running rich...need help

[track_assassin]

hey guys, my camry has been hesitating if u press on the gas pedal, sometimes to the point where it chokes and dies. i pulled the plugs and compared it to the haynes manual. it says its running rich. i changed the plugs but it still has the same problem. how do i fix the "rich" problem. any help would be great. thanks in advance.

[camryfour]

Check stuff like O2 sensor and vaccuum system. If O2 sensor is bad definitely you will run either rich or lean.

[track_assassin]

if its the o2 sensor, wouldnt it give me a check engine light? or not?

[camryfour]

Thats seems logical, but anything can happen right? Just pull it out and check to see if its clogged. I had a recently bad one, but my check engine light bulb was bad.

[Doctor J]

Coolant thermo sensor needs checking

[track_assassin]

^^ how do i check that. and where is that located? yea, i'll pull the o2 sensor tomorrow and see how that is. thanks for the input guys.

[V6LE_CAMRY]

Check you ignition timing (distributor) and valve timing, They could be wrong.

[track_assassin]

how would i chech my valve timming? i tried to check my ignition timming but i cant seem to find the tdc mark on the crank pulley....thats was weird. i have a 94 camry le, 4 cyl. if your looking at the dist. from the intake side. turning it clockwise would adv. or retard the timming???

[amerikim]

I had a thermo stick open and engine ran rich until it warmed up enough.
It was a pain in winter, car drank like me on payday.

[Mike Gerber]

Originally Posted by amerikim

I had a thermo stick open and engine ran rich until it warmed up enough.
It was a pain in winter, car drank like me on payday.

I agree with amerikin. Either the thermostat is stuck in the open position so the car never fully warms up, resulting in a richer mixture, or the engine coolant temperature sensor (ECT sensor) is defective and is always sending a signal to the computer that the engine is cold, again resulting in a richer mixture. The thermostat is something you just have to replace but you can check the ECT sensor with a DVM and the specs from any manual. Since you can check that, I would do that first. If that checks out OK, then I would go ahead and replace the thermostat.

Mike

[track_assassin]

what is a ect sensor?

[track_assassin]

thanks guys. will do some tests. i have a good feeling the problem is one of these. will post results

[Mike Gerber]

Originally Posted by track_assassin

what is a ect sensor?

What Toyota calls an ECT sensor is an engine coolant temperature sensor. It's under the green plastic connector.

Mike

[track_assassin]

cars running a little better. thanks guys.

[05Cam-Weasel]

awesome i was running really lean and i got a power enterprise camcon and now i'm running perfectly