My Epic Failure Camry. :/

[charliefrench2oo8]

So.. since i got this car. been nothing but problems.. BUT. i love it and refuse to get rid of it.


Any suggestions? Problems i have with it...

Front/Rear Suspension is SHOT (Got chased and had to outrun someone who tried running me off road. went way too fast and screwed it up i think)
Smells like oil anytime i push it (pass someone, go faster then 65)
Shakes voilently whenever i hit the brakes (left front tire only. brakes 30k ago. tires 10k ago.)
Brakes are very.. pushy.. sometimes dont even work. go to floor. worries me a bit..

Interior is mint besides headliner. some idiot before me put an aftermarket sunroof in. Now the interior is falling down majorly. any suggestions on how to get that fixed or a how-to?

Im pretty mechanically inclined. But i don't even know where to start. if someone tells me how to do it i can fix it.

Off to surf the forums and see if i can help anyone while i wait for your response

[deezeejoey]

brakes: your rotors are warped. get them fixed before you kill someone.

Why were you being chased by someone?

[H.Rivera]

Suspension.. well come on its ah simple one just swap out parts..

tha shakking at braking its the rotors. just get them machined or just replace.

and the oil smell.. hmm check any seals.. see if you can spot any leak. does the oil level drop?

the brakes.. hmm i had that problem and i just got them bleed.. and now they are ok..

but where to start?

1. Brakes
2 Rotors
3. Oil Smell
4 . Suspension

just my thought..

[abew330]

i agree with rivera. fix brakes first. there should be a DIY at the top of the forum for brake job (the stickys)

Originally Posted by H.Rivera

Suspension.. well come on its ah simple one just swap out parts..

tha shakking at braking its the rotors. just get them machined or just replace.

and the oil smell.. hmm check any seals.. see if you can spot any leak. does the oil level drop?

the brakes.. hmm i had that problem and i just got them bleed.. and now they are ok..

but where to start?

1. Brakes
2 Rotors
3. Oil Smell
4 . Suspension

just my thought..

[DarkMastyr]

You were chased? wtf. That's retarded. Sounds like it's the cause of most of your problems.

You probably have a bad/loose bearing and a leaky brake line considering how you jacked up your suspension offroading.

[ONE_to_HATE]

LOL! x2 on the brakes getting fixed first, a 2500 lb. bullet is pretty hard to stop when yr on the freeway!

[Gibson99]

Originally Posted by ONE_to_HATE

LOL! x2 on the brakes getting fixed first, a 2500 lb. bullet is pretty hard to stop when yr on the freeway!

2500 lbs? dang that's 200 lbs heavier than my miata! is your camry on a MAJOR diet or what, one2hate? i think even my gen2 was still 2800-3000 lbs.

(yes i realize it was a typo and should be 3500 lbs not 2500)

back on topic -

brake vibration: warped rotors. replace. might as well do the pads too - 30k is a long time for brakes if you drive hard or do a lot of city traffic.

brake pedal sinking - if you are not losing brake fluid, then you just need a new master cylinder. if you ARE losing fluid, find/fix the leak.

oil smell: if you have a 4cyl, likely valve cover gasket - when it leaks, it tends to get on the exhaust manifold, and since the exhaust gets hot when you push it hard, it burns the oil better, thus the smell.

suspension: we can't diagnose something like that online. best take it to a shop or two and get some estimates.

[Gothmog3VZ]

2500? A 4-cyl SE is just under 2900, and a proper V6 LE weighs in at ~3280...

Btw, I curious as to why he chased you;

I've had it happen once, when I flipped off some degenerate for cutting me off on a 1-lane road/bridge... which passed over an insanely busy highway! fortunately I was in the truck at the time, so things worked out relatively well for me lol

[the94camryman]

I too am curious as to why you were being chased.

But yes, replace the pads and rotors.
And as far as the pedal goes, I would suspect the master cylinder, as others have said.
If the suspension is shot, then it's shot. Just replace what needs to be replaced.
And your valve guides could be going back. That could cause the oil smell as it would be burning oil.

[charliefrench2oo8]

Hey. sorry for delayed responce. Definantly gonna get brakes checked out. Ran into trashcans trying to stop today. Car is parked for time being. :P
no scratches.. Ill upload photos of my car soon for funzies and my sig. Im lookin into getting projector headlights.. Anyone have any guides on how to bleed my brakes? i didnt do that when i got new pads put on :P

Otherwise.. Im driving this car with 242k from sacremento, ca area to washington in dec. Any suggestions? what kind of mileage do the 97 v6's get on average for freeway? i get about 21 in city.

[Gibson99]

still can't tell if you're joking or not...

21 city seems about right. i average 25-26 in mine on the highway, but it's stickshift, and is supercharged.

bleeding brakes is easy. i'm sure there's a guide on the web somewhere, probably even with video. just don't overtighten the bleeder screws when you're done - they strip easily, and then you have NO brakes. if you don't have someone to help you (hell, even if you do!) SpeedBleeders are freakin awesome. look em up. i can bleed my entire car by myself in about 15 minutes including taking off the wheels.

[the94camryman]

I call bs on him being chased.

[Gothmog3VZ]

Originally Posted by the94camryman

I call bs on him being chased.

That's one of 2 possibilities at this point. The other is that he royally pissed off the other dude. If that's the case, $20 says he hitted on someones girl

[the94camryman]

Originally Posted by Gothmog3VZ

That's one of 2 possibilities at this point. The other is that he royally pissed off the other dude. If that's the case, $20 says he hitted on someones girl

Something just makes me think he's lying. Guys in Camry's usually don't hit on other guy's girls.

[Gothmog3VZ]

Well, I have a friend who does that
but he had his camry towed to the scrapyard yesterday, so I guess that makes him... a pedestrian?