Glowing Exhaust Manifold - 99 Camry - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

sabbates · 03-09-2011, 11:50 AM

All-

Is it normal for the exhaust manifold to glow red hot on a 99 Camry?

I noticed this when I opened the hood one night.

Thanks,

Sabbates

chronoti · 03-09-2011, 12:10 PM

no

god no

your car going to catch fire

like serious

do you have any cel on?

you probably do for extreme lean condition

mot likely you have a massive vacuum leak and retardly high idle or for some reason you don't then your getting like no fuel at all

but seriously should not happen at all

rusty9 · 03-09-2011, 01:08 PM

unless you were just redlining it in park/neutral for a few minutes....

sabbates · 03-09-2011, 01:26 PM

chronoti-

Thanks for the response.

Indeed, I do have P0171 system too lean.

Do you have any recommendations on where to look for leaks?

Can you describe the physics behind what is happening? That is, why does lean combustion cause the exhaust manifold to get so hot? The engine temperature gauge is right in the middle.

Thanks for your help.

-Sabbates

chronoti · 03-09-2011, 03:01 PM

ok i can

look for leaks around you intake after the maf sensor because the engine is getting extra air after the sensor, basically the sensor is reading less air than whats getting in so it giving fuel for the lessor air amount.

less fuel means a more complete burn with extra air to heat up and less water from combustion to hold the heat so that extra heat is being moved to the exhaust headers and heating them red hot long term damage can be warping the header/head burning a hole in the pistons, melting the cat, over heating and damaging the o2 sensors

if it's not an air leak look at replacing your fuel filter and running injector cleaner (this is very quick and easy, only real tool you should get/rent is a box end wench to reduce the chances to striping the 1 flare nut)

easiest way to quickly reduce air leak problems is replacing all your vacuum lines, cheapest is just buy a long run of 3mm and 5mm silicone hose off ebay, then look at buying upper intake gaskets, and prolly the 1st thing to look at is the corrugation on the intake pipe.

sabbates · 03-09-2011, 06:50 PM

Thanks for the description.

I've heard of looking for vacuum leaks by spraying carb cleaner on the hoses, and listening for the engine RPM to improve, or conversely, spraying water on them, and listening for the engine to stumble.

Do you have a preference? Obviously with the carb cleaner method there is the risk of fire.

Thanks again.

jimbog · 03-09-2011, 07:12 PM

Sounds like a plugged catalytic converter,or a stuck valve,or both.

Either way its bad,good luck.

***fenixus*** · 03-09-2011, 07:17 PM

I think if cat was plugged (like clogged) then the car would not rev past 3k rpm or so.

"system too lean" error code means that computer adjusts more fuel (by increasing the injector pulse width) over the limit of +38%.

how is your idle speed in Parking or Neutral gear? is it high like 1,400 rpm even after car was fully warmed up? any serious vacuum leak would cause great effect on idle speed in P/N gears and you would probably hear loud hissing noise in engine bay.

sabbates · 03-09-2011, 07:20 PM

Jimbog-

How do you test for plugged cat?

Is there a difference in the exhaust gas coming out the tail pipe?

fenixus-

The car definitely revs past 3000 RPM.

It often idles high, or dies upon start up, if that adds any clues for anyone.

Thanks again for all the advice.

***fenixus*** · 03-09-2011, 07:23 PM

I would check your IAC valve operation. perhaps it gets stuck either fully open (high idle allowing lots of extra air while it shouldn't) or it sticks fully closed on cold start (car dies).

chronoti · 03-09-2011, 08:03 PM

i doubt full closed iac, you can still starve the engine at cold start

your cat not plugged yet you can rev her and have a lean condition if it was plugged you have a rick condition with a low cat out code.

if you can you can rent a oil fogger that will flood the system with a fog and you can see where it leaks from, i try to lessen, and the carb spray method also works by you will see where it sucks it in

sabbates · 03-10-2011, 10:47 AM

Thanks, guys.

The air cleaner intake hose was cracked, so I removed it and taped it up with electrical tape. I'll make do with that until I get a new one.

The error code doesn't return, and the manifold didn't glow at night, so hopefully that's good.

Thanks again...

***fenixus*** · 03-10-2011, 10:49 AM

glad you noticed it!

so what was your idle speed at?

Quote:

Originally Posted by sabbates

Thanks, guys.

The air cleaner intake hose was cracked, so I removed it and taped it up with electrical tape. I'll make do with that until I get a new one.

The error code doesn't return, and the manifold didn't glow at night, so hopefully that's good.

Thanks again...

Mike Gerber · 03-10-2011, 05:40 PM

"The air cleaner intake hose was cracked, so I removed it and taped it up with electrical tape."

Duct tape would probably serve you better as a temporary fix than electrical tape. The electrical tape will melt as the engine heats up. In either case, this is just a temporary fix as you stated. Get that hose replaced.

Mike

73sport · 03-10-2011, 10:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sabbates

Jimbog-

How do you test for plugged cat?

Is there a difference in the exhaust gas coming out the tail pipe?

fenixus-

The car definitely revs past 3000 RPM.

It often idles high, or dies upon start up, if that adds any clues for anyone.

Thanks again for all the advice.

Its not the cat. No flow means no bon-fire under the hood. . . Meaning, if it plugged that won't happen. plugged cats make ZERO torque.

Fix the Air fuel ratio and/or check for retarded timing as mentioned earlier. . .