1991 Camry problems

[leveller]

Hi,
I am new to this forum and don't know much about car repairs. And since the value of the car is not very high, I hope to fix problems without paying hundreds of dollars to a mechanic.

I bought a 1991 Toyota Camry (manual transmission) 4 years ago from my brother-in-law. I drove it a few times back then, but for a few years it was just parked in our driveway. In June I decited to use it again (fixed minor problems) and the car drove well. But three weeks ago the problems started.
One morning, on the drive to work I noticed gasoline smell in the car. After airing out the car I couldn't smell it anymore. A different day, on the way home, the car started stuttering for a few seconds, the RPM gauge bounced. It happened two times on the freeway. When I got off the freeway and came to a stop at a stop sign, the car had low RPMs on idle and almost "died". Later on two occasions (traffic lights), the "check engine" light turned on. After doing some shopping, there were no problems the rest of the way home.
Now today on a short trip to the store, the "check engine" light turned on again, for a few seconds (at low RPMs I guess).
First I thought the engine just overheated, but in todays case the car was parked in the driveway since yesterday and the engine couldn't have been very hot.

Before these incidents occured, I had the car serviced at JiffyLube. The first thing I checked after the first occurence of the problems was to check for the oil level. The oil level was fine.

Another thing possible worth mentioning is that sometimes, around the car, I smell gasoline in the driveway. I check for leaks under the car, but saw nothing.

Another possible unrelated problem is that after driving on the freeway for over an hour, I have problems to put the car in 1st gear.

I hope I can get some help in this forum. I prefer to drive the car for a little longer instead of just buying a new car. And I have to apologize for my english, it is not my first language.

[Sturdavj]

Welcome, you have come to the right place for help with your car; there are some really sharp minds here. You will want to provide which engine your car has 4 or 6 cylinder

Let’s start with the simple things for your car. I bought a 1991 Toyota Camry (manual transmission) 4 years ago from my brother-in-law. I drove it a few times back then, but for a few years it was just parked in our driveway. In June I decided to use it again (fixed minor problems) and the car drove well.

After fixing the minor problems can I assume that you got in the car, started it up and drove it away? Or did you have to do maintenance on the car get it running, if so what?

If you did not do this at that time, you will want to change out your oil & filter, your air filter, and your spark plugs.

As for the gas smell it does not take much gas seepage to create an odor, while you can smell gas it may not be enough to puddle below on the ground. You will need to start by inspecting your gas lines/ hoses. On the 4 cly model inside the engine compartment there is a (black) filter canister on the driver’s side, below the master brake cylinder, these metal lines come from the tank. Begin here and trace out each line to make sure all clamps are tight and there is no sign of seepage, if there is, make needed repairs.

You may also want to use a can of sea foam in your engine; the folks at the auto parts store can instruct you on best to use it.

http://www.seafoamsales.com/motor-treatment.html

If it continues to run ruff you may want to search for vacuum leaks, use the search function on the forum for more information about this problem.

Good luck, and please do let us know what you find

[Sturdavj]

Sorry I blew past the jiffy lube part, skip the oil / filter change part....

[Doctor J]

Be sure to pull the "trouble codes" from the computer memory (which caused the check engine light to come on)
Locate the diagnostic connector on the left strut tower ad lift the cover off

Connect a jumper wire between terminals TE1 and E1 terminals ;
turn the key on but do not start the engine,
The check engine light will start flashing the codes in your dash. If there are no codes, the check engine light will flash 2 times per second CONSTANTLY with no patterns or pauses. If there are any codes, it will be shown in 2 digits codes. Example: code 24 is shown as 2 flashes, a pause followed by 4 flashes. If there are mode codes, the next one will transmitted after 2.5 seconds. (One some models, codes are displayed in one digit code only and the difference is the codes are displayed with 4.5 seconds delay between codes). When finished reading the codes, turn the key off and remove the jumper wire.
post the codes here. Good luck