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.
I recently purchased a 1995 camry coupe le with 105k mileage from a private seller who "guaranteed the engine and transmission" and I stupidly bought the vehicle without a real test drive or car checkup. After driving it for one hour my car is now at my friends mechanic for a major oil leak, engine misfire, issue with distributor and overall bad condition of the all the fluids. Now the seller actually agreed to split the costs of the repairs because he understood that he agreed to certain terms when he sold me the vehicle so I was wondering what he should be responsible for. The mechanic stated the major oil leak was from a leaking gasket which may have damaged the distributor. I am also having the timing belt and water pump changed however I understand that is on my own money. Do you think he is responsible for paying for the distributor/gasket issues? I am looking at 800-1500 in repairs.
In all fairness he should've said that the car had problems, but you should've checked.
I guess the blame could be both of yours. If he falsely advertises something, then that is terrible and his fault, but if you don't take your time and evaluate the purchase, then that's yours.
1995 camry coupe le with 105k mileage, major oil leak, engine misfire, issue with distributor and overall bad condition of the all the fluids, major oil leak was from a leaking gasket which may have damaged the distributor. I am also having the timing belt and water pump changed
105,000 miles ... 160,000 km, has the timing belt ever been done? If not, it's overdue and expected. You might not need to do the water pump. Just the belt should be no more than 2-2.5 hours labour, the price of the belt and a new spring for the tensioner.
The distributor has an o-ring on its shaft that prevents oil penetration. Unless installed improperly, doubt it would leak like you describe. The gasket on the valve cover, above the distributor, if leaking wouldn't harm the distributor internals. Make the valve cover nuts on the spark plug tubes are loose?
Also get a spray can of intake cleaner and clean the intake, it does wonders.
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85 LE 2SE 500K km - died trying to push a semi off the road
95 LE 5SFE 530K km, 530K km changed engine, 549K km second engine died, now 554K Km running with a 98 5SFE block and head
01 XLE V6 310K km
Last edited by 500KCamry; 04-29-2009 at 01:43 AM.
Reason: errors
105,000 miles ... 160,000 km, has the timing belt ever been done? If not, it's overdue and expected. You might not need to do the water pump. Just the belt should be no more than 2-2.5 hours labour, the price of the belt and a new spring for the tensioner.
The distributor has an o-ring on its shaft that prevents oil penetration. Unless installed improperly, doubt it would leak like you describe. The gasket on the valve cover, above the distributor, if leaking wouldn't harm the distributor internals. Make the valve cover nuts on the spark plug tubes are loose?
Also get a spray can of intake cleaner and clean the intake, it does wonders.
Do you have an idea why the car is cranking excessively after running for about 15 mins? I had it diagnosed by 2 different mechanics and one told me straight away that the distributor may be damaged due to the massive oil leak. The car is at the other mechanic for a full tune up and he is going to find the root of the problem but I don't want to be paying for something I don't need.
Make sure the mechanic checks the coil inside the distributor. They are a common trouble area on the first three generations of Camrys. They have a tendancy to cause problems to due mileage and age. A defective coil can cause problems when they get warm. The mecahnic can test it with a digital volt/ohmeter and the specs from any manual. If it's out of spec, it's a pretty cheap and easy replacement; about $50 for an aftermarket coil and about a half hour of labor.
Do you have an idea why the car is cranking excessively after running for about 15 mins? I had it diagnosed by 2 different mechanics and one told me straight away that the distributor may be damaged due to the massive oil leak. The car is at the other mechanic for a full tune up and he is going to find the root of the problem but I don't want to be paying for something I don't need.
I'd check the engine coolant temperature sensor (up near the distributor). Correct resistance should be ~250 ohms when the engine is warmed up. If that sensor is reading cold (higher resistance), she'll be running too rich. Makes for a hard (or impossible) start, and usually a crappy idle with the stink of a "too rich" mixture. Quick check would be to just disconnect the connector from the sensor, which causes the computer to assume that the coolant is at normal operating temperature. If the cranking problem goes away, then you've probably got a winner, but I'd tend to check the resistance directly, just to confirm. This will cause the "check engine" light to come on, but that'll correct itself when you reconnect the connector.
See http://www.camrystuff.com/manuals/Gen3/eg1.pdf page 169 for a somewhat pathetic picture of where to find the sensor. There are a couple of nearby sensors, but this is the one with the greenish connector (the middle one, I think, but no guarantee there).
The distributor has an o-ring on its shaft that prevents oil penetration. Unless installed improperly, doubt it would leak like you describe.
OK, I'm assuming a 5S-FE here. The dizzy camshaft o-ring will leak over time, although you'd normally not see a major leak at only 100K miles. I've seen higher mileage rigs where it's making quite a mess.
The engine continues cranking AFTER the car is started?
That's what happened right before my starter bursted into a pile of smoke
Hmmmm...I interpreted him to mean that it was taking a long time to start once it was warmed up. Can't imagine even the greenest mechanic diagnosing a "starter failing to disengage" problem as a distributor issue .
I wasn't sure how he meant it! I just know that problem is definitely the starter!
"car is cranking excessively after running for 15mins"
Clarify please OP
I meant after the car was running for 15 minutes and shut off. I took a quick drive to get gas and to the mechanic and thats when he told me there was excessive cranking and the car took forever to start. The mechanic fixed the issue and told me everything was $930 dollars (tune up, timing belt, water belt, wheel alignment, labor, oil leak, valve cover gasket and diagnostic of the misfire) He said it would be another 620 to replace all the 4 shocks and tune to get rid of the shaking. Im meeting the seller on saturday to figure out how much he will pay for the bill and hopefully everything will be resolved. I can't believe im spending over a grand fixing this car up =/
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