02' Camry 2AZFE TROUBLESHOOTING HELP NEEDED PLEASE!

[02Yota]

TROUBLESHOOTING HELP DESPERATELY NEEDED PLEASE! SORRY FOR THE LONG POST!

BACKGROUND:
I have a 2002 Toyota Camry LE with the 2AZFE engine and A/T with 245,000 miles on it. It had the dreaded stripped head bolt holes in the block problem which was recently "fixed" by me with Norm's inserts . I don't recall the car having the following problem before the "repair" was done. i.e. - please help me figure out what I screwed up .

THE PROBLEM:
The car starts fine, but has a very rough idle - sort of a knocking/loping sound. The car, however, doesn't seem to idle near as rough when it is warm (i.e. at stop lights or in parking lots). The car usually gets up to speed fine, but most notably, when cruising at low load speeds (like in overdrive at 55MPH on a relatively flat road) the car begins to shutter and shake and loses some power. When this happens the car will downshift in order to compensate for the slowing speed, causing the RPMs to naturally go up and the smooth engine performance to return until it upshifts again for cruising, thereby causing the RPMs to drop and the stuttering and shaking to return (not cool unless I brought my Margarita mix with me). This problem usually seems to happen below 2,500 RPMs. If I am cruising at 70MPH on interstate it is relatively smooth as it stays slightly above 2,500 RPMs. Lastly, the car, on occassion and when starting off cold for the first trip of the day, will have trouble getting up RPMs and getting up to speed with very notably reduced power. The car's Check Engine Light is on and is showing misfires in multiple cylinders. The light sometimes flashes especially when the first misfire of a trip occurs or if it is a severe misfire.

WHAT HAS BEEN CHANGED/CHECKED:
When I installed the inserts I also replaced the head with a rebuilt head which had different, new, or rebuilt camshafts, valves, valve seats, valve springs, and lifters. I also installed new head bolts and washers, head gasket, valve cover gasket, intake manifold gasket, exhaust manifold gasket, water pump, and spark plugs (denso iridium). My mechanic has checked the following: switched around coils and plugs to see if the misfire codes followed the coils or plugs - they did not - the misfires remained in the same locations. He also did a BG-brand fuel system cleaning service. He checked the compression - all cylinders tested fine. He checked the timing - which was correct.

The car does have some miles on it and it did sit around for a while before it was repaired, but I don't remember the car having the problem before the block repair. I am far from being an experienced mechanic so who knows what I screwed up!

My mechanic and I are at a loss. Does anyone have any suggestions as to what else this could be? My guesses are too numerous to be able to afford to change out each part: EGR valve, MAF sensor, O2 sensors, IAC valve, fuel injectors, ECM, or something not being right in the "rebuilt" head. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[troidus]

Sounds like a vacuum leak. The next time you cold-start it, pop the hood and spritz around the vacuum lines and fittings with some ether to see if the idle cleans up. If it's not vacuum, you'll just have to systematically unplug, check, and replug all your electrical connections to make sure everything is seated and you don't have any bent pins.

[02Yota]

Originally Posted by troidus

Sounds like a vacuum leak. The next time you cold-start it, pop the hood and spritz around the vacuum lines and fittings with some ether to see if the idle cleans up. If it's not vacuum, you'll just have to systematically unplug, check, and replug all your electrical connections to make sure everything is seated and you don't have any bent pins.

Thanks for the input! The only reason I haven't suspected a vacuum leak is because the car actually runs better when accelerating instead of worse. However, it is definitely worth a try as it would explain the rough idle. I'll let you know how it goes. Thanks again!

[Aceventura9586]

Originally Posted by 02Yota

Thanks for the input! The only reason I haven't suspected a vacuum leak is because the car actually runs better when accelerating instead of worse. However, it is definitely worth a try as it would explain the rough idle. I'll let you know how it goes. Thanks again!

Could that be because it's a higher pressure when it's running so the vacuum line may close back up under pressure?

[02Yota]

Originally Posted by Aceventura9586

Could that be because it's a higher pressure when it's running so the vacuum line may close back up under pressure?

Very possible. I hope to check things out tonight. Will post results.

[02Yota]

Originally Posted by troidus

Sounds like a vacuum leak. The next time you cold-start it, pop the hood and spritz around the vacuum lines and fittings with some ether to see if the idle cleans up. If it's not vacuum, you'll just have to systematically unplug, check, and replug all your electrical connections to make sure everything is seated and you don't have any bent pins.

Well I heavily sprayed all of the vacuum lines and fittings with starting fluid and the idle didn't change at all. All electrical fittings seem secure. Also, I did notice a distinctive "clicking" noise coming from, or from something around the fuel rail. Any other ideas?

[02Yota]

Originally Posted by 02Yota

I did notice a distinctive "clicking" noise coming from, or from something around the fuel rail. Any other ideas?

Well - everything I've read about the "clicking" noise from the fuel rail / injectors says that it's normal.

Any other ideas?

[02Yota]

Is the following link correct? - That the 2AZFE does NOT have an EGR valve? If that's true, I guess it would rule out the non-existant EGR valve as a problem!

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums...&Number=657016

[troidus]

Any chance you can post an audio clip or audio+video? That may help.

[02Yota]

Originally Posted by troidus

Any chance you can post an audio clip or audio+video? That may help.

Will try to do that tonight. Thanks.

[warpedrotor]

Sounds like you might be off a tooth or two with the timing chain on one of the cam shafts or the crank. (been there done that) The spark timing might be right but the valve timing could be off?

[02Yota]

Originally Posted by warpedrotor

Sounds like you might be off a tooth or two with the timing chain on one of the cam shafts or the crank. (been there done that) The spark timing might be right but the valve timing could be off?

With my wrenching skills (or lack thereof), that is entirely possible (probable). I'll check it out. Thanks for the input!

[02Yota]

Originally Posted by warpedrotor

Sounds like you might be off a tooth or two with the timing chain on one of the cam shafts or the crank. (been there done that) The spark timing might be right but the valve timing could be off?

Question: If the valve timing was off would that not cause the car to run like crap at all RPMs instead of just below 2500 RPMs? Or would it have something to do with the VVT as to why it only runs like crap at lower RPMs but still possibly be incorrect valve timing? Just curious.

[troidus]

Being off a tooth is a huge error. I'd be surprised if it ran at all. Also, if it's an interference engine, being off a tooth would probably bend valves and break pistons. Still wouldn't hurt to re-check cam timing, though, since you've looked at everything else.

[02Yota]

Update!

I checked the oil in the Camry and noticed that it was really low - over two quarts! I cranked the car and removed the oil cap and it is burping out some serious air pressure. I had a friend rev the car while I held my hand over the oil cap hole and my wife could dry her hair with the hot air that was shooting out!

So would this be a tell tale sign of piston ring issues? My only reservations with that hypothesis is that there doesn't seem to be any smoke coming out of the exhaust. I would think that it would be billowing smoke if I had bad rings.

Any other ideas?

Sorry I haven't posted a audio or video clip of it running, but my cell phone sucks and I haven't been able to get that to work. Basically it sounds almost just like a diesel at idle - but a bit more erratic.