99' Camry Problem. Engine? Clutch?

[Pencup]

I wrote months ago about this problem but i have some more info and hopefully someone could share some info with me.
1999 Camry Touring v6, Manual, MCV20R.

a little car history in case it is relevant:

Located in Australia
200k km's mostly country driven until i purchased it.
second owner.
regularly looked after, serviced.
broken valve seal, spurts smoke out when turned on
only after market upgrade was the sound system i installed. head unit, splits and sub.

Now my problem here is it has no power and the performance is terrible around 1st and 2nd gear, a bit better at 3rd and perfectly fine at 5th

Usually its fine when first started, drive like a dream, then about 2-5 minutes in the engine light comes on and it loses power and drives terribly.

I cant pin point what causes it to happen. i used to think it was when i turned a corner or something but it doesn't seem like it turns on just after turning any more.

When it is driving terrible i put it in first and almost instantly have to put it into second because the revs are to high. then once in second i have to pretty much put it straight into third because again the revs are to high.

Il try go into more detail but im located in Australia so i hope its not difficult to interpret the speed difference in KM's. Basically first gear gets me to about 15-20km/h at about 3-3.5k revs, 2nd gear gets me to about 40-45km/h. sometimes when in second the revs get higher but the speed barley increases and the car sort of kicks back n forth, or hops back n forth.

When i change gear the car sort of kicks back a bit like iv dropped the clutch, even though i haven't.

I hope that info helps


Also iv taken it to a place and they used a thing to try get an error code but since the engine light goes off when you turn off the car they found nothing. They also said that it could be a faulty knock sensor...

I would take it to another place but im a student and need my car to get to university and cant really leave it at a workshop. Also being a student im broke

Im looking for any info that i could bring up next time i can afford and have time to take it to a workshop to help them determine the problem as i also live in city and require the performance to get onto busy roads safely.

[Eddi3]

you said that you get to third gear you car is normal and usually that is cuzed by the spark plugs the hesitation on the first two gears
Plus the high rpm on that low speed and the Check engine light comes and go I think its your catalectic converter is bulged with oil cuz these thins dont like oil and you mentioned something about it was burning oil when it turns on (what I think you mean is start it ).
what I would do is check the valve guide seals (just take it to a shop) or check the catalectic converter if it was flowing right ..
Just out of curiosity do you have oil in you air intake box or the intake manifold ?? cuz that will be an other problem
PS: KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE OIL LEVEL
hope that help

[chronoti]

find what the engine codes are, then we can give you even more info

[Pencup]

Originally Posted by Eddi3

you said that you get to third gear you car is normal and usually that is cuzed by the spark plugs the hesitation on the first two gears
Plus the high rpm on that low speed and the Check engine light comes and go I think its your catalectic converter is bulged with oil cuz these thins dont like oil and you mentioned something about it was burning oil when it turns on (what I think you mean is start it ).
what I would do is check the valve guide seals (just take it to a shop) or check the catalectic converter if it was flowing right ..
Just out of curiosity do you have oil in you air intake box or the intake manifold ?? cuz that will be an other problem
PS: KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE OIL LEVEL
hope that help

il get those checked out. and i constantly check the oil levels as it does go through oil alot quicker. yes when the car is turned on it sometimes blows out smoke.

And oil in the air intake box? due you mean where the air filter is? and intake manifold? i dont know what that is, dont know much about cars.

Originally Posted by chronoti

find what the engine codes are, then we can give you even more info

I took it to a place but because i had to leave the car there, and had to turn the car off the engine light goes away and they said they couldnt find any engine codes. Is it possible to get a code while the car is on?