Injector compatability?(3SFE)

[stricular]

On my '87 wagon, I have a hesitation/acceleration problem. I suspect the injectors.

What I'm wondering, is whether injectors from all 87-91 camry 4cyl's are interchangeable.

I have a couple sets of used ones, so I figure what the hey, give it a shot. I will probably gut the cat at the same time. I'm sick of all the chugging and sputtering, and I am determined to fix it before winter hits.

If it's not the injectors, I have to think it may be an egr problem. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

As usual, thanks!

[white90dx]

If you can live without the injectors for a week or two, send them out to RC Engineering (or similar service) to have the ones in your car cleaned and tested.

My understanding is that in '88 or '89 the injectors changed from low impedance to high impedance and are not compatible between all years (though they are the same capacity, they work slightly differently).

If the colors match between your extra set and the ones in your car, you may be in luck. Use a multimeter and check to make sure they have the same resistance value. They should either be around 3-5 ohms or 12-14 ohms. If they are stock Toyota (Denso) injectors, are the same color and the same resistance/impedance, they should work just fine.

-Charlie

[nogard]

What Charlie said, and don't gut your cat. Think of the environment, don't be stupid, your car was designed to run with it, and it doen't hurt the "performance" a stock camry has. These cars have weak ignition systems. You ever look into the ignition system, worn and weak to start with are not a good combo. If the engine is missing you should do a search I've posted this before about making sure the ground is good to the ignition amplifier. I've had two camry's where this has been the problem, and fixing it has brought new life back to the car.

[stricular]

Originally Posted by white90dx

If you can live without the injectors for a week or two, send them out to RC Engineering (or similar service) to have the ones in your car cleaned and tested.

My understanding is that in '88 or '89 the injectors changed from low impedance to high impedance and are not compatible between all years (though they are the same capacity, they work slightly differently).

If the colors match between your extra set and the ones in your car, you may be in luck. Use a multimeter and check to make sure they have the same resistance value. They should either be around 3-5 ohms or 12-14 ohms. If they are stock Toyota (Denso) injectors, are the same color and the same resistance/impedance, they should work just fine.

-Charlie

So if I had say, the low impedance in the car now, what would i need to change to go to the high impedance(or vice versa)?

Could one just swap out the injectors and ecu? or is harness work likely to be necessary?

I will search for your posts too nogard.

Thanks!

[ChevelleSSLS6]

Originally Posted by stricular

On my '87 wagon, I have a hesitation/acceleration problem. I suspect the injectors.

What I'm wondering, is whether injectors from all 87-91 camry 4cyl's are interchangeable.

I have a couple sets of used ones, so I figure what the hey, give it a shot. I will probably gut the cat at the same time. I'm sick of all the chugging and sputtering, and I am determined to fix it before winter hits.

If it's not the injectors, I have to think it may be an egr problem. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

As usual, thanks!

tell me more about the accel/hesitation problem... I have one at cruising throttle, and off throttle situations. Someitmes I wonder when the 3sfe will free itself of the motor mounts.

I dont want to dump much $$ into it, and I want to make sure I know what's wrong with it before I start throwing parts at it.

Originally Posted by nogard

These cars have weak ignition systems. You ever look into the ignition system, worn and weak to start with are not a good combo. If the engine is missing you should do a search I've posted this before about making sure the ground is good to the ignition amplifier. I've had two camry's where this has been the problem, and fixing it has brought new life back to the car.

ignition amplifier? is this the coil or something else? where is that specific ground?

injectors seem like they'd be a pain to replace, firewall side of the engine and the intake manifold kinda wraps aound and makes access real easy. ANy how-tos or writeups? ditto with the coil.. I can;t seem to find the right screwdriver to undo the screws on the underside of it (as installed in car).

[white90dx]

Originally Posted by ChevelleSSLS6

ignition amplifier? is this the coil or something else? where is that specific ground?

injectors seem like they'd be a pain to replace, firewall side of the engine and the intake manifold kinda wraps aound and makes access real easy. ANy how-tos or writeups? ditto with the coil.. I can;t seem to find the right screwdriver to undo the screws on the underside of it (as installed in car).

I believe he is talking about the ignitor. It is the box with about 6 wires going to it bolted down right next to the battery. This box actually drives the coil based on a signal from the ECU. From what I remember about the wiring diagrams, it is grounded through one of the wires, but it is probably also grounded through the case.

[white90dx]

Originally Posted by stricular

So if I had say, the low impedance in the car now, what would i need to change to go to the high impedance(or vice versa)?

Could one just swap out the injectors and ecu? or is harness work likely to be necessary?

I will search for your posts too nogard.

Thanks!

The ECU, harness and injectors are different, sadly enough. For low-impedance injector cars, there is an extra ballast resistor in the harness. It should be easy-ish to find the right injectors though... Then cleaning/flow balancing is less than $100.

(of course, I come from the high-performance world where $100 on injectors would get you less than one injector... which means $100 for a set is a steal!)

-Charlie

PS. The problems you are describing could be any of other things too. Fuel filter, ailing fuel pump, clogged cat, ignition system, etc.... so check those things too.