2002 Camry Test Drive - Shaking

[plantdesign]

Test drove a Camry with over 170,000 miles. The car is perfect other than a slight engine shake (more like a quiver) when stopped at a red light with the clutch depressed. The a/c was on, and i was trying to tell if the shaking coincided with the compressor kicking in. When taking off from the red light, if given some gas, it takes off without any shaking. but if you give it barely any gas, it shakes a little more than I would suspect is normal until its fully engaged in the gear.

The only other issue was the clutch itself. I have never driven a manual camry, but all other manuals I have driven have a lot of travel while depressing and you can typically "feel" when the clutch begins to engage. On this car, the clutch engages as soon as you start to depress the pedal, and has a relatively firm feel and short travel. Is this normal? I really appreciate any advice. Thanks!

[fatngs]

i dont have a manual so im not sure bout the clutch but the shaking is probably due to the a/c comp. running at idle; when it cycles on my car at a stop i'll see the rpm jump then i can feel the strain on the engine as the rpm dip to anywhere between 600-900 rpm and you can feel the vibration until it cycles off

also when i disconnect the battery for a bit of time the computer needs to relearn the proper idle and it drops to 500 rpm sometimes almost stalling the engine and you feel alot of vibration

other thing you can look into is the engine mounts and see what kind of shape theyre in

btw i hav an 06 camry se 4-banger

[plantdesign]

Thats good info. And ill be sure not to disconnect the battery if i dont have to.

I have read that there are several possibilities with the a/c compressor: 1) Low freon puts a strain on the compressor, 2) Compressor itself is worn and drains power from the engine. 3) Freon is old and needs to be replaced.

Regarding fixes, I have read you can check freon level, and add a lubricant to the a/c system to lubricate the compressor. I dont want to replace the compressor if its not necessay. (Does anyone know how much this repair costs?)

I will check the motor mounts, and would almost prefer that to be the problem because they are easy to replace.

[fatngs]

i work at an auto parts store and you can easily check the freon level with a gauge that any autoparts store will sell; the low side port is next to the passenger side shock tower

im not sure how much a compressor for a camry would be because they dont tend to be a common repair, but i do kno the a/c compressor job was about $700 for my old caddy when i had it

[Glenn8963]

Originally Posted by plantdesign

Test drove a Camry with over 170,000 miles. The car is perfect other than a slight engine shake (more like a quiver) when stopped at a red light with the clutch depressed. The a/c was on, and i was trying to tell if the shaking coincided with the compressor kicking in. When taking off from the red light, if given some gas, it takes off without any shaking. but if you give it barely any gas, it shakes a little more than I would suspect is normal until its fully engaged in the gear.

The only other issue was the clutch itself. I have never driven a manual camry, but all other manuals I have driven have a lot of travel while depressing and you can typically "feel" when the clutch begins to engage. On this car, the clutch engages as soon as you start to depress the pedal, and has a relatively firm feel and short travel. Is this normal? I really appreciate any advice. Thanks!

then the car IS NOT perfect.....it has a problem, and you test drove this and you want to buy it...??? is it from a private person or a dealer..?? if from a dealer make them fix it. if from a private person, tell them the costs of a new a/c compressor and related work is around $1,000 and to knock off that much....

or here's a winning idea......

WALK AWAY...........

[Warminwisco]

You should buy the car if you can afford to repair the clutch prob 700 and if you need to repair the air 1000 easy. For your budget I would keep looking and not focus on a certain car but dependability good luck but in this case you make your own luck

[Punks_Not_Dead5]

If it's an I4 that engine shake is normal... lol

[Zembonez]

A LOT of things could be wrong at 170,000 miles. It could be something as simple as tired engine mounts... or something as expensive as burnt valves or other engine mechanical issues.

Clutches feel different on each type of vehicle.

Before you spend hard earned money on a 170,000 mile car, I'd have a mechanic look it over. It could be a POS.