This bargain '91 V6 Camry Wagon may need an overhaul.

[TWHansen]

One of the things I'm observing about my new $725 car may be quite alarmingly the smell of burning transmission fluid. It's a little low (shows at the "cold" mark when hot), and we get a bit of white smoke out the tailpipe even when hot. Any observations from the VZ-savvy?

There's also a burning oil smell...oil leak, probably valve covers? (the back one's going to be fun) From the spare bottle of oil included with it it seems that they're running discount 5w30 in it, which is a lighter oil than I've typically run in a Camry (10w30, generally)

There's occasionally a bog on acceleration (feels like spark plugs...again, a thing I'm really looking forward to on the V6 )

Needs left axle and new tires (knew that going into it, possibly a right rear wheel bearing as well)

What are other known problem areas on the V6 Gen2 Camry? I know the 4-cylinders inside and out but the V6 really is a different car.

With 130,000 on the clock it's probably due for a heap of deferred maintenance. Which is fine; I'd budgeted $1500 for a replacement car. If putting $700 into a $700 car will get me another 130k, I'm all for it.

So far, the shopping list looks like:

Left axle
Four tires and 4-wheel alignment
Cap, wires, rotor
Transmission flush & service
Sea Foam and oil change

Anything I'm missing? What would the gurus do to put this thing back to perfect health?

Here's a pic for y'all of my new whip:

[Den.]

I must say I DO like that Gen wagon also. Almost bought a 5spd/4cyl a couple years ago. I STILL wish I had, Oh well.

So, is it leaking tranny fluid? And how's it shifting other than seeming low?

I hope you don't mind if I watch this thread and maybe learn a thing or three myself?

[TWHansen]

It shifts fine and the fluid level looked fine today. Today was a debacle in other ways, though.

I knew it needed tires. I thought I could get a week out of 'em but they had other ideas. The RF blew out a sidewall just as I was getting on the freeway. I limped it to a Wal-Mart and before the rim got damaged I threw the flat in a shopping cart and booked it a few blocks in the rain to a Honda dealer, who gave me for free, including mounting/balancing, a used tire. I put all of a few miles on it. The left tire started hissing so I hit up a Tires Plus where a friend of a friend works. $238 worth of Widetracks later, I now know the severity of my car's condition.

The woog woog woog noise from up front is a ruined right lower ball joint. With over an inch of play in it. This is my first priority. This is dangerous. I can't believe I made it up here from Chicago.

Along with the ball joint, I'll be replacing both axles as both boots are torn and the left is clicking badly.

The brakes are damn near frightening. The rear rotors are ruined. Needs pads all around and new rotors in back. It still stops quite well but I believe this year V6 LE came with antilock brakes.

Still needs an alignment; I'm holding off until we get the ball joint in for obvious reasons.

Tires Plus gave me an estimate for the brakes, ball joint, and axles. $1,200!!!

Forget it, it's maybe a bit over $200 in parts and an afternoon of work. But that'll be:

$238 for tires
$50 for alignment
probably $250 in parts for axles, ball joint, brakes.
and $100 of course for title and reg.

And I haven't even gotten into the engine yet to check on the oil leaks and transmission fluid smell.

Granted, they were asking $1200 for the car and I talked 'em down to $725. I'm not going to freak out until I hit $1500 on everything for this crate, but I damn well better get 60k+ miles out of it, and the fuel economy isn't looking that good.

I am going to call the dude I bought it from and see if I can't get a hundo or two out of him. This sucker's turning out to be a bit of a pig in a poke.

And I haven't even gotten on to the niggles yet. Like the lap belt that's jammed latched which I had to crawl out from underneath. Or the passenger side power window that takes an hour of jiggling and praying to raise (I believe it's the lockout control on the master panel causing the problem..I've seen this before) Or the moonroof unglued from its track, or the non-functioning rear wiper, non-functioning rear speakers, missing hubcaps, etc.

At least I got my mp3 player installed in it.

The damn thing is, after all of this, I still like the car. I've wanted an LE with a tan interior and a moonroof for years.

Still, what a pain in the rump!

[Den.]

Beaters are just plain lovable!! Okay, I'm weird but I like old worn out cars for some strange reason.....

[TWHansen]

Beater my arse! This is one of the nicest cars I've ever owned!

[Den.]

Originally Posted by TWHansen

Beater my arse! This is one of the nicest cars I've ever owned!

Oops! Didn't mean it in a bad way! I can't even afford that right now! I WISH I could!!

I sure didn't mean to insult you. Sorry!

[TBayToyotaBoy]

Wow, the ex-owners really drove the poor wagon into the ground...still, the body is in good shape (very, very hard to find up here in salt country!). The family I bought mine from only asked book value, and the car came with a 1-inch thick folder with all service records. I was very, very lucky.

As for the tranny, I've always driven manual so I'm lost. The valve cover gaskets aren't too tricky (especially the front one), but you may as well do the plugs, wires, rotor and cap while you have the intake plenum off (invest in a Chilton's, it'll help you identify all the fasteners hiding back there).

How many miles does the timing belt have on it? The oil smell may be an oil seal, and if so you can do belt/water pump/seals all at the same time.

I haven't had a single unexpected mechanical problem with mine yet (3 years and 78K miles later), but you'd do well to pony-up for premium ball joints and CV shafts. The cheapos tend to go every year or so (5 ball joints and 3 axles for me before I wised-up).

Look hard in your area for a mechanic who doesn't bother with diagnostic-related equipment; the old fella I go to for big jobs only charges $35/hour CDN because he doesn't spend big moula for computers...

I'll keep my eye on your thread to see how you're doing.

[TWHansen]

The body looks much better in pictures than it actually is...rear/bottom edges of all four doors, typical rear fenderwell bubbles, and base of drivers' b-pillar are all rusting. On the plus side, my 16-year-old mechanic is a 3rd-generation body shop guy, so the rust will have a stop put to it as soon as we get the mechanicals sorted. I may also repaint the car metallic green, a good match for the tan interior and a color not offered by the factory.

My brother has an '89 Wagon (4cyl 5spd and well equipped) that came much as yours did; original owner car, low mileage, all paperwork and reciepts (including, amazingly, a reciept for every tank of gas, which is kind of nuts!), which we picked up for $1250, which was an absolute steal.

I am a bit worried. I know from others' experience that the 2VZFE doesn't thrive on adversity like the 3SFE does.

[Dave G]

I have a 91 Wagon that I love. It is a 4 cylinder. It has about 135,000 miles but still runs great. I may be selling it later this year if you are interested. I live near the WI, IL border.

[TWHansen]

Dave, what's it got for options and how much would you want?

I've bought these things running and driving for $50...

[Dave G]

Power door locks & windows. A/C doesn't get cold. Worked great until last year. Has an oil leak. Don't know where. It leaks about a quart every 2000 miles. Has rust around fender wells. Needs new tires.(I may be putting some on) Back wiper doesn't work. Front driver's side Door lock works/doesn't work intermittantly. Has new struts all around about 20,000 miles ago. Timing belt was done about 50,000 miles ago. Very Reliable. Runs & drives great. Has a tow hitch & trailer wiring. I only towed with it one time. I needed to pick up a fireplace mantle in Chicago. I was going to rent a U-Haul truck but after mileage it would have cost me around $200. I bought the tow hitch off ebay for $30, wiring for $20 and rented a trailer for $25. It handled the trailer with no problems.

I haven't really thougt about a price but I would want more that $50. It isn't being driven at the present time. I usually drive it once a month just to keep the battery charged. I am moving all of my office computers in June and would probably sell it after that. Don't know if I would sell it as cheap as you are looking for. Without really thinking about it I would probably want at least $500.

[TWHansen]

$50's the low end. Most of ours we've picked up between $250 and $600, so yours isn't too wide of the mark. What color is it? DX or LE trim? Moonroof?

[Dave G]

Gray with Gray interior. It is a DX. No moonroof.

[tracyf]

Hey man, I do not know if this will help you, but I have taken my plenum off like 3 times now and after the first time I labeled all the connections so I can print 'em out and cross 'em off as I put it back on (also color-coded the connections with multi-colored electrical tape and a Sharpie but that will not help you). We have a 1990 Gen2 V6 Camry (automatic) and the things I have to disconnect to take it off for back plugs/valve cover/PCV valve are:
(type of connection or size of wrench/socket --- amount --- description)

Backside of plenum (middle area of rear)
12mm 2 EGR mounting bolts
14mm 1 Back plenum anchor (near lift point)
Vacuum 1 Medium vacuum line at middle rear of plenum

Passenger end of plenum
12mm 1 Bolt for passenger side grounding wire
12mm 1 Nut for passenger side grounding strap
12mm 1 Bolt for passenger side wiring bundle support (bottom area)
12mm 1 Fuel line bolt on passenger side
Spring 1 Fuel line electrical connection
12mm 1 Fuel line support bracket (bolts to pass side of plenum)
Vacuum 2 Small vacuum lines at passenger end of plenum
Vacuum 1 Medium vacuum line at passenger end of plenum
Vacuum 1 Big vacuum line at back corner near motor lift point

Working toward front side
14mm 1 Bolt for motor mount support arm on top edge of plenum (2 at base to loosen)

Front side, middle area
10mm 1 Bolt for throttle cable bracket (on middle leg of plenum)
14mm 4 Plenum mounting bolts(2) and nuts(2)
12mm 1 Nut to release throttle cable at first point
14mm 1 Nut to release throttle cable at second point
Vacuum 1 Big vacuum line from underneath plenum (from PCV)
Vacuum 1 Little vacuum line from underneath plenum (from PCV)

Driver side, air intake duct area
Hose 1 Line to plenum from front cylinder bank (EGR connection)
Hose 1 Small coolant line under air intake end of plenum
Vacuum 5 Small vacuum lines at "tree" of them, air intake end of plenum
10mm 2 Clamps to secure duct from air intake to plenum
Hose 1 Large hose from air intake duct to plenum
Hose 1 Medium hose from air intake duct to plenum
Vacuum 1 Small vacuum line, joins plenum to canister below master cylinder
Vacuum 1 Medium vacuum hose in front of gray electrical connection
Connection 1 Gray electrical connection near air intake end of plenum
Connection 1 Black electrical connection near air intake end of plenum
12mm 1 Bolt for driver side wiring bundle support (hidden under gray elec. conn.)
14mm 1 Back plenum anchor (next to wiring bundle support)


I hope this helps you - I can now take mine off in like 45 minutes no sweat

[Den.]

So..

Any updates on this car? (I been away for a bit.)