Buying a second-gen Camry

[moshbrandonmosh]

I need a reliable car and I saw a '91 Camry, 5speed with power everything for sale in my neighborhood. The interior is immaculate, but the car has over 200,000 miles. It's a 4 cylinder, and I'll be taking trips, so I could use thegood gas mileage. Upon opening the hood, I saw oil buildup at the top of the engine. They want $1100 OBO. Should I go with this, or the '84 Subaru hatch with a 4speed/4wd and 151k? I'm on a budget!

[TBayToyotaBoy]

Let's see...200K miles is 321K km. That means that, as long as no major damage has yet been done to the engine (like bearing trouble or extremely loud valve noise), it should last another 50K miles or so. Where on the valve cover do you see the oil build-up? Close to the distributor, by any chance?

Assuming no engine defects, the car is still worth good coin. $1100 might be a bit high, though--what does it need to pass a safety inspection?

[moshbrandonmosh]

I noticed oil on the top rear of the engine, right near the valve cover gasket and intake manifold/fuel injector area. I don't remember anything about the distributor, but I do know that there's a seal that goes bad there after wear, anyway. I was told that the car leaked oil, and since I saw the buildup, I was guessing it could be the valve cover gasket, or any seal up top or who knows where else. I might try to talk the seller down considering the high mileage.

All I know is that 5 speeds were rare with power windows and the like, so it made it tempting, plus the good gas mileage. It's a 91 and it's built in Japan, when by that time, they were being made in Kentucky for the US market.

But I'm looking at this or an old Legacy or Impreza cause of the 4wd and the snow (I'm in central PA)

[Jimnist]

From what i'm hearing, this Camry might need at least new rings.There is a hose that goes from the valve cover (via a nipple on the right side) to the inlet manifold. If there are large amounts of oil passing through there, it generally means that compression is leaking and going into the crankcase and up the the valves.

[fredk]

The Camry probably needs a valve cover gasket and will be much safer since it will run off and leave the Subaru on the freeway and has the ability to pass a car

[HomeGrown]

I'm sure if you asked this same question on a Subaru forum, they would give you compelling reasons to buy the Subaru instead.

The Camry should serve you very well. 200k miles on these cars is nothing, as long as it's been reasonably maintained. On the other hand, you live in PA, so the 4wd Subaru is probably tempting as well.
Camry probably rides/drives better than the Subaru, and with an immaculate interior, it's likely they took good care of the car overall.

[moshbrandonmosh]

I went with the Camry. The car is actually in amazingly good shape considering its age. It was originally a Utah car, so there's no rust anywhere (they use sand on the roads there) and the interior is spotless with the exception of the usual single crack in the dash. With the mileage (215k) I hope to get about 50k more out of it before having to rebuild or replace the motor. The engine uses oil (doesn't leak it) and goes through a quart about every two weeks or so. That's the only thing I've noticed, however.

[jasonck08]

Hi moshbrandonmosh, If I were you, I'd try using a product called "RESTORE." It is an engine oil additive.

I got my 1989 Toyota Camry from my grandfather, it was in good condition overall, but the engine was EXTREMELY sluggish. I used some fuel injector cleaner (dumped it in the gas) and added restore to the engine oil. Here I am 2k miles later, and I have seen a very noticable increase in performance as well as gas mileage. I went from about 24MPG to 29MPG just from using those additives and replacing the oxygen sensor ($30).

No joke the car feels 30-40% faster. My grandfather hardly drove the car, because he was 91yrs old. He would only drive it in the city once a week or so. In the last 5 years he has owned it, he has done about 5k miles on it. He gave it to me @ 144k, and now its at 146k. It's a great little car, and I wouldn't mind running it to its death.

[Jimnist]

Yes, cars this old will generally need at least an injector clean with stuff you can buy from an auto store. To the OP, if it's using oil, it could be worn rings or worn valve guides. Either way, it will lead to smoke coming out of your exhaust. Are you sure it's not leaking oil? A quart is approx 1L which is a lot of oil if that much needs to be topped up every 2 weeks or so.

[disregard]

Is still may be the valvecover gasket, do a little more driving in it and tell us what you find oil wise under the hood.

[fredk]

there is a vent tube running from the valve cover by the distributor to the throttle body, trash the rubber hose and make a much longer one and make it go uphill from the valve cover, this trick drastically slowed my 89s oil usage