1989 Camry 2.0 Engine Issues

[runforever89]

Hey Thanks for looking at this. I have an 89 camry witht he 2.0 in it. It has been running great with 184,00 on it until recently. Not saying that this could cause any sor of issue but I am just stating what I have done to it. I put a new air filter, adnd some lucas fuel treatment in it. Since then it idles higher, when I am at a stop and accelerate quickly it had a delay of sputtering. When it is warm/cold it will shift into 4th gear, but then when I am going down the highway at 70 it will shift down into 3rd for no reason and then most the times it will stay there, but once in awhile it will shift into 4th momentarily.
Today I put seaform through the vacuum line and throttle body, still nothing has made a difference. Thinking it might be the transmission now. Any suggestions are helpful.

[white90dx]

What RPM does it idle at (warm) in neutral and drive?

Does the engine temp gauge go up to the middle and stay there (rock solid, no moving)?

Your transmission is probably fine, there are a few cheap/easy things that may be causing problems.

-Charlie

[zythr]

Originally Posted by runforever89

Hey Thanks for looking at this. I have an 89 camry witht he 2.0 in it. It has been running great with 184,00 on it until recently. Not saying that this could cause any sor of issue but I am just stating what I have done to it. I put a new air filter, adnd some lucas fuel treatment in it. Since then it idles higher, when I am at a stop and accelerate quickly it had a delay of sputtering. When it is warm/cold it will shift into 4th gear, but then when I am going down the highway at 70 it will shift down into 3rd for no reason and then most the times it will stay there, but once in awhile it will shift into 4th momentarily.
Today I put seaform through the vacuum line and throttle body, still nothing has made a difference. Thinking it might be the transmission now. Any suggestions are helpful.

How is your thermostat?

[runforever89]

I thought maybe it was the thermostat too, I replaced it. Nothing changed. It had had new plugs and wires in the last 50,000 but maybe time for new?
It does not have a tach but I would guess that when it does idle high it is around 3,000 rpm. Mostly does this in drive. Hope this helps.
Thanks for the replys

[heartdisease]

Vacuum problem? Start replacing all the Vacuum lines maybe.

You Tube

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[runforever89]

thanks for the tip, I just went out and tried the carb cleaner, with a cold engine, and no signs of a vacuum leak. However it is an 89 so it might not be a bad idea to just replace it anyways.

[white90dx]

There is a coolant thermo switch that the transmission uses (separate from the gauge cluster and ECU coolant sensors) to know when to allow the trans to shift into OD. If that swtich is bad, it could cause the 3/OD shifting you describe. It could also be the wiring or connector.

For the revving, it is possibly a vacuum line (actually, probably), which might also cause slight hesitation when you try to start accellerating. There are two fairly hidden lines that go to the power steering pump, so make sure you check those out while you are in there. It might also be the idle air controller, but that wouldn't explain the hesitation.

If you used cheap ignition components, you might only get 50k miles out of them. You will also want to inspect the coil for resistance and visually inspect for cracks. Go for OEM ignition parts whenever possible, and use the cheap NGK or Denso plugs and replace every 15k-30k (they are like $2 each).

-Charlie

[Doctor J]

"It does not have a tach but I would guess that when it does idle high it is around 3,000 rpm" you really need to get a tach to get an accurate reading as 3000 seems like very wild guess (and in theory with working transmission it should never go above 2000-2700 rpm in drive at take -off even with gas pedal floored)

[runforever89]

Took it to a local mechanie last week, the check engine light is not on, but it was reading the throttle body sensor code, he replaced it and it didnt do anything. So there goes a 100 bucks down the drain.
Where is this thermo coolant switch at?
Doctor J, 3,000 may be a stretch but it is high. If I knew everything about cars I wouldnt be here.

[Doctor J]

How many wires on your TP sensor ( 3 or 4)
This code can be set if a/c switch was pushed in during the "scan"
The 4 wire ("keyhole")sensor should be adjusted before proceeding to replacement, for the 4 wire sensors adjustment helps in most cases
The 3 wire ("matchbox") sensor wears out but after replacement it needs to be adjusted anyways.
if sensor is adjusted correctly, try new cap /rotor/wires on the distributorand make sure that there no oil in the spark plug wells.

[AlmightyCamry777]

1. Does the engine sputtering happen when engine is cold, hot, or both? You may just need to clean the idle air control valve, it may be gummed up and sticking in the closed position.

2. The transmission problem is, i suspect, NOT related to engine vacuum. engine vacuum is highest at idle, not very high at all at 70 mph. So it;s probably not a hose or vacuum operated component.
I think the trans may just be sticking. From varnish and wear and tear, especially if the fluid has never been changed.
At the risk of telling you something that might kill your transmission - i'd try a fluid change (there's a drain plug underneath just like on the oil pan). DO NOT FLUSH - in fact i would not even change the filter right now - just a simple fluid change. And add the two or three quarts to bring the level b ack up (if you measure how much comes out you'll know about how much to put back in).

I say do not flush because i have read several posts here, where people said they flushed their high mileage transmissions and it died shortly thereafter. The theory is that the crud was holding the trans together and allowing it to function, and changing the fluid killed it (ATF has terrific cleaning abilities, especially when new, so socking new fluid to an old transmission cleans too much crud away in some cases).

Lke i said, if you decide to change the fluid, do so keeping in mind it may finish off the transmission. If it doesn't, drive the car several hundred miles to see if it helps and doesn't kill your trans. If the fluid change helps, then do it again, then once more and on the third time drop the pan and change the filter now(since you know now it will probably hold together)

[91 Camry]

i use lucas at every fill up - i dont think it could cause that. or infact change the idle.