mechanical help

[pincode]

I recently became the proud owner of a 1992 camry le v6 with 165,000 kms(about 100,000 miles) On start up the engine revs to about 2000 rpm and there is a loud whining noise I thought was belts or pullies. A mechanic said it was the transmission(auto). This noise stops when the engine revs come down to idle, there is no further noise and the transmission operates normally.

Sooo I drove it for a week and on start up there started to be a big cloud of smoke from the exaust. It doesn't seem to smoke after its warmed up, but then I looked at the air filter and it has a large amount of oil on the filter and in the air box. I have changed the pcv valve and only got to drive once since so can't tell if helped or not. Can the oil in the air intake only be caused by blowby which would inticate a new engine, or by something else.
Thnx
Pincode

[chronoti]

replacing the pcv should help alot. also sea foam through the intke should help clear it out. (search seafoam)

[toyomoho]

Use a section of rubber hose as a stethoscope to run down the noise location. The smoke and noise may or may not be related.

Check to see if the air filter is a replacement type requiring oil, if not replace the filter. Clean the oil out of the intake, as Chronoti states check the PCV system.

Check the trans fluid amount and color (should be red not black).

[pincode]

Thanks for Seafoam will try

[pincode]

Thanks trans fluid red with some black residue, will try fluid change, maybe an additive? Have to change air filter and clean intake.

[pincode]

Is it true that 1992 3.0lt v6 does not have the sludge problems that later years have?

[Stillrunning]

Originally Posted by pincode

Is it true that 1992 3.0lt v6 does not have the sludge problems that later years have?

On a vehicle with an unknown oil change service interval I would recommend this: http://www.auto-rx.com/index.html It's a little expensive but it does clean the engine. I'm not connected to the company, just a past user who has had good results.

As for the whine on start-up I would not worry about it. Mine does the same and I have had no problems. It's impossible to trace anyway.

If you change trans fluid I would not add an additive. Mostly additives are a waste of money.

You'll have to give us the color of the smoke out the tailpipe.

[pincode]

the tailpipe smoke is blue as in burning oil. I don't know how the recent seller could have hidden such a problem, I drove it 3 days before it started smoking. Previous owner was 84 and air care shows that he drove it 2000 kms in the last year. It passed air care 2000 kms ago. I have never had a problem buying a vehicle that had a good aircare(British Columbia test to license a car, tests hco, co, nox. Pcv was stuck when it started smoking but mechanic says that kind of oil in intake must come from ring blowby. But this isn't something that just happens. Have not driven it since.

[rn8849]

Hey man, sorry to hear about your difficulties. If I were you I would test the compression. I am fortunate enough to have a compression tester but I think you should be able to rent one it you don't own one or have a friend that does. Clean the engine thoroughly, especially around the spark plugs so no junk falls into the cylinders. Break the plugs loose while the engine is cool to make sure you are not going to have problems with them once it's warm. Snug them back up temporarily, then warm it up to operating temp then pull all of the plugs out and disable the PCM so it will not inject fuel nor spark the plugs. I did this on our 90 Camry by pulling the fuse for the PCM, I am sorry but I can't remember how it was marked at the moment. There is a site called Camry Stuff or something like that that has the Factory Service Manuals that should outline the procedure. You don't want the injectors working because it is dangerous to have all the atomized fuel in the air and you don't want it turning to liquid in the cylinder and washing all the oil off of the cylinder walls, it will cause serious scoring of the cylinder walls. Don't skip that step, please!

Screw in the tester and crank with Wide Open Throttle several revolutions each cylinder. Write down each reading, don't trust your memory. Next squirt some CLEAN motor oil in the cylinder, not a bunch cuz' it's bad for your catalytic(s) and run each cylinder again right after you put the oil in. Don't oil them all and then test, oil, test, move to the next and repeat. Again, write down results! Compare the oiled vs dry and see how much it changed. I am rusty with all of the numbers but the Factory Service Manual should give you all of the parameters but rough numbers off the top of my head would say you should see about 100 to 120 psi compression, no more than 5% or so variation cylinder to cylinder and if you see one(s) that is (are) low and come up significantly with oil, then you've got broken rings and/or scored cylinder walls. If they don't improve with oil then that would indicate poor sealing valves, bent or burned, which is probably not an issue for you since you are suspicious of blow-by but keep it in mind.

Now, what you are describing, smoke at start-up, is indicative of worn valve seals, which keep the engine oil that is up around the camshaft from making it's way into the combustion chamber. However, that shouldn't be mucking up your air cleaner. Do you know if you are still getting oil in the air cleaner since you have changed the PCV?

I can't see how the guy could have been hiding this either but you're right, these things don't usually just pop up out of nowhere. Typically broken rings, bent valves, etc. are a result of severe overheating or running low on oil, something you would have been aware of.

Maybe it has something to do with the car sitting for so long last year. Hopefully you can get it "cleaned out" somehow and it will be a nice dependable car for you. I have little experience with vehicles that have been in storage, so to speak.

Good luck to you, let me know if I can help,
Gary B