Why does my car die when I give it gas??? ('89 V6 LE)

[Cochese23]

Ok, so my "great deal" hasn't turned out to be such (paid $750 for this car). My newest problem with my 89 Camry V6 LE is that it doesn't like to move. For example, while sitting outside in South Florida, I try and start it. Usually I can manage that. Sometimes however, it doesn't like to start right up. But when it does start, I'll sit there, put the car in gear, then the RPM's will do their thing, THEN, it either cuts off, or I give it gas, and it cuts off. I've noticed that when the A/C is on, the RPMs are higher, and I have a better chance of moving the car, but shoot, this is annoying!
To make things more exciting, I pulled out of the parking space, and drove a few feet (maybe 30), so that means I was successful going back, and then forward. I get by the guard's little gate thing, then the car dies!!! As luck would have it, I was able to move it the moment a car pulled up behind me, and I didn't have to block anybody from leaving.
Looks like I'll be heading to my friendly local Toyota dealer's service department so they can "diagnose" my problem. But I would like a head's up on what to expect, because I like sounding smart when I go in.

Cheers

[Brian R.]

Get any codes from your computer.

[Bmaintz]

I would check your timing belt, could have slipped a couple of teeth & cause low power & hard starting....
The belts stretch with age & can jump sprokets....
My 87 had this problem, I reset the belt & retensioned... Bob

[Cochese23]

Well, I took my bad boy to the friendly people over at the local Toyota dealership, and the service department told me that I needed a head job (for the car) and a new head gasket and they needed to send the heads out. I also need a different cooling fan and thermostat with yet another gasket.
I am leaning towards the timing belt as being the "power" problem, and this head and gasket thing seems to be the reason behind the overheating. By the way, the radiator is great, but the engine has a leak so it loses pressure. I have no idea if this is BS or spot on, because I'm not too sure how this part of a car works.
Oh, and to fix the head and gasket problem will only run me $2548...plus tax. Guess I didn't get a good deal at $750.

[Brian R.]

Alot of money for a head job.

[joeval]

Just what I was thinking Brian. Heads will usually run between 4 to 6 hundred dollars depening on the condition. But what do you expect from a dealer.

[Cochese23]

I'm just going to get some of that "Mystery Oil" and pour that in. If it works, that's great. If not, I've got an 89 Camry V6 for sale!

[Bmaintz]

An easy way to check your timming belt.....Locate the #1 spark plug wire on the Distributer & mark it with some white chaulk on the wire & the ouuter rim of Dist.... Remove the Dist. cap & lay aside.... Move the flywheel untill you reach Top Dead Center (TDC)...it will be a heavy cut-in line that goes accross the damper pulley(mark this line with white chaulk).... Your Timing marker pointer on the block will have a Zero on it for TDC.... Move the dampner Pulley (clockwise) by hand or a wrench until these marks line up..... Take a look at you Rotar in Distributer, it should point direct at your white chaulk mark or be 180 degrees on other side... If 180 degrees then move damper pulley clockwise untill you reach TDC again... Belt will be OK if it Points direct at your white chaulk mark on Distributer.... You can also take the slack out of the timing belt by loosening the Idler Pulley (has tensioner spring), turn Dampner Pulley a couple of clockwise rotations & retighten the Idler Pulley (have to take off timing belt top cover to do this).... Hope this helps...Bob

[Brian R.]

That was a joke...

[Bmaintz]

What's a joke..... Explain yourself...

[Brian R.]

"That's a lot of money for a head job"

Bad joke.

[Cochese23]

Head jobs are always funny to joke about.

So here's my somewhat related question about overheating... does the reservoir need to have any coolant in it, or can it be empty when the car is "cold?"

Also, the guy at Toyota said to drive fast, as that would keep the engine cooler. He didn't tell me if I should try and keep the A/C on, and if that would detrimentally affect my overheating situation. So should I run the A/C? Please keep in mind that the lows in Miami during the summer are the low 80's.

[Brian R.]

Reservoir should always have coolant in it. Normally there is a "Hot" line where the level is supposed to be when the engine is at normal operating temperature.

Running the A/C will cause the engine to need more cooling. To help your engine keep cool, turn off the A/C.

[animal401]

New head gaskets, manifold gasket, rad., dist. cap, plug wires, plugs,timing belt, tire rotation, no machine work done on heads. $1800.00 Canadian.