1994 Camry Shaking Violently

[Kiori]

My mother has a 1994 Toyota Camry (4-cylinder I think). We had traded it in and after a long story, the car company auctioned it and struggled to find parts for it. When we got the car back it was on a tow truck. The car travelled <5mi. and during that time the front of the car started to smoke and smell. We got it home and figured it was just coolant/oil on the radiator(possible spill when putting fluids in). The coolant resorvoir was cracked, I replaced that myself but, the car shakes violently when you drive it. My mother said it seemed underpowered aswell. The radiator itself has a crack in it, around 6". Could this be the problem?

Edit 1: The car has just over 100,000 miles

[JohnGD]

Usually when you trade something in you don't want it back. Right?

Sounds like something terrible happened during those < 5mi. If the radiator has a crack then the engine risks overheating or the water pump risks cavitation not circulating coolant well. Does the engine run this rough when cold/cool?

Are you using coolant? I wonder if coolant is getting into the cylinders, as in head gasket or block problem. Just a guess.

[bigbird]

sounds like a spun bearing, caused by over heating. a full engine rebuild would likely be the only fix if that were the case.

[Kiori]

We traded it in because we bought a 2008 V6 Honda Accord fully loaded with 500Mi on it. We held the car for over thirty-days and then we got a call saying we had to return it. They failed to get the paperwork into the bank in time and the insurance was coming around to check inventory. So they began to harass us. We asked for our car(the 94' Camry) back and they gave excuses(struggling to find parts for it). My Mom was leaving the state for work related business, so we returned the car(To avoid harassment). The thing is, we we gave it to them it worked just fine(driving wise). It did have problems with Driver's Door handle(a local mechanic broke it and glued it, then continued to say we broke it), left side windows (power motor broke years ago), the list of minor things goes on. We will be contacting an attorney. Thats the long backround story.

It run like this in the heat, around 85F-90F. There is coolant inside of it but it is leaking from the crack. Has all the fluids except washer fluid.

[Mike Gerber]

It's possible coolant is being sprayed (by the crack in the radiator) on to the plug wires causing the car to miss fire. How old are the plug wires on the car.

Also, I have a 94 Camry XLE 4 cylinder and there is no problem finding parts for it, so someone is not being truthfull here.

Mike

[ghettosled]

this whole story sounds fishy, but whatever...

does the car shake only when driving down the highway, or does it shake when the engine is reved? im wondering if someone did a dukes of hazzard move that could have damaged the lower radiator and suspension/wheel.

[Kiori]

The car shakes upon reving. Going less than a block with begin the shaking, and it is noticable through the steering wheel. The wires haven't been replaced since the car was purchased(as far as I know), unless they put new wires in when they put it back together. The coolant leaks from the top and spreads across the top. After it is on the top of the radiator it goes down it and leaks onto the fan and chassis; making its way to becoming a stain in the driveway.

[bronzemaxell]

i don't understand how the whole story goes,
their insurance came check inventory has nothing to do with you, unless you stole the accord from their lot, or a scammed,
if you traded in your vehicle, you gave up the 94 camry vehicle title, and then bought the 2008 accord
if you done all the paper work correctly, you would have transfered the title and registered the 2008 accord under your name.
so i dont' think you still have the right to drive the 94 camry anymore, on top of that, you don't know what has been done to your previous 94 camry, obvious it doesn't sound like it is the same condition before and after trade in.

did you sign any paper work at all? or just simply exchange car keys?

[Kiori]

We did buy the car and we did trade-in the camry. They told us we were approved, so we signed the paper and took the 2008 home. The problem was, they failed (on their par) to get the papers into the bank on time, they were a day late because of this the loan was cancelled. We had the car but they now had no loan on the car. Insurance was coming to check their inventory and this car wasn't accountable for. When we saw the car it was barely getting its multi-point inspection. Someone bought a brand new car, drove it 500miles and then sold it. Don't know if that helps with the story. Though the story doesn't help me with the shaking problem.

Edit 1: I turned the car on to check the fans. Only one of the two radiator fans seemed to be working. Driver's side radiator fan wasn't turning.