Normal parts that wear out on Gen 4 Camrys? My Engine seems underpowered.

[mgartner0622]

Hello Again,
Sorry to start another thread with yet another question, or rather questions.
I'm really trying to refresh/restore my car to what it was like when it was purchased new. It's pretty good aesthetic wise, but there are a few things that need work.

First off, my seatbelt pretensioners only work in the rear. In the front, they will absolutely refuse to be pulled back in to the slot where they go, especially on the passenger side. Is anyone else experiencing this issue?

Also, I'm pretty sure my struts are going bad, especially in the rear. If i have two passengers in the back, the rear of the car is very, very low. So low, the outside of the wheel well looks to be about 1/2 of an inch shy of touching the rear tire. Also, if I push on the rear bumper, the car has a lot of give to it, probably about 4 inches down, and then it bounces. Has anyone else experienced this, and does it mean it's time for new struts? My father insists that's how all Camrys are so they can have a soft ride, and that I'm wasting money trying to resolve this problem, however I really don't think this is normal.

One more thing... I know the gen 4 i4 motor is notorious for not having a lot of power, but driving 70-80 on the freeway, my car can't maintain speed up a moderate hill, even with the pedal to the floor. (4-6% grade) There is an 8% grade hill on the highway to my house, and at 60MPH my car downshifts to 2nd and redline every time I climb it. I'm concerned this is putting to much stress on the motor, but first and foremost, is this normal, and is there anything I can do short of adding a turbo to make the car better? Just to compare to everyone, my 0-60 is 18.3 seconds on a perfectly flat, paved road. I do live at 6200ft elevation however, and remember reading that each thousand takes away ten horsepower. I just remembered that if I take the car to go skiing up interstate 70, which climbs to just over 11 thousand feet, the car can't go up the hill any faster than 45, and that's in 2nd at high RPM.
Thanks!

[JohnGD]

The front seat belts are pretensioned with a pyro charge, so that's a pricey assembly. I don't think Toyota offers lifetime replacement of seat belts like Honda. But you can at least check the price of the part with TN's dealer/member ToyotaPartsMan or online Toyota dealers.

Go around the parking lot and push down on V6 and other I4 Camrys. I think you need new assemblies. The OEM I4 rear springs are lousy to begin with (cost cutting). But if you need to replace them get the Monroe QuickStruts complete assemblies. You might want to consider the V6 assembly for the stronger springs in the rear. Others can chime in on I4 QuickStrut assemblies, it's about $20 less at $125 with all new parts and lifetime warranty.

I don't know about high altitude driving in CO, but lack of power can be a transmission problem too. When was the time belt last changed? And the transmission pan dropped, cleaned and strainer replaced? What ATF are you using and when was it last changed? And new spark plugs (I'd use NGK Iridium IX)? Fuel filter (be careful of a seized lower flare nut that causes twisted fuel pipe)?

[mgartner0622]

Originally Posted by JohnGD

The front seat belts are pretensioned with a pyro charge, so that's a pricey assembly. I don't think Toyota offers lifetime replacement of seat belts like Honda. But you can at least check the price of the part with TN's dealer/member ToyotaPartsMan or online Toyota dealers.

Go around the parking lot and push down on V6 and other I4 Camrys. I think you need new assemblies. The OEM I4 rear springs are lousy to begin with (cost cutting). But if you need to replace them get the Monroe QuickStruts complete assemblies. You might want to consider the V6 assembly for the stronger springs in the rear. Others can chime in on I4 QuickStrut assemblies, it's about $20 less at $125 with all new parts and lifetime warranty.

I don't know about high altitude driving in CO, but lack of power can be a transmission problem too. When was the time belt last changed? And the transmission pan dropped, cleaned and strainer replaced? What ATF are you using and when was it last changed? And new spark plugs (I'd use NGK Iridium IX)? Fuel filter (be careful of a seized lower flare nut that causes twisted fuel pipe)?

Thanks for the info on the seat belts and suspension!
Anyways, the timing belt was last changed about 500 miles ago, along with the water pump. I inherited this car from my grandmother, who did not do anything except change the oil. Until last month, it still had the original air filter at 135k.
The car has the original factory spark plugs as well. I just dropped the AT pan and changed the fluid about 1.5k ago. Before this, the ATF had never been changed in the life of the car, and when I changed the old fluid, it was blacker than black. The reason why I changed it was because the car was jerking between 1st and 2nd gear. The fuel filter has never been changed either... Where is it located?

[Chris Crash]

Change the plugs and wires. You'll feel the power difference. Fuel filter is located right behind/under the airbox. It's a cylinder bolted to the side of the strut tower/frame.

[fenixus]

on 4cyl 2.2L I would go ahead and get new NGK/Denso plugs (either single electrode NGK Iridium-IX or an OEM NGK Laser Platinum version or Denso Double Platinum, both last being totally OEM), spark plug wireset NGK TE58 (for gen4) very easy to do on this car.

From other things tht can help you restore power would be any and all of those:
-sea foam the engine (via booster port on intake manifold using the booster hose detached from actual brake booster)
-replace oxygen sensors, both upstream (california model uses AFR sensor on this one, around $100 on amazon) and downstream behind cat converter
-replace the "lifetime" fuel filter with OEM one coming with mounting brackets, easy to do if you know how to unbolt the union bolt with a 14mm (or 17mm was it) flare nut wrench and 19mm supporting open end wrench
-clean the Throttle Body and Idle Air Control valve
-replace your air filter
-check EGR system (valve, modulator and VSV) and all EGR vacuum hosing for restrictions and slow vacuum leaks or go ahead and replace all those hoses with metric silicone ones from ebay while checking other EGR components per FSM
-check the timing if it is spot on on cam and crank, see if tensioner is tight and not leaking grease from bearing (same about idler)
-replace the thermostat, fuel tank gas cap and radiator cap(s) with new OEM ones
-I usually go a step futher and also replace the EFI Engine Coolant Temperature sensor with a new OEM one
-and last but not least, flush ALL fluids/oils on the car with decent synthetics (use Toyota RED LLC for coolant, it's well worth it) and think about dropping the trans pan and changing the gasket and strainer

that's pretty much what I do to all Toyotas I acquire and have to say both me and cars seem to appreciate it

[mgartner0622]

Originally Posted by fenixus

on 4cyl 2.2L I would go ahead and get new NGK/Denso plugs (either single electrode NGK Iridium-IX or an OEM NGK Laser Platinum version or Denso Double Platinum, both last being totally OEM), spark plug wireset NGK TE58 (for gen4) very easy to do on this car.

From other things tht can help you restore power would be any and all of those:
-sea foam the engine (via booster port on intake manifold using the booster hose detached from actual brake booster)
-replace oxygen sensors, both upstream (california model uses AFR sensor on this one, around $100 on amazon) and downstream behind cat converter
-replace the "lifetime" fuel filter with OEM one coming with mounting brackets, easy to do if you know how to unbolt the union bolt with a 14mm (or 17mm was it) flare nut wrench and 19mm supporting open end wrench
-clean the Throttle Body and Idle Air Control valve
-replace your air filter
-check EGR system (valve, modulator and VSV) and all EGR vacuum hosing for restrictions and slow vacuum leaks or go ahead and replace all those hoses with metric silicone ones from ebay while checking other EGR components per FSM
-check the timing if it is spot on on cam and crank, see if tensioner is tight and not leaking grease from bearing (same about idler)
-replace the thermostat, fuel tank gas cap and radiator cap(s) with new OEM ones
-I usually go a step futher and also replace the EFI Engine Coolant Temperature sensor with a new OEM one
-and last but not least, flush ALL fluids/oils on the car with decent synthetics (use Toyota RED LLC for coolant, it's well worth it) and think about dropping the trans pan and changing the gasket and strainer

that's pretty much what I do to all Toyotas I acquire and have to say both me and cars seem to appreciate it

Thanks for all the info!
The only thing I've done on the list was seafoam it. Believe it or not, before Seafoam, my car would do 0-60 in just over 23 seconds. Seafoam and the timing belt helped lower it to 18ish. I've also changed the trans gasket and strainer.

The car had almost no coolant in the top clear tank, so I just topped it off with some generic "one kind fits all" coolant... it's green... Should I go with the red toyota brand? I can probably suck out the old coolant.

I'll probably take your advice on the oxygen sensors, although I am sad to say this car was purchased in California, so it does have all the California emissions extras on it.

Thanks again!

[fenixus]

^ I hear you one sea foam. I had similar results on 2.2L, also some spark plugs (like Bosch) will make the car run super slow, I actually dumped my Bosch plugs to garbage after a month and installed NGK instead.

if you mixed coolant then it's recommended you drain ALL the old coolant out (radiator plug and engine block plug) and then flush the system with distilled water at least once before you fill it in with Toyota RED + distilled water.

I happened to mix some one-kind-fits all coolant mixture with some other color coolant I had (after cheap water pump job in local shop) and eventually its color turned rusty brown and soon after I lost the aftermarket water pump gasket (leaking from weep hole) .... just saying ...

[JohnGD]

I'd also double check the timing marks if the timing belt was recently done. The I4 loves to skip teeth because of the stupid manual tensioner. And that could rob you some power.

[gt limited]

well my dad sv32

distributor cap
plug wires
other from suspension parts wear and tear

[The Camry]

check your bank two ignition coil, the valve cover gasket on the I4 likes to leak on the side near the firewall usually coating that ignition coil and screwing up at least one bank of it. I've seen more than once where the coil shorts down one rail so you have a huge spark to one plug and barely anything if anything to the other.

[The Camry]

also if you want a little more umph i had a somewhat noteable yet subtle increase form a 3in. cold air intake. You can buy a usually expensive custom fit one or if you dont care if its pretty to look at you can just go to home depot and get some pvc pipe and a cone air filter:P

[ghettosled]

touching upon the seatbelt issue, i had the same thing on my 96 camry. i went to a local salvage yard and replaced the bad belt assembly for under $20.

[BrightExplorer]

Originally Posted by The Camry

check your bank two ignition coil, the valve cover gasket on the I4 likes to leak on the side near the firewall usually coating that ignition coil and screwing up at least one bank of it. I've seen more than once where the coil shorts down one rail so you have a huge spark to one plug and barely anything if anything to the other.

Exact scenario for me.... I can see it. The back side of my valve cover is leaking, and I need to replace the gasket.
Which isn't an issue... Except for the fact I need to get hood struts first, kinda hard to work on an engine while manually holding the hood up. lol.

However, how would you recommend to clean the ignition coil? Sea foam?

[hill8570]

Originally Posted by mgartner0622

One more thing... I know the gen 4 i4 motor is notorious for not having a lot of power, but driving 70-80 on the freeway, my car can't maintain speed up a moderate hill, even with the pedal to the floor. (4-6% grade) There is an 8% grade hill on the highway to my house, and at 60MPH my car downshifts to 2nd and redline every time I climb it. I'm concerned this is putting to much stress on the motor, but first and foremost, is this normal, and is there anything I can do short of adding a turbo to make the car better? Just to compare to everyone, my 0-60 is 18.3 seconds on a perfectly flat, paved road. I do live at 6200ft elevation however, and remember reading that each thousand takes away ten horsepower. I just remembered that if I take the car to go skiing up interstate 70, which climbs to just over 11 thousand feet, the car can't go up the hill any faster than 45, and that's in 2nd at high RPM.
Thanks!

You've had a lot of good suggestions, so I won't repeat them. One other thing that comes to mind is the car might be triggering the knock sensor on those climbs and the ECU is having to retard the hell out of the timing. Might want to try a tank of premium and see if your performance on the climbs improves (generally, premium doesn't do crap for an I4...if it helps you out then you get to troubleshoot why).

[guccimane]

Originally Posted by Chris Crash

Change the plugs and wires. You'll feel the power difference. Fuel filter is located right behind/under the airbox. It's a cylinder bolted to the side of the strut tower/frame.

Originally Posted by fenixus

on 4cyl 2.2L I would go ahead and get new NGK/Denso plugs (either single electrode NGK Iridium-IX or an OEM NGK Laser Platinum version or Denso Double Platinum, both last being totally OEM), spark plug wireset NGK TE58 (for gen4) very easy to do on this car.

From other things tht can help you restore power would be any and all of those:
-sea foam the engine (via booster port on intake manifold using the booster hose detached from actual brake booster)
-replace oxygen sensors, both upstream (california model uses AFR sensor on this one, around $100 on amazon) and downstream behind cat converter
-replace the "lifetime" fuel filter with OEM one coming with mounting brackets, easy to do if you know how to unbolt the union bolt with a 14mm (or 17mm was it) flare nut wrench and 19mm supporting open end wrench
-clean the Throttle Body and Idle Air Control valve
-replace your air filter
-check EGR system (valve, modulator and VSV) and all EGR vacuum hosing for restrictions and slow vacuum leaks or go ahead and replace all those hoses with metric silicone ones from ebay while checking other EGR components per FSM
-check the timing if it is spot on on cam and crank, see if tensioner is tight and not leaking grease from bearing (same about idler)
-replace the thermostat, fuel tank gas cap and radiator cap(s) with new OEM ones
-I usually go a step futher and also replace the EFI Engine Coolant Temperature sensor with a new OEM one
-and last but not least, flush ALL fluids/oils on the car with decent synthetics (use Toyota RED LLC for coolant, it's well worth it) and think about dropping the trans pan and changing the gasket and strainer

that's pretty much what I do to all Toyotas I acquire and have to say both me and cars seem to appreciate it

This is so informative, thank you to both of you!

I'm bookmarking this thread because I'm gonna try and do all this stuff if possible.