95 Camry stalling problem, HELP!!!

[dave255]

I am in desperate need of some expert opinion!!! I'll try to be as concise as possible. I have a 95 Camry 5sfe 4cyl automatic with 183k miles on it...

A few months ago my car started stalling out on me sporadically and has gradually gotten worse and worse to the point where it is currently a major headache. When the engine is cold there is no issue whatsoever, it runs perfectly without any noticeable symptoms. But once it gets hot the problems start. It constantly stalls out at stop signs and red lights(city driving is almost impossible now, but on the highway it is fine). To get around this I try to shift into neutral and keep my foot on the gas whenever I'm at a red light to prevent the stalling...this is effective a lot of the time but not always. Now, when it does stall I usually have to wait 10 or 15 minutes and then it starts right up again. Slightly depressing the gas pedal as I turn the ignition usually seems to help. Also, when I try to start the engine during one of these stalling episodes I smell a strong gasoline odor which I believe is coming from underneath the hood.

The engine also idles erratically. If I'm in park with the engine up to temperature it will randomly shoot up to 2000rpm and down to 500(barely alive) then back up to 1500 and so on in a completely random pattern.

Another issue is that the engine stutters when accelerating from a dead stop. I usually have to baby it, and very gently press the gas pedal until it gets going, and then I can give it more gas without a problem. Again this only occurs when the engine is hot...there are no acceleration issues when the car hasn't gotten up to temperature yet.

My gas mileage has seemed to drop a bit as well.

I searched the message boards a few weeks ago and found people with 90's camrys with similar issues. This led me to believe it was either the EGR valve or the IAC valve. I have replaced BOTH of these and there was no change with my problem. I have also seafoamed the car, replaced the pcv valve, and checked all the obvious things(spark plugs, air filter, etc.).

Any ideas would be much appreciated. Thank you in advance!!!!!!!

[Mike Gerber]

Considering what has already been replaced and that the problem is only at operating temperature, 2 things come to mind. They are the engine coolant temperature sensor (Toyota calls it an ECT sensor in their manuals), and the O2 sensors. The engine coolant temperature sensor may be out of range and always telling the computer that the engine is still cold. This would constantly cause a rich fuel mixture. This would account for both the stalling and the drop in fuel mileage. The O2 sensor(s) being out of range could also account for both symptoms. They are usually out of the loop until the engine reaches normal operating temperature. You will need a digital volt/ohmeter and the specs from any manual to test these things. There are Toyota factory service manuals that are available for free downloading, stickied at the top of the Toyota Camry forum over at AutomotiveForums.com.

Mike

[Kep]

Just for grins squeeze your air supply hose and make sure that it doesn't have an cracks.

I like Mike's points.

Also check the vacuum hoses, especially the ones between the EGR modulator and the EGR valve.

There's more but do the easy stuff first.

Luck,
Kep

[new echo owner]

What Mike said, check!

N.E.O.

[BamZipPow]

If those don't pan out...one other thing to check is the TPS. Could be out of spec at temp.

[popeye08]

For the stall problem, also try to spray carbon cleaner to the diamond hole on the IAC when car is running. I have the same problem, clean the IAC doesn't help, only after spray the carbon cleaner.

[Mike Gerber]

popeye08,

"This led me to believe it was either the EGR valve or the IAC valve. I have replaced BOTH of these and there was no change with my problem. I have also seafoamed the car, replaced the pcv valve, and checked all the obvious things(spark plugs, air filter, etc.)."

He has already replaced the IAC valve with a new one and the problem remains.

Mike