1990 Camry turns over but doesn't start

[mjc2264]

A friend reccomended these forums to me advising that someone may have an idea of what's going on with my Camry.

I'm a poor college student that knows nothing about cars, so bear with me.


This car has relatively low mileage but has a somewhat rusty underbody. I think I have put a second hole in the muffler considering the awful noise it makes (this may have some bearing on the problem?).

Starting the car has become progressively more difficult. It turns over maybe 3-5 times before starting, maybe even a little more if it's wetter or colder out. Last night while I was driving it, there was some "puttering" where you could feel the car losing power momentarily. I observed smoke coming from the exhaust during these putters.

Today the car turns over easily but no longer will start. I was advised and have come to the conclusion that the fuel pump or the car not sparking is the problem (although I'm shooting in the dark here). I tried having a friend turn the car over while kicking the gas tank to see if maybe the fuel pump was involved. I had a 1990 Caravan with a bad fuel pump that I could get going in this manner. During this "test" I smelled gas. My knowledgable car friend mentioned that if I could smell gas then it might not be the fuel pump.

What could possibly be left problem wise that I could check into? And more importantly, are they expensive and/or worth the bother? Should I start scraping together some money for an emergency car purchase?

Thanks for all the help in advance.



-Mike

[ice745]

What color smoke did you see?

If you smelled gas, chances are it was unignited gas coming from the exhaust. When did you last have spark plugs changed? It could be as simple as that. Or it could be more ignition problems, like coil or distributor.

Does the starter sound ok? If it sounds weak, check your battery voltage. You may be lacking the electric power needed to start the car. You should check the voltage anyway to be sure, since it is really easy to do.

Good luck.

Edit:
Just see if you smell gas while you're not kicking your tank... And when you check battery voltage with the engine off, anything below 12.5 is low. This voltage will give you a fairly good reading of the quality of the battery's charge. With the car running voltage should be about 14.5; due to the alternator working.

Spark plugs are a cheap first approach. I would have your knowledgeable friend help you replace them. It depends on your mileage and when you last had them done. Prematurely worn plugs will indicate different problems. You can take the plugs out and inspect the gap and look of them. There is plenty of info on "reading spark plugs" on the internet. If your plugs are fine, you should check for spark.

Exhaust is very noisy by nature, mufflers work by echoing the sound against itself in an inverse waveform to basically cancel out the sound. If there is a hole in the muffler, it will ruin the instrument, like a hole in a trumpet, and will result in loud noise. While you should get it fixed, holy exhaust shouldn't keep an engine from starting.

Hopefully this will get you started at least. There will be more posts with more information by smarter people later.

[DFBonnett]

The hole in the muffler won't have a significant bearing on the primary problem. It sounds to me as if you are in need of a basic tune-up, the ignition portion of which would consist of plugs, wires, cap, and rotor. How long has it been since this was done? What is the current mileage? Always condider the basics first.

[mjc2264]

To report back on this whole situation:

Got the spark plugs replaced. When the third one came out it was covered with oil. This led my friend and I to believe a seal has gone in the engine. I'm probably just gonna junk this thing. Thanks for the help guys.

[Mike Gerber]

Originally Posted by mjc2264

To report back on this whole situation:

Got the spark plugs replaced. When the third one came out it was covered with oil. This led my friend and I to believe a seal has gone in the engine. I'm probably just gonna junk this thing. Thanks for the help guys.

That seal just seals the spark plug tube from the cyclinder head. No need to panic and junk the car over this. First, if you haven't done it already, clean the oil out of that spark plug well. Remove the plug again and wrap some paper towels around a screw driver and clean out all the oil you can. Be careful not to drop anything down in to the cylinder. Now reinstall the plug. Now take off all the plug wires from the cam cover and you will see 4 large nuts. I believe they are 30MM. Tighten those down to spec evenly with a torque wrench (if one is available) in several passes. You can get the specs from any manual. If no manual is available, I would guess that 17 foot lbs would do it. If now torque wrench or no 30MM socket is available, use a pair of channel locks and tighten them down as best you can. This will probably stop your oil from getting it to that plug well and will not cost you anything at all. If it doesn't, report back here and will tell you the next step to take.

Mike