'91 Camry wobble at 35-40 mph???

[91Campry]

My 1991 Toyota Camry 2.0L has a slight (but very annoying) jerking motion when cruising at a steady 35-40 mph. The transmission shifts smoothly and has clean fluid, as I flushed it about 6 months ago. It has new spark plugs, wires/cap and rotor. There are no leaks anywhere either and all fluids and maintanence has been kept up on since it was new. It has about 235K miles and still idles and runs like a champ, all except for this little annoying wobble around 35-40 mph. Any ideas?

[66conv6]

I'd start by checking the wheel lug nuts for tightness and then check for a "bubble" on the tire tread. When you look at the tread from behind (with the wheels up in the air) the tread should be relatively straight across (flat). If one side of the tread is raised it means the tread has separated (usually about 3-4inches of raised tread) from the carcass in that area. This is the 'bubble'.

This happened to me on 5 different Pep Boys tires over a year of long distance high speed driving between Los Angeles and Arizona. It mostly happened during the summer with really high outside temps.

The wobble can also happened if your tires took a 'set' and then you moved them around into a different position.

[96paseo]

If your feeling that jerking motion in the steering wheel, check your tie rods and ball joints for play. If all is good in the suspension, wheel balance or bent wheel may be the problem. Hit any bad potholes recently?

[91 Camry]

its a wobble caused my the engine im assuming. mine does the same thing. idk what it is...its like a slight jerk forward and back like its idling up and down slightly...it only does it around the 30-35 mark for me

[dbekk]

I had some odd things happening around the same speed range. I made sure the transmission fluid was at optimal level (even a third of a quart either side will cause problmes) and then I slowed down the idle and the problem went away.

['88 All-Trac]

Before you do anything, take the car into a reputable tire dealer for an inspection. If they find something wrong with the tread, replace the "set" of tires (either front or rear) to prevent any disasters. If they find nothing, ask what they charge to check the balance- some shops do this for free. For me, a rotation and balancing service was included when I purchased my lifetime alignment at Firestone. I do a lot of automotive work, so it worked out for me. If you do much work on your Camry, I recommend a lifetime alignment service.

If the cost isn't too bad, have them check the balance of your tires. That can cause a nasty wobble if it's out.

On your own, check your strut mounts (in the engine bay, left and right sides both) as well as all of your control arm bushings. Any worn out suspension piece in the front end can cause a wobble, if the wear is bad enough.

If all of that checks out, check your steering rack very thoroughly for leaks. If the rack is bad, get a replacement priced out. Find out what local reputable automotive repair shops will charge to replace it. If it's too expensive, you'll have to decide whether or not the car is worth it to you. If you don't want to pay but want to keep the car, decide if you want to tackle the project yourself. If you do, buy a Haynes (blah!) or a Chilton's (much higher quality) repair manual. People will say the original Toyota manuals are better, and they are... But they're written for people who already know their way around cars and understand more automotive lingo, if that makes any sense. See if you have the tools to complete the job. If you don't, see if you can rent them. Failing that, pick up a set of Husky brand tools (Home Depot) as they are both decent quality and not very expensive. They're Canadian-made, so they'll serve you well if you maintain them.

Don't know what else to say... But inspect everything as best you can, then take it in to a tire/alignment shop for a second inspection.

Good luck. Take care of your Camry and she'll take care of you for a long time to come.

[91Campry]

Sorry, but I must have not communicated my problem clearly to begin with. It's deffinitly an engine or transmission issue, not anything to do with a physical wobble from blubbled/split tires or suspension issues, etc. It's a "wobble" in the power output of the engine itself or possibly the transmission. I don't know how to explain it another way other than use the word wobble. It's kind of like your ever-so-slightly tapping or pumping the excellerator pedal while you're cruising at about 35-40mph. That's about it. I just got some more STP fuel injector cleaner today so I'll run that for a while and see if it's possibly dirty injectors. I'm also going to take the intake boot off the throtle body and clean the TB out really well with carb cleaner and a long handled brush (basically a toothbrush duct tapped to a stick for extra handle length). My next line of attack I think will be to get the catalytic converter checked out to see if it's possibly getting plugged up or something like that. I do know that it's NOT a suspension or tire issue, etc. Also, the tranny does shift fine and has been flushed several times by myself, but that just means the ATF is clean and doesn't necessarily rule out any internal tranny wear that might be the issue. I know the tranny is kind of the achilles heel of these otherwise superb little cars. I've had a number of family members that have had these Camrys of the same generation go well into the upper 300K mile ranges before the engines died...but they all had to replace the tranny once per car to get the mileage up that high. Does anyone have any other suggestions that I might try out? I really appreciate the help!

['88 All-Trac]

Seafoam the engine. If it's acting like the gas pedal is being pumped a bit, it's probably something in the engine causing it to surge. It could be the TPS, but that doesn't seem likely if it only happens at a certain speed.

Do you have cruise control? If you do, the vacuum line from the CC module works great for seafoaming the engine... Follow the standard procedure of running it in until it stalls, then let it sit for 5-10 minutes... Crank it up and wait for it to stop smoking. See if that clears it up. If not, I'm not sure what could cause the issue... Maybe wave an unlit propane torch around the engine bay to find any potential vacuum leaks?