Camry AWD reliability?

[DaveCC]

A friend is selling his deceased dad's AWD automatic 1990 Camry. Has an oil leak (probably the seal behind the cam timing belt sprocket in the head) and needs a new AC compressor.

What's the record of reliability of that era Camry 2WD vs AWD? Are there components in the AWD that have a history of being unreliable compared to the rest of the drive train, as a whole?

The car has low mileage (about 100K miles).

Thanks,
Dave

[white90dx]

Originally Posted by DaveCC

A friend is selling his deceased dad's AWD automatic 1990 Camry. Has an oil leak (probably the seal behind the cam timing belt sprocket in the head) and needs a new AC compressor.

What's the record of reliability of that era Camry 2WD vs AWD? Are there components in the AWD that have a history of being unreliable compared to the rest of the drive train, as a whole?

The car has low mileage (about 100K miles).

Thanks,
Dave

The rear diff/axles/subframe is exactly the same as used on the Alltrac Celica and is very over-designed for 115hp. No worries there. Rear struts are Toyota OEM only and are very expensive. Celica Alltrac parts swap over fairly easily if you are careful...

The auto trans should be fine with such low mileage - it is based off the V6 auto trans (not the weaker 4-cylinder version). Keep up on the trans fluid changes, keep the level right and use the correct Toyota type-T fluid (not Dexron like the other Camry autos).

Expect fairly poor gas mileage (low-mid 20's) instead of high 20's and 30's with the FWD version.

-Charlie

[heavyrain2050]

Originally Posted by white90dx

The rear diff/axles/subframe is exactly the same as used on the Alltrac Celica and is very over-designed for 115hp. No worries there. Rear struts are Toyota OEM only and are very expensive. Celica Alltrac parts swap over fairly easily if you are careful...

The auto trans should be fine with such low mileage - it is based off the V6 auto trans (not the weaker 4-cylinder version). Keep up on the trans fluid changes, keep the level right and use the correct Toyota type-T fluid (not Dexron like the other Camry autos).

Expect fairly poor gas mileage (low-mid 20's) instead of high 20's and 30's with the FWD version.

-Charlie

Thanks for the info

[zythr]

Also decreased acceleration due to the extra weight of the AWD

[camrygt4]

I'm pretty sure my alltrac was the slowest car I have ever owned in my life, before the 3sgte swap of course