88' camry 2.0l will not start, need to be educated!!!

[relaxingthorin]

Help!!! I have an 88' Camry with a 2.0L and manual trans. The distributor has oil in the cap. Engine turns but won't start. Anyone with any good advice, help please.

[atobe]

checked for fuel and spark ?

[CraniumInsaneum]

relaxingthorin,

There is a rubber o-ring that slips over the bottom of your distributor shaft, that is supposed to keep engine oil from entering the distributor and coating everything with muck. (Not the best conditions for producing a spark.)

You'll need to pull the distributor, salvage what's left of the o-ring, and take it down to your local harware superstore and find a replacement.

Then use 99% Isopropyl Alcohol to clean every last molecule of oil from the inside of the distributor, and hope that it didn't seep into any of the electronic gizmos scattered about inside.

Slip on the new o-ring, put everything back together, cross your fingers, turn the key. Good luck.

[Tommy]

well, just because theres oil in the cap doesnt mean it wont start. if you clean the oil out and it still doesnt start, then you know youve got another problem.

First thing is first -

Make sure youve got good spark. pull the plug wire, hold a screw driver to the end of the wire and have someone crank the engine. if you get a good strong blue spark, then thats good. If it looks weak, or is kinda orange, might be time for plug wires, distributer cap, coil. Pull your spark plugs at the same time and make sure they arent fouled.

Once your positive youve got spark, time to move on to fuel. Easiest way ive done it is pull the cold start injector off the intake manifold. crank the engine, fuel should go everywhere. its very high pressure.

then check your timing. go grab the camry repair manual off the stickie in the general camry discussion section and read on how to do that. you may need to pull the cover off the timing belt to see if the belt is ok.

do those and let us know.

[IvanHoe]

Replacing the o-ring is NOT the issue, if there is oil IN the distrubutor cap, then it's the seals within in it that are shot!!! and the whole distibutor needs to be replaced (or rebuilt, but better to replace it all, IMO) .....a bad O-ring causes an oil leak between the engine and distributor....NOT inside the cap.....how do I know this, you ask?.....well I had the same issue......the oil leaking thing that is.....I never had starting issues because of it, but I can see how if it was leaking bad enough that it would cause a hard starting problem!.....good luck, and keep us updated on everything!

[fredk]

oil is non conductive, its an insulator, his problem is another issue

[Kep]

So, If you got it started, what was it? If not, have you done what Tommy suggested yet? By the way, another common problem with Camrys is the timing belt breaking. With the distributor cap off turn the engine over. If the rotor doesn't move your timing belt is broken. Of course, there would be no spark in this event. Back to Tommy's post...

Luck,
Kep

[IvanHoe]

Originally Posted by Kep

By the way, another common problem with Camrys is the timing belt breaking. With the distributor cap off turn the engine over. If the rotor doesn't move your timing belt is broken. Of course, there would be no spark in this event. Back to Tommy's post...

Luck,
Kep

What are you talking about??!!???......Who told you that a common problem with Camrys is the timing belt breaking????.......that's total B.S.!! Our timing belts breaking is no more common then any other car with a timing belt....In fact, it's pretty rare to have it break as long as you follow the recomended intervals!! Ive had two of these gen2 Camrys and and never had a belt break on me, or even heard of one breaking!!

[Kep]

OK, "UNCLE"

Poor phrasing on my part. I'm not sure how to phrase it. When the engine spins strongly but doesn't start one of the most common things I think of is a broken timing belt. Probably because it is so easy to check.

Maybe I should have said:

By the way, another common problem with older Camrys is the owners not replacing the timing belt when they are supposed to...

OR

By the way, another no-start problem with Camrys is the timing belt breaking...

You are right of course, it has nothing to do with the manufacturer. It is almost always the owner. Mine broke early because I had allowed a main seal oil leak to go on for a long time. My bad.

Kep

[marc780]

At work we use a can of starting fluid alot to diagnose no-start engines. Spritz some the ether in there inside where the air filter goes (and for God's sale keep your face away). If it even tries to start, i.e catches but dies after it eats the starting fluid, then your problem is fuel. If it just turns and turns and not even tries, its probably spark issue.

[kbox]

Which engine series does your Camry have? If the internal oil seal is leaking on the shaft we may have the rebuild kit required to fix your leak...

http://www.kbox.ca/catalog/index.php?cPath=44