Cats outta the bag.(Hesitation Problems)

[kmfdeviant530]

hello TN

I am writing for the great advice I usually get from TN, theres some other threads on this, but none as specific as mine.

So we're working on a 93 Camry SE. I had boughten it back in early december but due to paperwork it had been sitting in a driveway since then. finally paperwork came through and I got the green to start driving it.
Due to our current weather it had been sitting under and around 4 1/2 feet of snow give or take(past the doors). When I finally pulled it out(thank god for winches and friends that will do anything for beer) the battery had died due to sitting and extreme cold, and I was stuck having to buy a new one. Got a new battery in it and it would crank over but not Idle, it would immediately shut off. I decided to keep the motor alive manually and drive to my house to check it out, the entire way there it almost felt as though it was missing not too extreme though.
By the time I got to my house it was idling on its own and had a very weak idle (300-500 RPM) and when I popped the hood it smelt like sulfur. I instantly thought something was wrong with the battery, but it was not bulging, was brand new and the smell was not coming from it. Eventually the smell passed along and the idle picked up a bit, the smell was now coming out of the Exhaust pipe and the idle sounded like it had a slight miss(Im not sure if its just the exhaust, im not familiar with this car). Now today I drove it for work which is about a half a tank of gas and lots of stopping and starting, it still is performing about 70-80%, slightly smells still, and is the worst between 2k-3k. The hesitation doesnt quite feel like a miss, because it only does it when accelerating and the idle is not very choppy, and it still has gobs of power after you get in the high powerband.
Additionally I must note it only recently started doing this, when I drove it home from the lot, it was good as new. I drove it about 50-60 miles home.
Now based on all the above information I think its one of the Following(correct me if im wrong)
1. Clogged Cat
2. Possible Timing Issue
3. Spark plug, Ignition Issue(there is paperwork showing tuneup done 3k miles ago)
4. hope to god its not but I wont rule out Head Gasket.

Tomorrow hopefully my friends shop can fit me in on a 4post so I can check out the cat, Im going to take it off, inspect it, and put a piece of straight pipe temporarily to see if it runs better. if that all passes and its still doing it then we'll get into timing, and on down the check list.

Any Ideas would be great. Thanks

[bigbird]

hmm...clogged cat would cause power loss even in higher RPMs. so your gobs of power wouldnt be there. how many miles on the car?

[chronoti]

i would doubt the full tune up try to check the back bank plugs, because those are a p-in-a to work on they may of skipped them also is she throwing any check lights? the cel on when the key is in the on not running state?

[kmfdeviant530]

No CEL, and it still has hesitation at higher rpms, it's just the worst between 2-3k, I know this motor should be running better, when I drove it home in December it was good as new.
That's what doesn't make sense, it was fine and now all of a sudden it's running choppy.
Would an oil overfill cause it to run like this? I just pulled the oil dip and it is up to the F, I'm planning on doing an oil change anyways

[kmfdeviant530]

Originally Posted by bigbird

hmm...clogged cat would cause power loss even in higher RPMs. so your gobs of power wouldnt be there. how many miles on the car?

1795xx something around there. got it for a great deal back in the day, I feel that somehow sitting in the snow and cold without running for 2 months damaged something.

[Mike Gerber]

Don't overlook the simple things; how long has the gas been sitting in the car? If it's been sitting for some time before you got it, the gas could be really old and has started to deteriorate. Try to put in a couple of bottles of some gas line antifreeze/fuel drier.

Aside from that, the coil inside the distributor on the first three generations of Camrys have been problematic as they rack up lot's of miles on them. Check it with a digital volt/ohmeter and the specs from any manaul. Even if it checks out OK, remove it from the distributor and inspect it carefully for hairline cracks.

Mike

[kmfdeviant530]

Originally Posted by Mike Gerber

Don't overlook the simple things; how long has the gas been sitting in the car? If it's been sitting for some time before you got it, the gas could be really old and has started to deteriorate. Try to put in a couple of bottles of some gas line antifreeze/fuel drier.

Aside from that, the coil inside the distributor on the first three generations of Camrys have been problematic as they rack up lot's of miles on them. Check it with a digital volt/ohmeter and the specs from any manaul. Even if it checks out OK, remove it from the distributor and inspect it carefully for hairline cracks.

Mike

Thanks for the pointer, I'll add that on my checklist of things to look for, as far as gas, I already burned just about all that's in there and refilled it, and I dropped a ton of Lucas cleaner in it, I honestly did notice improvement, but it's still got a miss, the more I have driven it the more everything else has cleared up and I'm sure it's the plugs.

[kmfdeviant530]

taking it into my friends shop tomorrow, going to diagnose and find out whats wrong. thanks for all the help.

[kmfdeviant530]

didnt get a chance to take my car in, the shop was busy. but I was throwing ideas around, and one thing I didnt mention was that it not only hesitates but it feels like the car is bucking a bit, at first i thought it was just the transmission, but when i told someone about it they said for me to check my EGR valve.
what do you think? egr valve?

[kmfdeviant530]

So I took off the egr valve, it was pretty filthy. I cleaned it all up and put it back on, when I started up the car it sputtered a bit, probably to clean up what was left of the intake and parts cleaner that I used to clean the EGR and throttle body, and then it ran fine! I decided that I would test drive it around the block to be sure. Sure enough, all the hesitation and pulsating stopped! It ended up being a dirty or clogged egr valve.
But now it seems like there's a loss of power just all together, I drove around and after about 30 miles the check engine light came on. I instantly started to head home, and about 5-10 miles later it turned off, I noticed it turned off after I was passing some people on the freeway and went WOT.
As I was saying it seems like there's a loss of power somewhere now, even when I had the hesitation it would still push me back in my seat a bit, and now it feels like I've lost 30 hp and torque, it's not too bad but it is noticeable. All the hesitation and jerkyness that was there is gone now.

[fenixus]

I noticed same improvement after installing new EGR valve. huge difference upon acceleration, especially on highways. never had a EGR related CEL though, seems like I avoided it ahead of time hehe.

what CEL did you have? have you scanned computer? it might be still pending when you drive.

how did you clean the valve? did you clean the cylinder head opening where the valve's exhaust pipe bolts to?

[kmfdeviant530]

Originally Posted by fenixus

I noticed same improvement after installing new EGR valve. huge difference upon acceleration, especially on highways. never had a EGR related CEL though, seems like I avoided it ahead of time hehe.

what CEL did you have? have you scanned computer? it might be still pending when you drive.

how did you clean the valve? did you clean the cylinder head opening where the valve's exhaust pipe bolts to?

I cleaned all the ports, the only one i didnt clean was the electrical screw in part, I cleaned the holes on the intake manifold and took a rag and cleaned out the holes.
Didnt scan for a CEL yet, dont have a scanner for that year, thinkin i might just have to get a paperclip.

[kmfdeviant530]

checked the code, i was getting a 71, EGR code. checked the area near the egr to thoroughly check and make sure I connected everything, and I found my problem, one of the little vaccumm hoses popped off, put it back on, I have restored power, and I dont forsee a CEL anytime soon.

[pmesfun]

I had that same problem. Glad you got it fixed.

Have fun with your 3vz-fe 5-speed awesomeness.