93 Camry 4 cyl down on power and stalls - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

Rookie84 · 07-31-2008, 05:53 PM

Hello. I've recently found a 93 Camry 4 cyl automatic with 140k miles for sale locally, for really good price. The seller stated exhaust leak. When I test drove the car, it was severly down on power. It also stalled whenever I came to a stop. I had to put it in neutral and keep my foot on the gas to keep it from stalling. Everything else looked fine other than a small leak in radiator. What do you guys think the problem is? I don't think leaking exhaust can cause that much loss in power... I had to go WOT and the car was having a hard time getting up to 40mph. But there was no smoke or anything. When it was idling there was a strong smell of gas out of the muffler.

If it's an easy fix, I think I'm going to pick this car up as the owner was willing to negotiate, and so I can get the car for about $300. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

frenum49 · 07-31-2008, 05:59 PM

This problem could be caused by a large number of factors. First thing I would do is pull the codes. You should pay a garage to inspect this car before you buy. The cost is relatively low and could save you a lot of $ in parts and labor.

Rookie84 · 07-31-2008, 06:05 PM

CEL is not on, so I doubt any codes will be found... I guess it won't hurt to try though. But has anyone experienced the same/similar problems and know a fix for it?

***ASG14*** · 07-31-2008, 07:51 PM

Check the EGR Valve for the stalling. This sounds similiar to my old '92 I4 Camry. After it was warmed up, as soon as it went below around 1500RPM's, car stalled. The ERG Valve was stuck in the open position allowing more air int hen being read. Weirdly enough......Never had a CEL on that either. And I think mine dies somewhere under 120k miles.

lordstarwind · 07-31-2008, 08:16 PM

for 300 if you need a project car thats a good price if the body is in good condition if you were to fix that problem Dependant on the miles even if you didn't want to keep the car you could turn a profit off of it in the least.

-LSW

Rookie84 · 08-01-2008, 03:53 AM

Thanks. ASG14

LSW, the body has some rust. mainly rear wheel arches. The paint has gone to shiet... I was just going to use it as my beater and sell it later for a little bit of profit if it was going to be an easy fix. Looks like there are plenty of info on stalling after doing some googling, but nothing on the car being so down on power... It seems like the car is running on 2 cylinders... that is how much power this car has. So the problem is not exhaust leak... hmmm...

Hajoca · 08-01-2008, 06:20 AM

Look into the EGR as ASG14 described, get a hand held vaccum pump and look up how to test EGR on next test drive.

Spark plugs would most likely be fouled as a result of leaky EGR too.

Easy to fix.

Rookie84 · 08-01-2008, 04:02 PM

Thanks, Hajoca. Would faulty EGR and fouled spark plugs cause that much power loss?

***ASG14*** · 08-01-2008, 05:54 PM

Honestly, the exhaust leake may be causing it all. You'd be surprised.

Rookie84 · 08-01-2008, 09:19 PM

That might as well be the case. Anyway, it looks like I'll just pick it up and junk it if it doesn't work out. I called a junkyard and they are willing to give $315 for it, so I don't have much to lose.

Black95Cam · 08-02-2008, 02:37 AM

or you can part it out...

Rookie84 · 08-02-2008, 03:29 AM

I don't really have time to part it out... I'll probably try selling it as a fixer-upper/parts car on craigslist first. Anyway, I'll be looking at the car again today. I think the problem is likely to be one of these three:

1. fouled spark plugs (due to one or both of reasons below)
2. EGR stuck open (the car stalled right off the bat after I reversed it out of the parking spot and stopped to put it in drive... so I'm assuming it might be stuck open?)
3. exhaust leak before the O2 sensor cauing the car to run way too rich

I'm going to pull the plugs this time and see what they look like. I made a mistake of test driving the car first before pulling the plugs, and I didn't really felt like pulling them on a hot engine.

Also, to check if the EGR is the culpit, can I just cap off the vacuum hose going to it and see if the car stalls?

Thanks!

BubbaGus · 08-05-2008, 07:36 PM

Clean that EGR Valve

Easy removal tip
Remove the Air Filter Hose going to the Intake
Remove the Distributor Cap
Remove the Distributor taking note which way the rotor button is facing for reinstall
You can now get to the lower nut on the EGR tube
Loosen this nut completely
Remove the 2 bolts that hold the EGR Valve to the intake
Take off hoses taking note where they come off
Remove all the carbon off the Valve (dig deep in there)

Reinstall in reverse order

This worked like a charm on my 96 Camry