirit

My friend's husband said that he had changed the spark plugs, but there was two he couldn't get to and he never bothered saying any of that. I bought the distributor cap along with a timing belt, but hadn't got it put on at the time of the first message. The rotor/distributor cap were both bad. The mechanic also replaced the spark plugs/spark plug wires.

As far as the brakes are concerned, I am not sure what is going on with them yet. My friend's husband said he changed those too, but I wouldn't count on it. I was driving home from work, there was no pressure to the brake petal. It went to the floor and barely came to a stop. Checked the brake fluid, it was fine. I will keep you posted on what happens.

Thanks for posting back. on the 6 cylinder Camry engine the 3 spark plugs located torwards the back of the engine (against the firewall) are hard to get to but thats no reason not to replace them.

oh well. at least your car is running good now.

As far as the brakes are concerned I would guess their is air in the lines or if the rear brakes were replaced they were not adjusted properly. that could be the reason the brake pedal went to the floor.

Please post back and let us know how you made out.

Regards,
JOET/CAMRY

Mike Gerber · #10 08-08-2007, 10:08 AM

The most common reason the brake pedal goes to the floor is a defective brake master cylinder. It no longer holds pressure. It must be replaced or rebuilt. This is not something you want to wait to have fixed. Take it to your mechanic ASAP.

Mike

JOET/CAMRY · #11 08-08-2007, 06:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike Gerber

The most common reason the brake pedal goes to the floor is a defective brake master cylinder. It no longer holds pressure. It must be replaced or rebuilt. This is not something you want to wait to have fixed. Take it to your mechanic ASAP.

Mike

You are probrally 100% right on this diagnosis Mike. In my previous post I said it could be air in the brake lines or if the rear brakes were replaced the adjustment for the rear brakes (shoes) might not adjusted right. come to think of it, neither would cause the brake pedal to go to the floor.

my bad.

Regards,
JOET/CAMRY

Mike Gerber · #12 08-09-2007, 02:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JOET/CAMRY

You are probrally 100% right on this diagnosis Mike. In my previous post I said it could be air in the brake lines or if the rear brakes were replaced the adjustment for the rear brakes (shoes) might not adjusted right. come to think of it, neither would cause the brake pedal to go to the floor.

my bad.

Regards,
JOET/CAMRY

Not to worry. I just mentioned the most common cause. There can also be others, like dragging brakes caused by a stuck front or rear caliper or a rear e-break cable not retracking. These 2 would overheat the brakes, eventually causing the brake fluid to boil and then compress when the pedal is pressed. Air in the lines can also cause this, but air does not get into the lines for no reason at all. It gets there from disconnecting a hydraulic component and not properly bleeding the system. Air can also get in to the system from a leaky hydraulic component, that eventually leaks so much that air enters through the now too low level of fluid in the master cylinder.

Mike

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