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Car cranks but wont start, oil pooled on tranny and all 4 plug wires melted at the pl

5K views 110 replies 10 participants last post by  Jesse Cardwell 
#1 ·
Been having issues with my 88 camry. She has been slowly drinking or leaking coolant. I think she is drinking it as i dont ever see any coolant on the ground. Had tiny oil leaks, but then one day at it had overheated on a cold night in the rain it died on the freeway. Got it started about 10 mins later, drove towards my home, died again about 15 miles later. Noticed pool of oil on tranny at this point. Woulnt start for a while but tried to start. About 30 mins later she started drove for 20ish miles but would die if i let off the gas or at any stop light . Still had decent power. Then she died again and wont start at all now. No oil in distrubutor but it looks like it is either leaking from next to the dizzy at the valve cover or slightly under ut, but it looks like oil is leaking from above the head so i hope its still sealed going to test for compression once i finished digging the spark plug wires out of the spark plug hole.
Could anyone help me figure out if i blew the head gasket or if its the valve cover and tube seals or a dizzy oring. Why would all 4 plugs melt at the spark plug but be perfectly fine at my dizzy.
 
#2 ·
Welcome to TN :hi: Sorry to hear of your troubles. That doesn't sound good at all, I hope it's not the head gasket. Your compression test will tell you a lot. I am not sure about the plug wires except perhaps the oil was raising the resistance and drawing more current resulting in more heat?
 
#3 ·
Welcome to TN
Sorry to hear of your troubles. That doesn't sound good at all, I hope it's not the head gasket. Your compression test will tell you a lot. I am not sure about the plug wires except perhaps the oil was raising the resistance and drawing more current resulting in more heat?
Well they were not covered in oil but i was wondering if somehow gas escaped past the spark plug and ruined them or if it was from the heat of the engine during the overheat but it was only 49* outside and raining so i cant see it being insanely hot.
 
#5 ·
Oil puddling on the transmission is usually a seal inside the distributor (NOT the one that you can see when you pull the dizzy out of the head). I've rebuilt two of them now, its not too bad if you have a vice.

Plug wires melting at the plugs could be due to the overheating. Regardless, I'd replace those first and see if it starts. Maybe pull your plugs while you're at it and inspect them.

What color is your engine oil?
 
#6 ·
Oil puddling on the transmission is usually a seal inside the distributor (NOT the one that you can see when you pull the dizzy out of the head). I've rebuilt two of them now, its not too bad if you have a vice.

Plug wires melting at the plugs could be due to the overheating. Regardless, I'd replace those first and see if it starts.
Maybe pull your plugs while you're at it and inspect them.

What color is your engine oil?
The oil actually looks like oil with no milkyness or water. Added water alot. Still working on removing spark plug 3 . Totally looks like my valve cover was leaking by the dizzy. And weirdly no oil on plugs 1 2 and 4 . Still need to test compression. Any one use itm gasket kits? Found one for my car whole engine kit 60 bucks on rock auto. Worth it?
 
#8 ·
You need to get a real diagnosis on what is going on before buying parts.

You kept driving the car (multiple times!) after an episode of overheating. You don't drive a car after it has overheated - that's what tow trucks are for. Keep in mind that the factory water temp gauge is much more of an idiot light than a real gauge. It will stay firmly planted in the middle of the range from ~160*F to over ~220*F. By the time you see it move up from the middle, you need to shut the engine down ASAP.

So, get that spark plug out, check the compression. Pressure test the cooling system. Get a new radiator cap (the only part not tested when you pressure test the cooling system). Verify water pump and thermostat operation. Verify the timing belt is in good shape. Go through all the diagnostic steps and let us know what you find.

-Charlie
 
#9 ·
Well being i live paycheck to paycheck it was my only option. Had to go to work. Lol water pump and timing belt are 4 weeks old. So i think they work. Will be replacing thermostat and rad cap once i can. Hoping to test compression today then ill check cooling system pressure. Im pretty sure it is leaking somewhere. Or being forced into the resivour cause of a bad rad cap. The 3 plugs i took out where super black. So ill get new plugs too when i can get the wireset which is totallu destroyed now.
Im hoping its the valve cover i can see where oil made its way past the gasket. Hopefully i have compression and my car dieing was melted plugs not a head gasket.
 
#15 ·
Update 3/15
Turned out to be a bad head gasket and a bad radiator. Replaced both. Almost got my car driving agan. I gotta set up the timing today. Must be a little bit off she cranks and tries to start but just wont catch and run. I think i am 1 or 2 teeth advanced. The piece of shit who worked on my car vefore me thought it was ok to use a damn impact on the tensioner bolt stripping it completely round. So i have to use force the belt on using the crank to turn it as i manually force it to the oil pump gear.. should be able to get it closer.
Can the distrubutors adjustment cause the car to not start start but sound like its close to starting.?
 
#16 ·
Sounds like its time to drill out that bolt and replace it along with getting a new tensioner. That'll be <$20, and you won't have to worry about it again in the future.

Set the distributor near the center of its range of adjustment for the initial start, then set the the timing after the belt is correct and the engine has warmed up. If you are 1 tooth off, the engine should still start but will run very poorly.

At least you can be happy knowing none of these problems will damage the internals of your engine...

-Charlie
 
#17 ·
@white90dx
Yeah i almost did it while i had the head off the block.. but ultimately decided against because i am piss poor at drilling out bolts. Broke a drill bit into the last one i did. Plus i figured out a decent way to get the belt on by first doing the cam then the water pump. Then i turn the water pump till the belt it taunt then i pull it most the way on the crank and barely on the oil pump and she grabs right away. I think i was just a tooth of to begin with. It gets super close to starting. Sounds like a cold ass lawn mower who wants to start but not yet.
Ok i will do that. I tried to put it back exactly where it was using the mark it left when the bolt came out.
Going to check the belt first then move the dizzy around.
I am wondering i believe i did my intake and exhuast cams properly, but if i didnt how would i know that without a rebuild?

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#18 ·
Its been a while since I have done a 3s-fe timing belt (maybe 10 years?), so take this with a grain of salt...

Anyway - to drill out the bolt, what you really need is to get the head off the bolt, remove the tensioner, then just unscrew what is left of the bolt. Once the pressure is off the threads, it should come out without much work. Bolts sheared off at or below the surface are much more difficult.

For checking mechanical timing between the cams - all you have to do is pull off the valve cover (4 nuts around the spark plug tubes and a few other small things to get clearance to remove the valve cover). The dots on each cam scissor gear should line up when rotated together.

For checking mechanical timing from the crank to the cam pulley, you just need to pull off the upper timing cover. The timing mark for the crank should be visible on the crank pulley and the timing mark on the cam gear should match with the mark right behind it on the head. The cam gear mark is vertical with respect to the motor, but tipped 'back' with the motor installed in the car.

-Charlie
 
#20 ·
So my cam is at 100* when my piston is tdc. So about 2 or 3 teeth off. Would that cause my car to start but not run. Because i got her to start now, last night i had a fuel return hose disconnected that i missed. So now if i press the gas she will start but as soon as i let off she dies. What causes that? The timing being off?

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#22 ·
Assuming everything is in good shape you should be able to pull it off by hand. Grab it at 3 and 6 o clock and wiggle and pull. If that doesn't work I've had success with a rubber hammer tapping on at 3, pulling with my hand at 6. Throw a little mp grease on the crank surface and it'll come off real easy next time..

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#25 ·
I did. And it apears to be off by 10* btdc or about 2 maybe 3 teeth. The cams should be good. As long as my 80* btdc and 100* before btdc the cams should be good. So i guess it has to be the timing. If i push the gas pedal it will turn on and rev. But as soon as i let off it stalls out.

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#27 ·
The spring hasnt been on there for months now. It doesnt ever move lol. Its totally round. Hammed a smalled wrench on there. Got it to the base of the hex and nothing. Wrench broke.
Going to fix timing tomorrow. If i could get it off it would be alot easier i know. But for now ill have to get the pulley off then get the belt right.

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#28 ·
More than 1 tooth off on the belt and the engine probably won't start. You may be off 2 if you can just keep it running with input from the throttle. Each tooth on the cam gear is worth 20* of engine timing if I remember right, which is larger than the adjustment range of the distributor (not to mention the cams will out of phase with the pistons).

Make sure the intake system is in place and leak free. If the Air Flow Meter (AFM) does not have the right signals, it will cut fuel to the motor (the fuel pump it controlled by a switch internal to the AFM). Also, if the screws on the top of the AFM were removed and the harness tugged on, it can damage the internal components in the AFM and also cause the engine to not run.

Grind off the head of that bolt, remove the tensioner and then just remove the rest of the bolt. It will be sticking out and you should be able to just remove it with some pliers. Get a replacement bolt at the dealer and any old tensioner from the parts store. Should be <$20 to have it all fixed.

-Charlie
 
#29 ·
Sounds like i am 2 teeth off then. Cause i have to use the throttle to get it to start and stay on. I am going to grind that damn bolt off this weekend when i get the dremel out. Hoping i didnt mess up the afm but ill look into where it is and see if i did mess with it.
Going to buy the tensioner tomorrow or snag one from a junk yard. I only need a bolt.



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#31 ·
I've only done 5S-FE's on gen3/4 cars, but if your FSM calls for jumpering TE1 and E1 like mine, then you should do it so that there's no timing advance factor. Engine warmed up to operating temp and trans in neutral, of course.
 
#34 ·
Hm, not familiar with the closed-loop control turning off the FP. If you jumper TE1 and E1 with KOEO, does it blink out any codes?

I'm wondering if you can disconnect the upstream O2 sensor to force it to run in open loop.
 
#37 ·
The '92+ Camry 4-cylinders are somewhat different here... so be careful giving advice if you don't know the specifics.

A jumper between B+ and Fp will keep the fuel pump on whenever the key is in the ON position. This can help show the main issue that happens when the AFM gets damaged (the first thing that seems to break is the wire connection for the fuel pump switch in the AFM). If you are good with a soldering iron, you can repair the AFM. The electrical connector is removed by removing the small metal clip on the plug, not by removing the screws.

You MUST have T and E1 connected to check/set the timing on the engine. Without it, the ECU will be adjusting the timing and advancing it more than base timing. While the jumper is in place and the engine is running, the check engine light will flash.

Reset the distributor near the middle of the range, get the car to stay running, then set the timing after the have the engine idling reliably.

-Charlie

edit: a disconnected main O2 sensor will cause a check-engine light, but won't stop the engine from running for our purposes. Repair the wire or get a new Denso (ONLY!!) O2 sensor in there...
 
#38 ·
I swear if i could talk to you in person haha you seem to know a lot about the 3sfe.
Ok ill try jumpering the pins and reset the dizzy, that makes a lot of sense now i was wondering if the ecu was somehow overriding my settings manually. At one point i got it to sound much better than all the other spots and it ran like a half a second longer.
Weirdly when i keep the engine on with by depressing the throttle it doesnt have the check engine light on. Is that weird?
So if it runs with the b+ jumpered to fuel pump pin, its the afm? And i can solder so if i need to i can fix the afm.


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