1st & 2nd Generation (1983–1986 & 1987-1991)Toyota Camry Discussion for years: 1983-1986 & 1987-1991.
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issue:
initally the car would start but when i pushed the accelerator the car would hesitate and splutter and die. if i slowly turned the throttle, the engine would accelerate fine and would rev no worries. its just weird as i'm not sure why this happens.
fuel: changed pump and checked at cold start and at filter and there is significant pressure
ignitor: changed between my one and another and it makes no difference
distributor: changed with second hand one and it made no difference so i put my old one back as it seemed to be in good condition
distributor cap and leads: changed to newer ones, no difference
TPS Sensor: changed it, issue remains
as the days go by the car seems to get worse, its now harder to start but when it does the engine will still behave the same, open throttle slowly and engine will rev easily. flick the throttle like u would when you drive and the car will hesitate and splutter and diiiiiiiiie
so WTF is wrong with my bloody engine. the only other things left for me to do is check the injectors, change the AFM and the ECU. the fuel pump is fine. dist cap and leads is fine too....
as the days go by the car seems to get worse, its now harder to start but when it does the engine will still behave the same
Harder to start as in you have to crank the engine longer?
If so check the cold start timing switch.
Quote:
so WTF is wrong with my bloody engine. the only other things left for me to do is check the injectors, change the AFM and the ECU. the fuel pump is fine. dist cap and leads is fine too....
You can check the injectors and AFM for resistance. The ECU is a pain to troubleshoot though.
usually i'll have to crank the car twice in the morning, however now i'll have to crank it a few times, and it'll acutally go backwards and start shooting shit out the intake. after i leave it for a while the car may start but that again is uncertain.
i'll check the cold start timing switch but i'm not sure thats the problem...that can be addressed easily but its the acceleration issue that is my main concern.
Check the coil inside the distributor with a DVM. I know you changed the whole distributor with another used one, but this is a known problem area for 3SFE engines. It wouldn't be impossible for both coils to be defective. They develope hairline cracks and short to ground easily under load; like starting and anything more than light acceleration. They can cause the problems you describe. It will be most noticable in damp weather. Sorry I don't have the specs handy to give you, but it should be in any manual.
Also, you mentioned changing the cap and wires but say nothing about the rotor. That's cheap and easy to replace, just to rule it out.
Check the coil inside the distributor with a DVM. I know you changed the whole distributor with another used one, but this is a known problem area for 3SFE engines. It wouldn't be impossible for both coils to be defective. They develope hairline cracks and short to ground easily under load; like starting and anything more than light acceleration. They can cause the problems you describe. It will be most noticable in damp weather. Sorry I don't have the specs handy to give you, but it should be in any manual.
Also, you mentioned changing the cap and wires but say nothing about the rotor. That's cheap and easy to replace, just to rule it out.
Good luck.
Mike
I had a rotor problem about 5 years ago. It was exactly like Mike said, in damp or rainy weather, but it wouldn't crank at all.
thanks for the pics 88, much appreciated.
i'll change the rotor today and i'll try and source another dizzy today somehow (its saturday atm) else i'll try that by monday.
I changed out just the coil in my niece's 91 3SFE about 5 years ago. I got an aftermarket one for about $40 US back then. I believe it was a Borg Warner, so aftermarket coils are available seperately. The dealer, of course, wanted to replace her whole distributor for around $600 US. I would check it out with the DVM first.
WTF!!! $600?
damn i got a second hand one for $25 AUD, i'll see if i can swap the coil, how exactly do i check it with a DVM (which is just a multimeter right?)
my car and the parts are at a friends house atm so i cant have a good look at it. but just tell me roughly and i should be able to do it.
I'm assuming you already changed the plugs and checked the wires for arcing.
When was the last time the timing belt was changed? You should be on the third one by now. If ok, I would still suggest checking the timing. Changing all the parts in the world won't help if it is off.
What about a clogged up Catalytic Converter? You said shooting backwards and coming out the intake....yeah definitly. Trying to pressurize the exhaust system. Pull it out and ram a big screw driver through it.
hey thanks for everyone's help, the car is back on the road running as good as ever.
the problem came down to the rotor button, of all things i didnt change it but its all good as i got to know more about the good ol camry.
i measured both my ignition coils and one is cracked and the resistance was too high, but my other one looked fine. so i took the whole unit and got it tested at a friends place and it came up that my rotor button was screwed. changed it and all is sweeeeeeet
also with my fuel pump changed i'm bound to have no problems for a long while. the old fuel pump wasnt pumping regularly and a bit was coming out the back of the pump. good thing we checked. oh and i can drop a tank in 5 mins now
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$600?
but its all good as i got to know more about the good ol camry.
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