Problems with my newly purchased, used 1997 Toyota Camry LE 4cyl 5SFE

[Mrs_Lop]

Greetings Everyone,
I just purchased a used auto (for the first time in my life). (I bought my 1987 Toyota Corolla brand new and drove it til it died. I kept it well maintained.) I know nothing about the newer cars with their sensors, codes, problems.

My newer Toyota Information: 1997 Toyota Camry LE 4 cyl 5S-FE
My 1997 Camry with only 99,673 miles on it, had been sitting for awhile, as it was owned by an 85 year old woman who had passed away about two years ago. The husband, who sold me the Camry couldn't remember anything being done to the vehicle, except to take it for oil and filter changes. I ran an Autocheck and carfax before I made the purchase. The car seemed alright.

I can't do any work on my car since I had a cancer operation that included removal of half of my immune system. The risk is very high that I could cut myself.

My husband is not mechanically inclined at all.

I had my regular mechanic flush the transmission fluid and the coolant and change the oil and filter. He said the error code read coolant temperature sensor and that the drain and flush might fix the problem. That work was done on May 26th. My son and I took off the throttle body, sprayed the idle air control valve openning, the butterfly and the throttle body and used a toothbrush and some shop paper towels to clean it as best we could. I could not clean the whole throttle body as I couldn't reach it all.
My son used a Lucas product to add to the fuel tank to clean the Injectors.

Here's the problem. The CEL light is on, but not flashing. The car runs fine cold - until the engine is warmed up and then the RPMS drop from 1800 RPMS to nothing and quits abruptly. It also surges to 2000 RPMS +. I have to keep my foot on the accellerater pedal, with my foot on the brake, to keep it from stalling. I have been all over the internet to try to learn about the car. At 8AM, in desperation, I brought it to a nearby shop that was recommended, as my old mechanic is not allowed to use genuine Toyota parts when fixing vehicles. I'll admit that I am terrified of these newer Toyotas and I'm afraid that I will cause an accident with the car in it's current condition.

The engine is none too clean and I am going to assume that service was sparse. It probable missed its 80,000 mile service check. I am also going to assume that a lot has to be done to get it in good shape. The body is in very good condition, I found only one rust spot.

I decided to become a member of toyotanation because I believed that other members might be able to provide help. You seem more knowledgeable than some forums that I visited. Even if I can't do the work myself, it would be reassuring to me to know that I can come here and you might be able to point me in the right direction for help, parts etc.

Thank you for any answers or directions you can give while I anxiously await the diagnostics by this new mechanic.

Mrs_lop

[bostoni]

If the code says coolant temperature sensor probably that's what it is.On the driver side on the engine where the big radiator hose goes into the engine there are 3 sensors.I believe the first is the temperature sensor.They don't fail that easy.Check the electric contacts first.Some times they get rusty.Hope that's the problem

[dave255]

Certainly sounds like your Engine Coolant Temperature(ECT) sensor is the culprit. It's a fairly common issue that I had myself at one point. There are quite a few threads about ECT issues on here. The good thing is it is an inexpensive part, and very easily to replace.

[Chris Crash]

I recently had this same issue with the RPM's dropping and dying on a motorcycle. What was the problem? Spark plugs and bad gas. I'm assuming since the car sat for over 2 years, it could use fresh gas. I'd go ahead and drain what you've got and replace, or at the very least use some HEET or other gasoline drier (though the gas is probably varnish by now...).

Also, the car probably needs a general tune-up:
-spark plugs & wires
-fuel filter
-air filter
-oil & oil filter
-brakes OK?
-belts are probably in bad shape
-look into timing belt/water pump and oil seals

The last three items I would leave to your son or your mechanic as there's a higher risk you would cut yourself, and I'd hate that to happen, but the filters, plugs and wires are all very easy and you shouldn't find any injuries involved.

[JohnGD]

First of all find out what the check engine code is.

Check with your local parts store and see if the Autozones in your state read OBD-II codes for free. If so post the code(s) here. Otherwise your local Harbor Freight should have a basic reader like:
http://www.harborfreight.com/can-obd...enu-98568.html

I'd leave the work to others. Your health is more important.

[Mrs_Lop]

dave255,

Thank you for your input. Before I could speak to the owner, he went ahead and changed the temperature sensor. It cost me almost $ 135. It started and didn't give me any problems afterwards.

One thing that I believe in is personal responsibility. If I had caused someone to rear-end my vehicle because my car stalled, I would feel terrible knowing that I caused an accident. It was just not safe, or fair, to or the right thing to do to let the car be driven in that condition.
Thanks again,
Mrs_Lop

[Mrs_Lop]

Chris Crash,
Both mechanics agree with me that nothing has been done. I suggested that we backtrack to the 80,000 mile service schedule and work from there. Everything that you suggested was in the maintenance and service schedule for my Camry. The original books that were included looked like they had never been opened. I put some dry gas in the tank yesterday, after returning from the mechanic. I filled the tank right after the original mechanic had changed all the fluids. The tank was near empty when I took possession of the Camry.
Thanks for putting me on the right track.
Mrs_Lop

[Mrs_Lop]

JohnGD,
Please see my replies above. For right now, I have to take it a step at a time. One good thing is, this owner is willing to work with me. He has about 5 others that work for him.
I asked him if he had any objections to my buying the parts and he or his service people installing them and he said no problem. That gave me confidence in him. Since he is the service station that is licensed to do Inspections (required Emissions and Safety), he has no end to the stream of cars that are daily driven or towed to his station.
It helps that he was recommended by family members and knows my husbands son and grew up in the same neighborhood as my son-in-law and my children. In my small state, everything is done by who you know first.

I value my life - the Camry can be replaced. I am glad that you recognized this-kudos to you.
Blessings,
Mrs_Lop

[ghettosled]

so the ECT was changed - do you still have a check engine light on?

and just to clarify, when the motor is cold and runs on its own, the idle RPMs are about 1800-2000? that is high even for a cold engine. im wondering if there is a cracked/broken vacuum line.

with the routine maintenance, when is this getting done? it will be easier to troubleshoot when maintenance items are taken off the table.

[Mrs_Lop]

Hello everyone,
Well yesterday I learned that in addition to the 80,000 mile service that needs to be done, I have leaks in the oil seals. My mechanic said that he disagreed with my original mechanic. I do not have a leak in my Rack & Pinion.

The diagnosis was that the fresh oil was leaking down and dripping onto the Rack & Pinion. He said that you could see where the oil was coming from if you removed the cover (Valve?).

Here is what has been uncovered so far for replacement,service and repair, in order of priority:

1- Replace: Timing & other belts, Water Pump (my suggestion) and Oil Seals.

2- Tune Up and Ignition Wires.

After the above things are done:
My appraisal is that I should have: all the Hoses replaced, the Fuel Filter replaced and clean out the EGR.

Somewhere, down the line, have the Brakes and have the Rotors checked.
For right now, the brakes work.

Some recent history about my husband and me:
We live in New England with harsh winters and lately, very hot summers. Our state continues to have one of the highest rates of unemployment in the nation. Our crime rate is now climbing. The following is a factual account of what has happened to our lives, and is not intended to draw sympathy, in any way.

We are both in our 60's.

In April of 2009, my husband was told that he would be losing his position, (along with all the other teachers in his school). In June 2009 our car died. Though he is now employed, he had to take what was available on a bus line, to get medical benefits for me. It has been a very difficult two years. My husband had to walk in a blizzard and snow and ice storms, through very dimly lit streets late at night when bus service was minimal. I have scrimped and saved to buy this vehicle at just under $3000 dollars.

I have not worked since the negative effects Cancer: Surgery, Chemotherapy and Radiation followed by Super Radiation. Chemotherapy left me with a condition called Chemo Brain. It is akin to having Alzheimers, you lose parts of your memory, become confused and anxious and sometimes emotional, and is supposed to subside after awhile- years. They don't tell you about Chemo Brain before treatment, but it is now medically documented. We never asked for government or state help or assistance of any kind.
Chemotherapy destroys brain cells and is undiscriminating in what cells it destroys. My memory has been severely impaired and I have to write things down constantly, as my short term memory is not good. Anyway, that is why I don't work. I do memory exercises daily to keep my brain active.

I am responsible for keeping my household and new source of (transportation) running smoothly and efficiently. That is why I need the help of the members of TN to educate me in the needs of my Camry, to advise me and direct me.

I am responsible for getting these repairs done as economically possible, but using all the right Toyota parts possible, when necessary, and not aftermarket parts.
So, PLEASE, when you reply to my posts, please be aware that I am on a limited budget and I cannot fix everything at once. I do not use credit cards. I need to keep this Camry running for as long as possible.

If you members would be kind enough to look at what my mechanic(s) say needs to be done as listed above; and, let me know what these repairs should cost that will help me enormously. I need to keep the repairs around $400 a month. I can save if I know what it should cost for some of the big ticket repairs. Keep in mind that the pricing should be for New England and not other big states. Right now, my mechanic is charging $66hr for labor.

Thank you for any information you may provide.
Blessings,
Mrs_lop

[Mrs_Lop]

ghettosled,
There was no check engine light on when I picked up the car yesterday. I drove it twice yesterday and did not have any problem - but with a brittle timing belt, I don't want to go too far or use the highway. The trips were under 1 mile each. I have not driven the car yet today.
Please read my post from today, it will explain alot.
For right now, I am tapped out. I can't get anything done until I get some feedback from members on costs and a concensus on priorities of repairs, I can get some of the more inexpensive repairs done around the 25th of June.

Thanks so much for your help.
Mrs_Lop

[BMR]

Hello Mrs_Lop,

It sounds like replacing the ECT sensor fixed the CE light. Good.

The timing belt's failure is very unpredictable. My Camry went over 200k miles on the original, and even then it was replaced only because the water pump was leaking; it looked fine, no cracks or visible wear. The good news is that if it fails, there won't be engine damage because both the I4 & V6 engines possibly in your Camry are non-interference. If it fails, it'll just leave you stranded. I don't think you've mentioned it; which engine do you have?... 4 cylinder or 6?

In my opinion, nothing you've mentioned needing done is urgent. If it were mine, and I was in your situation, I would prioritize as follows:

1) Get the brakes checked now. Lots of places will do that for free. If there's anything wrong, do it. Cost is highly dependent on what's wrong. If it just need pads and rotors replace/turned, cost should be ~$250. FYI: I usually get 60k miles on a set of brakes, so yours were most likely done ~30k miles ago and should be OK. That's just a wild guess.

2) Get the valve cover leakage fixed. $100 - $300 depending on which motor you've got. Not because it's important to fix the leak, but because your Camry is one of the potential "sludgers" (read this). With the valve covers off, your mechanic can get a good look to see if it's sludged or not. If it is bad, you might want to not invest any more money into fixing it. If it's been neglected like you suspect, it might be an ugly mess.

3) Timing belt. Be sure all idlers, tensioners, water pump, & seals are replaced when it's done. It adds to the parts cost a bit, but in my opinion it's foolish not to do all that at the same time. You can buy the parts in a kit on eBay for ~$250, and the labor to install should be ~4 hours, so with your mechanic's labor @$66/hr total = ~$500.

4) Tune up - plugs, wires, go with either NGK or Denso. Don't be tempted to go cheap on these parts, because there's some real junk out there. About $100-$150 installed, depending on which motor you have. Do the belts/hoses/filters at this time too. Should add another $100 or so.

[Chris Crash]

I agree with the above prioritized list, brakes checked first. Oil leaks second. Timing/water pump third. And lastly would be the tune up.

[Mrs_Lop]

Where do you go to get your brakes and rotors done, to the Toyota Dealer or franchise, or somewhere else?

Is it important to use only original Toyota parts?

Should I post questions about individual parts as I need them?

Also, where are the dipsticks and which is which located in my 1997 Toyota Camry 4cyl 5SFE? I'll need to label them for reference. A diagram would be useful as the manual doesn't tell me where anything is it just shows the dipstick itself; or, direct me with words like: standing in front of the car the oil dipstick is located ______; the transmission fluid dipstick is located _____________.

Thanks for any pearls of wisdom...
Blessings,
Mrs_Lop

[carsrus]

NO. Toyota parts from the dealer are a scam, for the most part.

Most if not all the parts you need are available on RockAuto.com, Tons of people one here buy from there, its much much cheaper and they carry the good brands.

A Camry is a simple and easy car to work on. Find a good independent mechanic and take it there. Bring your own parts so you know there quality. Stealerships are very overpriced.