Engine Rumbles and Shakes, AC related?

[TheSuperSnow]

My parents recently bought me a '93 Camry (4 cylinder) with 125k miles on it and it had been running fine until a few days ago when I would notice a slight rumbling/shaking when the AC was on while stopped or at low speeds. The RPM's would fluctuate sometimes but it didn't seem very serious. But today, when I was about to drive home from class, I turned on my car, no rumble. Then I turned on my AC, and my car started shaking much more severely than I've felt it before.

Before it was mostly audible and the only time I would feel anything is when the AC would kick on. But now, the engine just keeps shaking and I can feel it in my seat. Any idea what's wrong? I had my friend take a quick look under the hood and noticed that when you switch the AC on, the belts on the side of the engine stop for like a half a second and then they start moving again.

I'm having my car taken to a shop next Monday, but I'm worried that I could damage my car further if I keep driving it. This car is absolutely necessary to me as I use it to go to school and I don't really have any other option.

Any ideas?

Also, I didn't notice any sort of prop rod or anything for my hood like my mom's Camry has. How do I get the hood to stay up on my car?

[proftomda]

Your right, its your air conditioning compressor. When the air conditioning is on and compressor is turning, you are placing a load on that little 4 cylinder and sapping 6-10 horsepower. If your AC is cooling nicely, the technician should check belt tension and maybee add some lunricant charge into the system. If the drive belt that turns your AC compressor is too tight, you'll place a even higher load on the engine and may even cause the compressor speed switch to kick off the compressor. When this happens, the little green light in the AC switch will chage from steady green to flashing green. Hope this helps.

[Kep]

^+1 with proftomda. The belt stopping is a concern. If the belt is tight enough then the compressor is probably failing and putting too much of a drag on the system. More oil may help. Do you hear a chattering while the AC is running? (That too is a sign of a failing compressor.) Another facet of this system is an idle up control that kicks in when the AC is on. If this fails then your engine will also chug at too low of an RPM. However, I don't think this would cause the belt to slip.

Kep

[Mike Gerber]

"Also, I didn't notice any sort of prop rod or anything for my hood like my mom's Camry has. How do I get the hood to stay up on my car?"

As far as this problem is concerned, your car should have 2 hood struts that hold the hood open. There is one on each side of the hood near the window. They are probably worn out. You can replace these yourself. They are about $25 each for aftermarket ones.

Mike

[TheSuperSnow]

Thanks for the replies. Since I don't really know jack about cars, there isn't anything I can really do right now other than just provide information. I usually take the interstate to get to class, but once I got on it today, I decided I should stay off of the interstate until I get this problem fixed. It definitely seems now that whatever my air conditioner did has changed the way the engine functions. The rumbling and shaking is always around now, regardless of whether the AC is on or off. It also definitely feels like I'm getting less power now. When I was on the interstate, my car had a lot of problems shifting into the higher gears and the acceleration was absolutely terrible.

Any tell-tale signs I should be on the lookout for in terms of imminent failure of my car? Or is that one of them? I've already had car problems once when I was driving my mom's Camry, and I really don't want to have to go through something like that again (I was driving to class when the head gaskets on my mom's car blew...).

[new echo owner]

Do you know is if your cooling fans are running on high speed or not, noted by the high roaring noise when the A/C is running?

I am guessing that you don't have any problem with the A/C off, right? Where is the engine idling at with the A/C on and with it off?

N.E.O.

[proftomda]

Whoever needs hood support struts, I am parting out a 1992 Camry with two struts in excellent condition. I'll sell the pair for $15.00 not including shipping. Let me know.

[groovemasterodi]

This should really be a different thread so as not to detract from the OP's original inquiry I think, but never the less, will these struts fit an 01 ?

[Kep]

SuperSnow, I don't know if you want to get this involved but you can remove the AC compressor's electric clutch and pulley and install a "non-AC" alternator belt. This will eliminate the AC compressor from the system and, if it is indeed the problem, remove the problem.

Does there appear to be any black goo (melted plastic) seeping out between the compressor and the pulley?

If you don't want to work on this yourself there's not a lot that I can suggest. If the mechanic opts for replacing the compressor you're probably looking at about $1000 before it is all said and done. If this is too much right now ask him what he would charge to pull the pulley off of the failing compressor and put on a "non-AC" alternator belt. He could do that without having to open the AC system (you do not want to have the AC system opened, close it back up and then leave it for months until you fix it. You may end up having to replace the whole system due to the moister that gets in and reacts with the oil.). Of course, you won't have any AC.

All of this is assuming that it is indeed a problem with the compressor. It may be two problems. Or more. You could remove the alternator/compressor belt and drive the car around for a while. If the problem disappears then you would be reassured that after the compressor was fixed you would be done with it. If the problem remained then you could rethink it before you paid to do something that wasn't necessary. You can drive a car without the alternator over an hour with a good battery and not running any accessories (lights, inside fans or radios, etc...)

Kep

[Stillrunning]

If the compressor is indeed causing too much drag because it is failing and binding then all you need to do is either not engage the A/C switch or disconnect the compressor clutch wire and make sure the pulley runs free. If the pulley continues to engage then removing the pulley or belt would work.

To test the drag on the compressor I would remove the belt and activate the clutch via a battery jumper then turn the compressor by hand. There should be no binding. I would also like to point you in a different direction of possible cause. There is an idle-up feature when engaging the compressor. I believe it is controlled with the A/C amplifier. If that is not working then you will get reduced idle and engine shaking.

[xtremeskier97]

Originally Posted by proftomda

Whoever needs hood support struts, I am parting out a 1992 Camry with two struts in excellent condition. I'll sell the pair for $15.00 not including shipping. Let me know.

Brand new lifetime warranty ones on ebay are just a few dollars more than that.

[TheSuperSnow]

I had one of my friends come over earlier and had him take a quick look at my car. He had me run the car and he said it sounded like one of the cylinders weren't firing, so he took a look inside every cylinder and found excessive amounts of oil leaking into one of them. He cleaned the plugs and put them back in, and then had me start the car again. Revved the engine a little and when he checked it again it was full of oil again. Told me that I should have the mechanic to take a look at it and replace the seals and if that was the only problem, then it should be a relatively inexpensive fix. Is this right?

[new echo owner]

What seal are you referring to? If it is the valve seal, the cam shafts needs to be removed. And depending on the technician, some may even remove the cylinder head.

There are a few things that could cause oil on the plug and until you are sure that it is whatever seal that you are thinking about replacing, it may be wise to dig deeper before making any repair. Furthermore, if it is oil on your spark plug causing the problem you had described in your OP, you would a felt it even without the A/C running, roughness when idling in gear.

Is your oil level low?

[Stillrunning]

Head gasket, do a compression test. Give us your "inexpensive" threshold.

[Mike Gerber]

I wonder if he is talking about the spark plug tube seals? That's the only thing that I can think of that would cause oil in 1 cylinder and that's cheap to repair.

Mike