3rd & 4th Generation (1992–1996 & 1997–2001)Toyota Camry Discussion for years: 1992-1996 & 1997-2001
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I've noticed that when I'm at a red light and the car is in drive there is more noticeable vibration coming from the engine. As soon as I start driving, the vibrations go away. If I put the car in N, it also goes away.
I recently replaced the top dog bone mount so that's not the issue.
Does this sound like the bottom mounts are the issue or is there something else?
could be a motor mount. Try with the car in drive to hold the brake pedal and put a load on the motor. Have a helper stand off the side and watch how much movement the motor has. If you can, get a light and look on the sides of the motor mounts to see if they are cracked. (with a load the cracks will open up or the center bolt of the mount will go to one side of the mount housing)
Your car could just be in need of a tune up too.
Fouled plugs / clogged injectors can cause a vibration in drive
could be a motor mount. Try with the car in drive to hold the brake pedal and put a load on the motor. Have a helper stand off the side and watch how much movement the motor has. If you can, get a light and look on the sides of the motor mounts to see if they are cracked. (with a load the cracks will open up or the center bolt of the mount will go to one side of the mount housing)
Your car could just be in need of a tune up too.
Fouled plugs / clogged injectors can cause a vibration in drive
As always great advice from you Mr Perkins
I will try those tests to see if there are any cracks.
All this maintenance is costing me more than I wanted to spend on this car.
I originally was just gonna drive it to 300K and donate it but with all the high mileage Toyotas I'm hearing about, I want to learn to fix it and drive it as long as possible. I like to tinker with stuff but I've always been kinda scared to mess with cars as I felt that any mistakes could be costly. But with this old car, I will take my chances and attempt to learn each procedure.
My '95 V6LE has always had the vibration that you describe (at least in the 11 years I've owned it). Several mechanics have looked at it, and concluded that it's just fine (including the motor mounts). My 2 '94 V6LE's did not vibrate quite as much, and the '03 ES300 is about the same as the '94's. I think some vibration just comes with the 1MZ territory.
My '95 V6LE has always had the vibration that you describe (at least in the 11 years I've owned it). Several mechanics have looked at it, and concluded that it's just fine (including the motor mounts). My 2 '94 V6LE's did not vibrate quite as much, and the '03 ES300 is about the same as the '94's. I think some vibration just comes with the 1MZ territory.
Yeah, I've heard of some of the models with this issue but I've never had it come up till recently. Well actually around 178K miles I did have a similar issue that was solved with a new dog bone mount replacement.
That is why I changed it again recently but the problem still exists.
This is the reason I was thinking it probably is the bottom mounts.
An easy way to test the motor mounts would be to do as Mister_Perkins described and have someone apply the brakes and press and depress the gas pedal while observing the engine. If it seems like the engine moves too much, that could be it.
Here are some questions that might help narrow things down, and I'm just writting down as I think here: What is the mileage on the car? Is the timing belt in need of change? Are the spark plugs old? What kind of plugs are they? What about your air filter? Have you cleaned your IAC and throttle body any time recently? Are you running 87 or premium? (And yes it does make a difference) Maybe the injectors are dirty, do you buy "discount" fuel or name brand w/ the good additives? You could try a bottle of Chevron Techron Fuel System Cleaner and see what happens.
EDIT: I'm thinking the car in question is the 98 ES300 in your sig, but I don't want to jump to that conclusion
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1995 Toyota Camry V6 LE-6M1 250K Miles, Fun Car
1997 Acura RL-Gone
2007 Acura RL SH-AWD, Technology Package, Opulent Blue Pearl- Fun Car/Daily Driver
An easy way to test the motor mounts would be to do as Mister_Perkins described and have someone apply the brakes and press and depress the gas pedal while observing the engine. If it seems like the engine moves too much, that could be it.
Here are some questions that might help narrow things down, and I'm just writting down as I think here: What is the mileage on the car? Is the timing belt in need of change? Are the spark plugs old? What kind of plugs are they? What about your air filter? Have you cleaned your IAC and throttle body any time recently? Are you running 87 or premium? (And yes it does make a difference) Maybe the injectors are dirty, do you buy "discount" fuel or name brand w/ the good additives? You could try a bottle of Chevron Techron Fuel System Cleaner and see what happens.
EDIT: I'm thinking the car in question is the 98 ES300 in your sig, but I don't want to jump to that conclusion
Yes it's for the 98 ES300 with 293K Miles.
Here are the answers to your questions.
Timing belt does need to be changed and so does the plugs. Not sure what kind of plugs as the dealer change them out.
Air Filter is good, and I cleaned the IACV about 3000 miles ago.
Using 87 octane but I have recently started to go to AM/PM so gas is a possibility. Prior to this I had used Chevron for the longest time.
I will go back to Chevron and see if that helps.
Yes it's for the 98 ES300 with 293K Miles.
Here are the answers to your questions.
Timing belt does need to be changed and so does the plugs. Not sure what kind of plugs as the dealer change them out.
Air Filter is good, and I cleaned the IACV about 3000 miles ago.
Using 87 octane but I have recently started to go to AM/PM so gas is a possibility. Prior to this I had used Chevron for the longest time.
I will go back to Chevron and see if that helps.
Alright cool So IAC is out, air filter is out. A timing belt could cause vibration at idle that disappears as you increase engine RPM. I had this exact symptom before I changed my last timing belt. Next candidate would be the plugs.
However, I'm a big proponent of go from least expensive fix to most expensive, so I would switching fuel at your next fillup, see if that makes a difference.
Test the motor for movement. If there is motion, I would remove the driver side tire and take a look at the transmission mount, which looks like this and see if there is some seperation between the rubber and the metal (on the side away from the studs in the picture). I just changed mine (225K miles) and there was a lot of seperation there, so there is a high probability yours has that issue.
Also, before I forget, what brand did you use for the dogbone mount? Aftermarket or OEM? I was burned with an aftermarket brand, I changed this one earlier than the other and it was the only one I bought aftermarket, only to find out it went bad 2 months later
Sorry to write an essay But I'm trying to make sure you can diagnose this correctly with our help
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1995 Toyota Camry V6 LE-6M1 250K Miles, Fun Car
1997 Acura RL-Gone
2007 Acura RL SH-AWD, Technology Package, Opulent Blue Pearl- Fun Car/Daily Driver
That isn't 100% certainty pointing towards motor mounts, which I found out to my dismay. That can be caused by bad halfshafts too (which was what it was in my case).
__________________
1995 Toyota Camry V6 LE-6M1 250K Miles, Fun Car
1997 Acura RL-Gone
2007 Acura RL SH-AWD, Technology Package, Opulent Blue Pearl- Fun Car/Daily Driver
That's exactly what my halfshafts did. I had all new motor mounts and it was still clunking. I started hearing the CV joints click a couple of weeks later
__________________
1995 Toyota Camry V6 LE-6M1 250K Miles, Fun Car
1997 Acura RL-Gone
2007 Acura RL SH-AWD, Technology Package, Opulent Blue Pearl- Fun Car/Daily Driver
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95 Camry
AUTO to MANUAL Swap Guide (3rd Gen) - 
These cars last forever 
) Maybe the injectors are dirty, do you buy "discount" fuel or name brand w/ the good additives? You could try a bottle of Chevron Techron Fuel System Cleaner and see what happens.
But I'm trying to make sure you can diagnose this correctly with our help
1999 Toyota Avalon
Linear Mode
