1998 Camry - Gettin' Old

[00SolaraV6]

At 172,000 relatively trouble-free miles, our 98 Camry LE I4 is getting old. I've spent the last hour searching these forums but can't seem to find specific answers about some issues the Camry is having.

1 - The engine will occasionally die immediately on start-up when the engine is hot. It usually restarts just fine on the second time. The thing that I came up with most often in my search was an IAC Valve problem. Is this correct?

2 - The heater in the Camry won't blow blow hot air unless the engine is under load or turning 2000+ RPMs. Sitting at redlights on cold mornings, the fan will blow lukewarm air into the cabin even though the engine is at normal temps. Step on the gas to start off and the car is filled with hot air from the vents. Is this just an old age thing, or a problem? I can live with it but if it is simple to fix, why not?

3 - Sometimes when you turn the key to start the car, their will be a lot of fast screeching but the engine won't really turn over much. Took it to Toyota and they couldn't duplicate it and didn't recommend changing the starter. I still think it is the first signs of a failing starter. What do you guys thinK?


Thanks in advance for the help!

[Kep]

I will have to preface this with the remark that I have owned two I4 Camrys, a 1990 (350,000 miles) and a 1995 (bought it with 60,000 and now has 70,000). Not knowing the 1998 personally, I suspect that they are similar. The fact that the dealer was unable to resolve these problems makes me feel like the following may not apply but, what the heck...

Your IAC valve cleaning is a good start. While you are in there, go ahead and clean the throttle body and the EGR system. If you haven't ever changed your spark plugs or wires you might want to do so (or at least inspect them).

Since your temperature gauge is reading normal (mid-way up the gauge) your lack of heat seems to be more like a blend door problem or a water flow problem. Again, not knowing the 98, check to see if the blend doors are vacuum actuated. If they are, you may have a vacuum leak which may also be affecting your engine operation. (That's a long shot guess.) A more likely problem might be the heater core water valve restricting the water flow until the water pressure increases with more RPMs. This might be a problem with the valve itself (near the firewall in the engine compartment) or the control mechanism.

The 1990 starter had a failing where the internal bands would slip, resulting in a kind of banshee metallic scream. It sounded similar to the starter gear grinding when the bendex didn't engage the fly wheel (or "flex plate"), just higher pitched. When mine did this I could wait for about 20 seconds and try again and it would almost always start right up. I did this for about a year before I replaced the starter motor. I would have hoped that this would have been corrected by 1998. Don't know...

Of course, it could be that the starter gear or flex plate has worn or broken teeth. You can remove the starter and inspect the starter gear easily enough. You can check the flex plate (if you're patient) by rotating the engine manually (slowly) and watching the teeth through the hole that the starter gear goes through. Put a mark of white paint on the gear and rotate it one complete revolution.

If nothing else, this may stimulate some other comments,
Kep

[youngflashycamr]

^^ yea he kinda put it right...another thing it could be with the erratic shutting off is a loose vacuum line somewhere...but thats as far as my diagnosis goes...i mean kep kinda siad it all

[Creeps228]

well have you done regular maintence on the car, also do what kep said and about your A/C blowing lukewarm air could be that the A/C needs to be checked out

[00SolaraV6]

Originally Posted by Kep

I will have to preface this with the remark that I have owned two I4 Camrys, a 1990 (350,000 miles) and a 1995 (bought it with 60,000 and now has 70,000). Not knowing the 1998 personally, I suspect that they are similar. The fact that the dealer was unable to resolve these problems makes me feel like the following may not apply but, what the heck...

Your IAC valve cleaning is a good start. While you are in there, go ahead and clean the throttle body and the EGR system. If you haven't ever changed your spark plugs or wires you might want to do so (or at least inspect them).

Since your temperature gauge is reading normal (mid-way up the gauge) your lack of heat seems to be more like a blend door problem or a water flow problem. Again, not knowing the 98, check to see if the blend doors are vacuum actuated. If they are, you may have a vacuum leak which may also be affecting your engine operation. (That's a long shot guess.) A more likely problem might be the heater core water valve restricting the water flow until the water pressure increases with more RPMs. This might be a problem with the valve itself (near the firewall in the engine compartment) or the control mechanism.

The 1990 starter had a failing where the internal bands would slip, resulting in a kind of banshee metallic scream. It sounded similar to the starter gear grinding when the bendex didn't engage the fly wheel (or "flex plate"), just higher pitched. When mine did this I could wait for about 20 seconds and try again and it would almost always start right up. I did this for about a year before I replaced the starter motor. I would have hoped that this would have been corrected by 1998. Don't know...

Of course, it could be that the starter gear or flex plate has worn or broken teeth. You can remove the starter and inspect the starter gear easily enough. You can check the flex plate (if you're patient) by rotating the engine manually (slowly) and watching the teeth through the hole that the starter gear goes through. Put a mark of white paint on the gear and rotate it one complete revolution.

If nothing else, this may stimulate some other comments,
Kep

The EGR and VSV valves were both replaced to fix a CEL previously - so I don't think the EGR is dirty but I will check on the IAC. While the car was in service the throttle body was also cleaned because the accelerator was sticking slightly. This was all done at the dealer for a little over $800.

The metallic scream certainly sounds like what is happening on the 1998 - but only now and then. Not every start.

The car has been religiously maintained and cared for. All oil changes are Mobil 1 synthetic. The transmission fluid is flushed and changed yearly. As stated above, common issues with the EGR and VSV have been repaired. The car has been fully inspected by the dealer for sludge - clean bill of health. Slight blue smoke on start up.. fairly sure that's valve stem seals and those need to be replaced along with a valve adjustment. Aside from that, there's some money in upgrades to this car. It has 00-01 XLE-V6 rims with Ecsta ASX tires, all speakers are Infinity, it has HIDs, tokico blue struts, and all Brembo brake components. It looks and drives like it has half the mileage.

Hopefully these issues are easily resolved. I can live with the heater behavior, but need to see if I can remedy the starter and stall problem. Thanks for your input!