1998 Camry bought with non working engine.

[David2144]

My dad bought a 1998 Camry LE with a non-working engine with the intention of replacing the engine. He is a mechanic. I asked him whats wrong with the engine and he said that there was something wrong with the camshafts. The engine turns and stuff so its not stuck. Im wondering if anything can be done to save this engine. I found the maintenance records and it was well maintained and has under 200,000 KMs. The water pump in it is new too. Its a 4-cylinder btw.

[c_huynh32]

Change the camshaft if it's the problem to save the engine?

Not to be rude or anything ... but since your dad is a mechanic, shouldn't you be asking him, not us on the internet because we can't really see the car itself to identify further problems?

[David2144]

well hes not an expert on on the problems that a 1998 camrys could have. And i thought that I could hear from other people who had similar experiences and what they did.

[ASG14]

Only problem they are known for is sludge. And noirmally, that will cause a hold to be blown in the block. With the lack info you gave us, we can't help.

[David2144]

well the engine is not seized because it turns when i use a wrench on the bolt for the timing belt. Also,i know that its not blown. could the problem be the camshafts or something else? The car had a perfect maintenance history until 2007 where the other owner probably did not do oil changes and stuff. Could a bad or worn out camshaft be the result of this? I'm going to take the engine apart today and I'll have pictures posted.

[96paseo]

If your concerned about the cams, pull the valve cover and look. Its hard to give you advice on what-ifs. Anything is possible, you just have to get some concrete syptoms for us to work with.