3rd & 4th Generation (1992–1996 & 1997–2001)Toyota Camry Discussion for years: 1992-1996 & 1997-2001
Topics of discussion range from fuel economy, safety, modifications, performance all involving America's favorite family car, the Toyota Camry.
Hey all,
Thought I'd post this here and ask for advice. I have a 92 Camry LE sedan (4 cyl) with automatic tranny. It has 122k miles on it and is completely stock.
This is my daily driver. I drive 110 miles a day to and from work. I notice that after the car gets to operating temp (temp gauge slightly less then halfway), if it is in Drive and I'm stopped at a traffic light for example, the car feels like it's going to stall. The rpms hover around the 750 mark but will drop below it and the stutter and rise back up above 750. It does that constantly. Also, when I hit the gas to go after being stopped at same traffic light, the car'll hesitate just for a second before engaging the gears.
If I put it in Neutral or Park, the rpm's rise to about 1k and the problem doesn't manifest itself.
On top of that, on the highway, if I let off the gas and slow down from about 70mph to 50 mph and then I hit the gas, the car feels like it's hunting for the correct gear again, just for a few seconds, before it decides and then goes. This is bothering me to no end.
Does anybody have any suggestions or thoughts? I'm hoping that the tranny isn't going out. Please help.
Try cleaning out the throttle body and IAC valve with carb cleaner. If that doesn't work, you may need to replace the IAC valve which is located below the throttle body. Pretty common problem as these cars get older. Doesn't sound like a tranny problem.
"If that doesn't work, you may need to replace the IAC valve which is located below the throttle body"
this is true but test some other stuff out first. I had the exact same problem with my '89 camry and there are a lot of causes for it. PCV valve is a good thing to replace and it is easy, an old air filter can affect your idle and it is also easy to replace. Check those out first. Then look for vacume leaks, cracked hoses can be a big problem at idle and a vacume leak would also cause that hesitation.
If all that stuff is fine then your IAC valve is a good place to look. testing out the motor and cleaning it is always a good idea. Other sources of the problem could be a bad O2 sensor or bad fuel filter. For me it was a combination of fuel filter, hoses, air filter and pcv valve that made it go away.
Originally posted by nobrainer umm could someone please post a link to a tutorial on cleaning out the throttle body? im one of those dumbasses that doesnt even know where that is...
Pretty much for any vehicle, follow the air hose after the air box (the box with the air filter in it) all the way until it reaches the end, where it goes into the engine. In that place, you want to remove the airhose there (more than likely you'll have to remove the entire air intake plenum, I find it to be easier to work if you do). To remove the air intake plenum, simply unclip the metal clip on the cable that connects at the top of the airbox (this is your Mass Airflow Sensor) and obviously disconnect the line, unclip the top portion or lid (whatever you like to call it) of the airbox, remove any small hoses that go from the output of the airbox line (called a plenum line) to the throttle body (just disconnect them and don't forget where each one goes). Now that you got all the hoses out of the way, on the side of the throttle body, you'll find your throttle cable. Look inside your TB (throttle body for short) and turn the throttle assembly valve (the thing at the end of the throttle cable) much in the same fashion if you where idling your car and wanted to give it gas from under the hood, instead of inside the car. You'll see that inside your TB you have a metal plate that turns as you turn that outside throttle cable assembly, that's called your butterfly valve. What you want to do is pick up Throttle Body Cleaner from your local auto store (I prefer STP Throttle Body cleaner) but make sure for your 1992 that it is Throttle Body cleaner and NOT Carbureator/Choke cleaner. I don't know what it is, but the TB cleaner has mechanisms that don't damage your Throttle Position Sensor inside your TB. Anyway, spray all inside your TB as you have the valve open (don't worry, trust me you'll be fine) with the cleaner. Work the inside and the back of the butterfly plate (essentially when the valve flips open, it will be your bottom side) with an old toothbrush. Make sure you spray all up in there and try to get as much of the black stuff you can. But I recomend don't press too hard otherwise you can damage your sensor. Sometimes, I wrap a shop towel on the end of the toothbrush and get all up in there to wipe the crude off. All that black soot is the ventilation given off by your PVC, IAC valve from your valve train assembly. Try to wipe as much as you can. Once you're all done, reconnect everything, I recommend a new airfilter at this time also. Fire the puppy up and yes it will be a rough idle for the first couple of minutes, hell you might even have trouble starting it (just give it gas), let it idle and it should calm down. You also might notice a cloud of black smoke coming out your tail pipe, that's just excess buildup (remember you sprayed into the engine intake manifold [the area just after the TB in the engine block, you can't really see this] so any of the black soot in the intake that the cleaner contacts, will be clean off in the process). You might have to adjust your idle after you do this as sometimes it may shoot up. Good luck, and enjoy faster throttle response.
This is the simplest method, the really good method is to remove the entire TB and clean it, and that also works great. But if your going to do this, on some cars, that TB is connected to the coolant line (helps cool the TB, remember that engines like cold air) and if your like me, I don't feel like draining all the coolant and taking off the TB and then reinstalling it and usually you need a new gasket to go between the TB and the engine manifold, this is all I do.
If I put it in Neutral or Park, the rpm's rise to about 1k and the problem doesn't manifest itself.
Quote:
On top of that, on the highway, if I let off the gas and slow down from about 70mph to 50 mph and then I hit the gas, the car feels like it's hunting for the correct gear again, just for a few seconds, before it decides and then goes. This is bothering me to no end.
so no problem when the gear selector is in park or neutral. how bout when youre in 2,1, or L?
and just as a point of interest, when youre driving at freeway speeds or any time the car is moving, the IAC is not energized. the letter "I" in IAC stands for IDLE.
Originally posted by OEMonkey so no problem when the gear selector is in park or neutral. how bout when youre in 2,1, or L?
and just as a point of interest, when youre driving at freeway speeds or any time the car is moving, the IAC is not energized. the letter "I" in IAC stands for IDLE.
It does the same thing in 2 and L when I'm stopped at a traffic light. When I hit the gas to go, it sorta feels like the gearbox is 'hunting' for the right gear.
About the freeway, well, like I said, if I let off the gas to slow down from 70mph to about 50mph and then hit the gas to speed up again, it hesitates, again, feels like it's 'hunting' for the right gear, before picking up.
Waiting for my manuals to get to me before I do anything. I've added dry gas to the fuel system to remove any water in the fuel lines.
UPDATE:
Here's the latest on my situation: The roughness of the engine got a lot worse a few days ago (friday to be exact). I drove 300 miles to New Hampshire and the entire trip, the engine felt like crap. The hesitation was really bad and at times, I felt like stopping and giving the car some cough medicine or something. Anyways, I got to my sister's house in NH and pulled into her garage and disconnected the air intake to the throttle body and cleaned the dang thing out. Let me just say that there was a LOT of carbon buildup!! But, after I cleaned it up and fired up the car, it ran pretty smoothly. There's still some roughness at idle and at 50-60mph but it's not as bad as before.
I was close to an empty tank of gas so I added some fuel injector cleaner into the gas tank. I couldn't pull out the PCV valve, so I couldn't check that. I didn't have time to check the spark plugs or the ditributor cap. I'm taking my car in for an oil change at a Toyota dealer this week and I'm gonna ask them to do it. Since I live in an apartment complex (open parking lot, no garage) it's hard to work on my car. Plus, this was my first foray into actually 'working' on my car myself. This is thanks to all you great people and your detailed advice and tips on this forum. Thanks again.
NOTE: For anyone cleaning their throttle body, it's really easy and not as intimidating as I thought. I will warn you that once you spray the tb cleaner and try to start the car back up, it takes a couple of kicks before the engine gets going and then you'll notice a darker exhaust from all the stuff burning up at the time.
Your car must be misfiring. I had a smiliar problem, actually pretty much the same. Check your coolant temperature sensor and your ISC (Idle speed control valve). Clean the ISC and replace the sensor and sees if that works.
Thanks for the suggestions fellas. Here's another update: The issue has returned with a vengeance. The car now idles rough in park, neutral, etc. No power on 1st and 2nd and 4th. And oh! the vibrations! On 4th, at 70mph, if I'm climbing a hill, the engine literally struggles to maintain speed.
I just looked at the sparks and I noticed that one of them has oil in the spark plug chamber. Anyone know what that means?
You have an oil leak in your valves. You need to take off the valve cover clean it completely and change the gasket plus the tube seals. For this problem have a shop do it, because the tubes are very fragile. Buy the stuff from toyota and have your local mechanic do it. I had exactly the same problem. After doing this you need to change all your spark plugs and wires.
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92 Camry rough idling problem
"Skoolin' the unlearned!"
But, after I cleaned it up and fired up the car, it ran pretty smoothly. There's still some roughness at idle and at 50-60mph but it's not as bad as before.
Thanks again. 
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