1988 Camry won't start...no threads to help yet

[pixie123]

Hi....I own a 1988 Toyota Camry and have owned it since birth. The car has been maintained and there have been no major problems with it. A couple of weeks ago, I went to the car and it wouldn't start. Not an uncommon problem so I hear. Problem is that everyone who has posted here that has had starting problems all have no spark or something to that effect. I have spark, it's getting fuel, battery is working fine. It turns over when you start it, but doesn't "catch". I have spent hours in this forum looking for suggestions, and none apply to this situation. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I live in the country and have been stranded here for a while now.....lol.

[JOET/CAMRY]

Originally Posted by pixie123

Hi....I own a 1988 Toyota Camry and have owned it since birth. The car has been maintained and there have been no major problems with it. A couple of weeks ago, I went to the car and it wouldn't start. Not an uncommon problem so I hear. Problem is that everyone who has posted here that has had starting problems all have no spark or something to that effect. I have spark, it's getting fuel, battery is working fine. It turns over when you start it, but doesn't "catch". I have spent hours in this forum looking for suggestions, and none apply to this situation. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I live in the country and have been stranded here for a while now.....lol.

Hello pixie123,

the timing belt could have broke. to check this take the distributer cap off and turn the engine over. if the rotor (under the distributer cap) turns then the belt didn't break. it could have slipped a few teeth which might cause the car not to start.

Regards,

JOET/CAMRY

[pixie123]

Thanks....will check it out. That would be sucky, but at least i know what the problem would be.

[RIP]

You said you have spark. If thats the case your timing belt is not broken. Spark is transfered from the coil to your spark plugs/wires via the rotor. Since you have spark you already know the rotor is turning. What turns the rotor? The camshaft via the timing belt being driven by the crankshaft.

As was stated your timing belt may have slipped, throwing your timing off. The only way to confirm a slipped belt is (since you can't start) to pull the timing belt cover off and check the alignment of the camshaft/crankshaft timing marks with the rotor pointing at the #1 spark plug wire position. If they don't align, the belt has slipped and you need to replace it.

[typesix]

You say it doesn't catch. Will it start if you crank it, pause for several seconds and try again a second or third time?

[JOET/CAMRY]

Originally Posted by RIP

You said you have spark. If thats the case your timing belt is not broken. Spark is transfered from the coil to your spark plugs/wires via the rotor. Since you have spark you already know the rotor is turning. What turns the rotor? The camshaft via the timing belt being driven by the crankshaft.

As was stated your timing belt may have slipped, throwing your timing off. The only way to confirm a slipped belt is (since you can't start) to pull the timing belt cover off and check the alignment of the camshaft/crankshaft timing marks with the rotor pointing at the #1 spark plug wire position. If they don't align, the belt has slipped and you need to replace it.

Thanks RIP,

thats what I love about this fourm is that I can learn so much about how my vehicle works. thanks for the info.

Question: if the timing belt broke and the rotor was pointing at the # 1 spark plug wire position on the distributer cap, and the # 1 spark plug was removed and still attached to the # 1 spark plug wire would I still get spark from the # 1 spark plug?

Regards,
JOET/CAMRY

[RIP]

JOET/CAMRY I bet you like to do those brain teaser exercises don't you.

Would it spark? The chances of the rotor contact being aligned with any plug wire contact in the cap when a timing belt broke are slim but, I would think yes, it would spark until the contacts welded themselves together which wouldn't take long. Who knows what that would do to the coil and the plug. And if there's a computer in the loop - yuk!!! Interesting question. Nothing I ever hope to see.

When someone says "I'm getting spark" to me he's pulled a plug and grounded it against the case and seeing a series of sparks, not just one. That series of sparks indicates the rotor is turning and the timing belt is still intact.

[pixie123]

You guys here are awesome! I like that it only took like a matter of an hour before someone responded to this thread.

RIP: I will definitely take a look to see if the timing belt has slipped. If so, would it be worth it to replace the belt in a car this old....I have a feeling that timing belts in the past have cost an arm and a leg....maybe more than my little car is worth now.

typesix: No, it doesn't start at all. It turns over every time, but won't start. I could try this hundreds of times throughout many different time intervals and it still does nothing.

Joet: thanks for pointing me in the right direction. Now I know where to look for the timing belt.

To everyone: Thanks for the help and is there anything else I should check out while I'm under the hood? I hate it when I think it's one thing....go and check....it doesn't help and then I am stuck staring at the engine going "DUH".

[JOET/CAMRY]

Originally Posted by RIP

JOET/CAMRY I bet you like to do those brain teaser exercises don't you.

No, not really. brain teaser exercises would drive me to drink.

Would it spark? The chances of the rotor contact being aligned with any plug wire contact in the cap when a timing belt broke are slim but, I would think yes, it would spark until the contacts welded themselves together which wouldn't take long. Who knows what that would do to the coil and the plug. And if there's a computer in the loop - yuk!!! Interesting question. Nothing I ever hope to see.

When someone says "I'm getting spark" to me he's pulled a plug and grounded it against the case and seeing a series of sparks, not just one. That series of sparks indicates the rotor is turning and the timing belt is still intact.

Regards,

JOET/CAMRY

[RIP]

pixie 123 - A timing belt change will cost $2-300 USD. Sometimes you can find a shop or chain having a special that could cut the price in half. If your 88 is in great shape it's worth about $1000 USD. If you're going to keep it another year I'd say yes it's worth it. Gets iffy if you're not. Of course, it would be tough to sell if it doesn't start.

I've got an 87 wagon with the 4cyl 3S-FE engine and 240K miles. A year+ ago I was going to keep it forever. That's when I found metal chips in the oil. Now I'm just waiting for the engine to self destruct then junk it.
I've changed the TB twice on it. My point is, when you get the covers off you're about a forth of the way to changing the TB. Any chance you'd want to go the rest of the way? If you want to read up on it go the the "Camry FAQs" thread at the top of this forum. There's a section on changing TBs. Plus you can read through this:http://www.autozone.com/servlet/UiBr...3d8013e607.jsp Keep in touch.

JOET/CAMRY - That makes two of us.