Camry won't start - Low compression - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

Crlnd132 · 06-24-2009, 04:23 PM

Yesterday, i was driving on the highway and the gas pedal began not responding and then the engine turned off and didn't started again.
The car cranks but doesn't starts.
There is spark (spark plugs and cables were checked).
The compression test reads 90psi per cylinder.
I bought a new battery thinking that was the problem but nothing.
What could it be?

Creeps228 · 06-24-2009, 05:05 PM

90psi, thats really low, it should be somewhere around 170~180 +- 15psi is specs. Guessing your rings went or something gave way

Crlnd132 · 06-24-2009, 05:40 PM

i know that 90psi is very low but the engine at least could start.
Could it be something else than broken engine?
timing belt?

Crlnd132 · 06-24-2009, 06:50 PM

Checked the timing belt and it's ok.

***JohnGD*** · 06-24-2009, 06:54 PM

You can spray a few squirts of engine oil into the low compression cylinder. If oil seals it, and the compression comes up, then you know it's a bad ring.

However, I don't think all four cylinder's rings go bad at the same time. Probably a bad tank of gas, and if you have unburned gas in the cylinder it can wash off the oil, giving you a low compression reading.

Crlnd132 · 06-24-2009, 07:11 PM

My camry uses gasoline and LGP (Liquified petroleum gas, that's how we call it here). at the moment that the engine died i was using LGP.
So the bad tank of gas is discarded.
the 4 cylinders read 90psi
Engine doesnt start on gasoline or LGP, so injection issues are discarded either.
Also, CEL didn't come ON.

Stillrunning · 06-24-2009, 07:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crlnd132

Checked the timing belt and it's ok.

Are you sure it didn't slip a notch or two? Check your electrical timing and see if that's off.

ShawnM · 06-24-2009, 07:41 PM

Stillrunning is on the right track. You wouldnt loose that much compression on all cylinders unless the timing belt jumped a few teeth. Theres no way all your rings went bad at the same time.

Mike Gerber · 06-24-2009, 08:23 PM

^ I have to agree with the 2 previous posters. The timing belt must have jumped a tooth to have the compression drop that low on all 4 cylinders, especially when the car was running fine a moment ago. The valves must not be opening and closing at the right time to maintain compression in all of the cylinders. Also, the fact that they are all equally low is another sign of a slipped belt, IMHO.

Mike

tekno9000 · 06-24-2009, 08:37 PM

off topic. How do u check the compression in cylinder? My camry is loosing power. Revs drop and come back again

whip_cracker · 06-25-2009, 12:53 AM

Tekno,

That could be something altogether. Most likely Idle Air Control valve if it's a V6. You should look into that mate.

On topic:

I'll jump on the timing belt bandwagon too... I've heard of a couple of other Camrys have the same problem with the timing belt being off.

Crlnd132 · 06-25-2009, 12:37 PM

The mechanic checked the belt and told me it's fine.
6 months ago, the car began smoking though the exhaust on acceleration and at idle and was losing like a quart of oil per week. I began using SAE40 because with 20w50 the oil loss was bigger.
A mechanic told me that oil and smoke was passing from the head to the intake manifold so he removed the hose that connects them and putted a hose from the head directed to the ground. On idle, i was able to see smoke coming out from the hose.
The car was fine for 6 months running that way.

96CamrySport · 06-25-2009, 02:09 PM

if you have smoke coming from the crank breather, and 90 pounds on each cylinder, it sure sounds like the rings really did go away. That's really unusual though, LGP is a dry gaseous fuel, right? It's not a term we use in the US. With the oil consumption, that really supports the theory of bad rings. I would recommend having a technician perform a leakdown test on all four cylinders, that's when the cylinders are pressurized with shop air at top dead center and you listen for where the air escapes, and you can also determine how badly it is leaking. A dollar says your rings are in fact junk, but Toyotas don't really have a problem with losing the rings to my knowledge. What engine is in it?

Crlnd132 · 06-25-2009, 02:18 PM

Mine is an LE, 5SFE engine.
If the rings went away, does that cause the engine not to start?

Stillrunning · 06-25-2009, 02:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crlnd132

The mechanic checked the belt and told me it's fine.
6 months ago, the car began smoking though the exhaust on acceleration and at idle and was losing like a quart of oil per week. I began using SAE40 because with 20w50 the oil loss was bigger.
A mechanic told me that oil and smoke was passing from the head to the intake manifold so he removed the hose that connects them and putted a hose from the head directed to the ground. On idle, i was able to see smoke coming out from the hose.
The car was fine for 6 months running that way.

Nothing like withholding important information.