Engine Smoking!

[pheldozer]

first time poster, need some advice. 1999 camry with 110K miles on it. recently got an oil change and a tranny flush. drove it for about 10 minutes this morning, engine was more noisy than usual, parked it, turned it off and part of the engine continued to run and began smoking badly. here's some pics of the part that was smoking. any suggestions, advice, or diagnosis would be greatly appreciated




after the smoking stopped

[sam333]

Have you check the oil and fluid levels on the engine and trans? What do you mean by part of the engine continued to run? The engine is either running or its not.

[pheldozer]

Originally Posted by sam333

Have you check the oil and fluid levels on the engine and trans? What do you mean by part of the engine continued to run? The engine is either running or its not.

tranny fluid was fine. oil was slightly above the FULL line after the car had been turned off for about a 1/2 hour.
the engine continued to run for about 5 minutes after the key was removed from the ignition.

[fenixus]

I think that both engine and trans fluid levels were good.

is it possible that starter burned out like that? seems like all the smoke was coming from starter assembly?

the mystery is why engine kept running (was running normally or cranking continuously?) after ignition key removal, perhaps a broken ignition lock at steering wheel caused it?

can this car be normally restarted now, or rather it won't crank at all?

[pmesfun]

Yeah, I think the starter fried itself and kept engaging/spinning?

[pheldozer]

when i had the car in for service last week, the mechanic doing the "40 point" inspection gave the starter a green dot. is this something they could have noticed, or do starters just crap out in a smoky fashion like mine did?

[twodoorcamry]

The starter got stuck running. That's why the engine sounded louder than usual when you started up, because the starter was continually engaged. And that's why the "engine kept partially running" after you tried to shut it of. And in the top picture, that looks like your starter generating smoke.

This same thing happened to me a bit back, although it didn't get to the point of smoking in my case. It appears that sometimes the starter solenoid gets stuck in of (you can't start the car) or on (you can't stop it).

This means that you have to get the starter assembly replaced.

[pheldozer]

Originally Posted by twodoorcamry

The starter got stuck running. That's why the engine sounded louder than usual when you started up, because the starter was continually engaged. And that's why the "engine kept partially running" after you tried to shut it of. And in the top picture, that looks like your starter generating smoke.

This same thing happened to me a bit back, although it didn't get to the point of smoking in my case. It appears that sometimes the starter solenoid gets stuck in of (you can't start the car) or on (you can't stop it).

This means that you have to get the starter assembly replaced.

heard back from the mechanic. needs a new starter. p/l are going to be just under $300. guess it could have been worse. thanks for all the helpful input guys!

[fenixus]

glad that is just it

good luck with repairs, hopefully this car will back on the road again soon