3sfe bucking- 88 Camry - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

ChevelleSSLS6 · 08-13-2007, 01:48 AM

Since $300 a month in fuel (~2000 miles of driving) for my Jeep is killing me in the pocketbook, I decided to put the Jeep in storage and get a cheap reliable econocar. I nabbed an 88 Camry for $850... four cylinder with a five speed manual so it's not a total bore to drive all those miles... 110hp is nothing to get exited about.

Anyway, my problem is when cruising (steady light throttle, maintaining speed) it tends to buck and seems like a misfire and this also happens off throttle in gear as well, and seems to go away when on the clutch/in neutral. All I need to do to 'fix' this problem is apply the accelerator hardly at all (or a lot, it's not picky so long as I get on the gas) and it runs as smooth as a 19 year car can. It's a lot worse at slower speeds; 25-35 is the worst, 45 it feels like an occasional misfire, and much more than that it smooths out quickly and at highway speeds (2250rpm+) it smooths out and runs fine.

I haven't tried pulling parts yet, but thinking it could be water in the tank ran it dry and used a bottle of the fuel system drier stuff, put in 2 gallons out of a gascan (fresh that same day) and drove it and lucky me it was on the brink of fuel starvation when I pulled into a gas station to fill 'er up. I'm getting confused at what it could be... also no load it can rev as high as my right foot allows (I had it to 5k for a smidgen of a second, I don't wanna throw rods) but in gear (even first) it seems to hit a rev limiter at around 4500. That makes me think it might be a fuel supply problem, and a new fuel filter would be needed- but the fuel filter is pretty new and wouldn't it be low on power and hesitant/knock under load if it were a fuel problem?

I've been thinking EGR and wonder where it is and if I could temporarily block it off to see if that's the culprit while I get a new egr valve.

So... what do you guys think?
thanks!

Matt
p.s. what's the expected lifespan of these things when maintained well? mine doesn't have any rattles inside, burn oil, or anything really... just no speedo/odo, pass.window won't go down, and cruise wont work either.

wiccanferret · 08-13-2007, 08:40 AM

Lifespan, sky is the limit. There are quite a few on here with 200k+ with no real issues. I fully expect mine to go well over the 200k mark considering it's at 168k and I'm slowly getting it to feel almost new.

As far as your problem, I would Seafoam it first. It sounds like you might have a fuel injector sticking until pressure builds up.

IvanHoe · 08-13-2007, 09:08 AM

egr pipe/valve (it can come off as one piece)can be pulled, cleaned, and returned to it's original place.....quite easily
you will for sure find a big ball of carbon sitting at the base(if it's never been cleaned before). Cleaning this will surely improve gas mileage, but I dont think it will help the bucking issue

ChevelleSSLS6 · 08-13-2007, 09:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IvanHoe

egr pipe/valve (it can come off as one piece)can be pulled, cleaned, and returned to it's original place.....quite easily
you will for sure find a big ball of carbon sitting at the base(if it's never been cleaned before). Cleaning this will surely improve gas mileage, but I dont think it will help the bucking issue

got pics? they'd be really appreciated!

IvanHoe · 08-13-2007, 10:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChevelleSSLS6

got pics? they'd be really appreciated!

I did it like 8 months ago, sorry no pics were taken.....
Just unbolt the egr valve from up top(two bolts) but dont try pulling it off, you also have to undo the pipe with an open end type wrench(the lower part, so the pipe and valve come off as one piece)......once your workin on it, you will see what Im talkin about.........atleast that's how i figured it out.....quite simple realy, no need to fret.