Today is a sad day....

[CoxComRob]

Well ladies and gentlemen, today another 2nd gen camry left this world. I was on my way home from Las Vegas, I was ten miles outside of wickenburg and I notice a sudden drop in RPM's, not a lot but enough to make me roll up the windows and turn down the radio to listen to the engine...what I heard was a loud low tone whistling coming from the engine. I stopped off on the side of the road to visually check under the hood, I didn't see anything out of the ordinary soI hopped back in the car. The whitsling was very evident as I was pulling out of the rest stop, but I soon noticed that when I accelerated a gridnding sound almost like I was dragging something was also coming from the engine. I get to wickenburg and pull into a shell station, look under the car, under the hood, check fluid levels, all looks well but something is wrong. So I get into the car and throw her into reverse, and by god the most ferocious sound erupted from under the hood, it sounded like I had just thrown a handful of nuts and bolts into a blender. Tranny is obliterated, I can put it into drive just fine but decide against driving it and possibly getting stuck in the middle of nowhere. Since my last post here, I put about 2500 dollars into repairs that I did both myself and some I took to my mechanic. However it's going to cost me a grand to replace the tranny, and that's not something I can justify....so as of next tuesday I will be the proud owner of a Toyota Yaris.

-Rob

[timebuilder]

First, you can buy a used tranny for that car on ebay, one of the Japanese Domestic Market imports, with relatively low mileage. I see one for $350, and $125 shipping. Even if you don't buy a trans on ebay, I'd put some kind of replacement trans in after spending $2,500 on the car. A couple of seals and a new torque converter and you should be fine.

When I was flying jets, I had an overnight in Wickenburg. Nice little town, and the little aiport is nice as well. Managed to get a Lear 55 off the ground just before the temps got too high to take off with such a short runway. Scottsdale was nice as well, with hills to climb and a great steakhouse.

Save the money and stick a trans in.

[es250nut]

Originally Posted by CoxComRob

I put about 2500 dollars into repairs that I did both myself and some I took to my mechanic. However it's going to cost me a grand to replace the tranny, and that's not something I can justify.
-Rob

Heck! There are wrecking yards in these parts that will sell the I4 trannys for $50, drop the pan, look for burnt fluid and unusual fillings in the bottom and if it's clean go with it! It's really not that hard to change out the tranny and not that costly. Unless you are having somebody else do it for you.

Of course a new car is always kind of fun...

[car_boy_16]

Don't be surprised if you miss your Camry. These older cars have a lot of character in their feel and design...newer cars are more bland, more bland...and they really are so generic to suit a wider customer base that they're like all-seaon tires...they're OK at everything, but never great at anything.

[dna59]

Shit I would get the tranny from a junk yard and still get the Yaris.

[CoxComRob]

Well the problem with putting a new tranny in is...there are TWO here in town, and both seller want 500 dollars. I could put it in myself, but I don't have that kind of time right about now, and to pay a mechanic to put it in is another 500 dollars, however....i'm not getting rid of her, it's always easiest to have a project car when you have a reliable one in the driveway right next to it...i'll be considering a complete engine swap in about 6 or 7 months.

-Rob

[fredk]

I have lots of parts?