Possible Fuel Issue

[The Hammer28]

I have a 95 Camry 4 cylinder, automatic with 108k. About a week back, I began having a problem while driving. When stopped at a light, the car idles at about 1100-1200 RPM. When I hit the gas, the car sputters. It dies if I don't let up on the pedal right away. Before the light turns green, I have to VERY gently push the gas pedal down to get the RPMs over 1500, while I have my other foot on the brake. The car then will take off without sputtering. Even on the expressway, if I take my foot off the gas momentarily, it feels like there is a hesitation when I apply the gas again. When I have this problem, the car does not go into overdrive, either. When I stop the car and put it into park, the RPMs rev up to 2K right away and then fluctuate between 1500 and 2000 RPM. After placing the car into park, if I try to put it in drive again, it dies out and will then not start for about 5 minutes. The odd thing is that I only have this problem 2 out of 3 times that I drive it and sometimes the problem even corrects itself after driving for about 25 minutes. I thought it was bad gas, but i filled up at 3 different gas stations with the same results. Now I'm thinking fuel pump. Anyone have any ideas or advice? Thanks.

[Mike Gerber]

I would start by checking all vacuum hoses for vacuum leaks. Check the big tube leading from the air filter box to the throttle body for cracks. Is the check engine light lit?

Mike

[frenum49]

Yeah probably a vacuum leak. Could also be fuel pressure regulator. Ug I get tired of typing this. Pull the vacuum line off of the little circular regulator on your engines fuel rail. (The fuel rail is the bar that your injectors are plugged into) Make sure there is no fuel in that vacuum line. If there is then the regulator diaphragm has ruptured and fuel is being sucked past it into the intake. Replace the regulator in this case.

[The Hammer28]

Originally Posted by Mike Gerber

I would start by checking all vacuum hoses for vacuum leaks. Check the big tube leading from the air filter box to the throttle body for cracks. Is the check engine light lit?

Mike

The check engine light is not on. I'll be checking the hoses and fuel pressure regulator tomorrow. Thanks for the suggestions.

[TexanF250]

Could also be an ignition coil on the way out.

[The Hammer28]

I checked all the hoses and spent a considerable amount of time under the hood looking for anything abnormal and couldn't find anything. After some searching on this forum, I'm pretty certain that it is an ignition coil issue. Yesterday, the car decided to sputter and die at a traffic light. It wouldn't restart for about 10 minutes. I went to Autozone and bought an ignition coil for $33, figuring that even if its not the problem, it would have to be replaced in the near future. Question: Has anyone successfully replaced the ignition coil without removing the distributor? I don't know how confident I am in removing the distributor without screwing up the timing. Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

[TexanF250]

You might be able to do it without removing the distributor but I think you risk damaging too many other thinhgs in doing so. The distributor comes out very easily. I seem to remember that there are two electrical plugs and two bolts and out it comes. Just be certain to mark the radial location for the distributor before you pull it out. You may also have to remove the air intake hose to do this but that is not a problem either.

[The Hammer28]

Update: The problem was caused by the ignition coil. The coil had no visible problems, but after changing it, the car runs as it should. There is a very slight timing issue now, since I had to remove the distributor, but nothing major. I appreciate all the suggestions and help.