Might be new to the camry seen!!!!!!!!

[Canuck88]

Right now i'm driving a 1994 mazda mx-6 LS with the jspec engine (installed by me ), body kit is in the garage waiting for spring, 18"s will be ordered soon.

But there is a 1990 camry AWD (2.0L) in my eyes too, it's sitting in the honda dealership, i'm going to take it for a test drive tomorrow, one bad part is... it's automatic - but still looks like a fun lil car.

but what i'm wondering is, what are they like? what goes wrong with them? are parts generally expensive? What are some cheap performance/appearance mods?

I believe this car is a 2nd gen? Are they good in snow?

Anyways, I'll' get more information about the car tomorrow, like mileage, condition, and cost... i'll be doing a overall inspection (i have all the tools - i'm a long haul truck mechanic - but currently on workers comp - long story )

thanks all, hope to see some replies soon

[Canuck88]

bored and decided to bump it up a lil, onsidering i'm going for the test drive tomorrow and i'll be looking for things to look for

[white3ch0c0late]

Camry... AWD!?!? Are you sure its an AWD? I was under the impression that they never made an AWD Camry...

[Canuck88]

sry i ment 4WD

[white3ch0c0late]

Right, same thing You've sparked my interest, and I did some searching around, and yeah, I guess they did... wow, thats news to me haha

[pope_face]

Er... I don't think anyone here actually has an AWD/4WD Camry, although they do exist... apparently... I couldn't tell you about the 2nd Gen but my cousin drove an '86 for a while. Great little car to drive. His was automatic as well. The gas milage is great, and you can fill the tank for $20 or so. Or, at least in Canada. But... there were a couple problems with the engine. Nothing too serious IIRC. But, basics? Rust, steering, how the engine runs, etc. You're a mechanic, you probably know what to look for. It is a 15 year old car, so don't expect perfection, but a little work and it should be killing Hondas in no time.

Philly

EDIT: Forgot about the price question... as far as I know, sadly, yes, parts are kinda expensive. At least from what I've gotten. I know a friend of mine has an '88 that she still hasn't gotten a new water pump for because she doesn't have the money. But, I think in relation to parts for most Euro cars it's not bad. Mind you, this is only what I've heard/researched on my own. I could be wrong. As for performance/appearance mods... window tint. =D You can get the stuff for like $10 a roll. A little wax does wonders. Chrome license plate frames. If it's got steelies, take off the hubcaps and wash the wheels well. At least that's what I do on my '97 and it looks great. Performance? CAI maybe? Chop the muffler off and replace it with a straight pipe? You'd get pulled over pretty fast for that last one, but you'd probably get a reasonable power boost...

[ECale3]

They should be about as good in snow as any other 4WD car.

As far as parts, they shouldn't be terribly expensive (relatively speaking, car parts are rarely cheap).

As far as what goes wrong with them, i'll let a gen 2 guy fill you in, i don't really know.

[toyboyracer]

Resistance is futile, you will be assimilated !

The Gen 2 need timing belts occassionally, sometimes a pump, tensioners, CV joints,
front end bushes, new springs/struts/inserts...

As stated it's a 15yo car and depending on its condition

But I love mine so much I bought another a month or so back so I'm predjudiced

[05Cam-Weasel]

that 4wd is going to be fast if you end up getting it and moding it good luck with the project

[Zandro]

The 4WD sits and handels much better than a 2WD camry.
i`ve driven one so i know, the 4WD system is high quality too.

[Cyorke]

As for performance mods you can go all out and do turbos and all that kind of stuff. Engine swaps, 3SGTE I think and so on. Performance mods are not cheap and not very easy to find ofr Camry's in general. Most people dont mod the family grocery getter so aftermarket support is not great. Look in the gallery section under Gen2 and see if you find any in there tat look like something you would like to do to yours, if you get it, and PM the owners.

As for repairs, they are as expenxive or as inexpensive as any other Japanese cars for the most part. I used to be a Toyota Tech and those Gen2's did not have any major problmes that I can rememebr. Normal maintenance, t-belt, water pupm, valve cover gaskets and so on. The only thing is the AWD system, there are not a lot of them to be found at least in the US so finding parts for it if something were to go wrong may be a bitch or could get expensive.

[Grayguy]

Those things are rare. If it's not a complete pile, I'd say buy it