Severe Engine problems/ need help

[frogger90]

91 Toyota Camry, new engine at 210,000, about a year ago, now car has 231,000.

Ok, this is kind of a long story. I had a tree land on my car on the freeway here in washington last December. Pretty much totaled the body. I have since then fixed the damage with parts from the junkyard. Basically it smashed in the roof over the rear seat passengers and smashed up the front end pretty good and took out the windshield. There were also dents on the back end.

What happened is I was driving and the tree landed on the front over the hood, then bounced as I drove through it. Sort of spread the damage out over the entire body area.

Unfortunately I neglected one thing, which is probably the orignation of my problem. There is what appears to be a valve (Black, has two hose nipples, black nob underneath, on top left corner of engine compartment). The tree caved in the hood, which broke off the hose nipples. I have since been driving the car around since December 28th, it is now February 20th. The car ran fine until about 1 1/2 weeks ago and has since been running very rough. It idles a little funny and almost cuts out when stepping on the gas. The car also does not want to go at a constant speed, as it will shake violently back and forth. Basically acts like it engages and coasts on the clutch. I have a manual transmission.

I did some work and replaced that broken valve. Found one at the junk yard that works. Also replaced the distributor cap(only cap, plug wires included) and spark plugs. Also found a cracked hose that goes from the valve cover on right side of engine to the EPA system (for lack of better name at the moment). Host is 12" or so long and was very oily on the engine side, which alerted me to the problem.

After all this work, two days later, the problem appears to be a lot worse. The vibrations at cruise are so bad that I have to either accelerate or lay off the gas to run smooth.

I am thinking I have some sort of fuel problem, like a fuel pump or something. Has anyone run into a similar problem or know of any likely causes for me to look at?

Thanks!!

[Wintermute]

What you cracked and didn't replace was your EGR (exaust gas return) vacuum modulator. This item tells your EGR valve when to open and close. Since the EGR recirculates exaust back into the intake, you are probably flooding your engine with exhaust gases resulting in lack of combustion. The best thing to do is to go to the dealer and buy the part, replace it, then disconnect your negative battery lead for about 15 to 20 minutes (this will reset your ECU). Then you should be fine.

you may also want to check your intake manifold (make sure nothing broke there) check your fuel pressure regulator and fuel rail. I would also ensure that the valve cover wasn't damaged, and that the distributor you got is good. If you check engine light is on and blinking, you may not be firing on a piston. This will result in the engine kicking around alot and making alot of noise, idling badly, etc...

[frogger90]

Do you think it is possible that driving with this valve in-operable for 6,000 miles could have caused a build up of carbon in the engine? If so, would just normal freeway driving get rid of this?

I will go ahead and try disconnecting the battery lead to see if that erases the computers memory.

Thank you!

[Wintermute]

Originally posted by frogger90
Do you think it is possible that driving with this valve in-operable for 6,000 miles could have caused a build up of carbon in the engine? If so, would just normal freeway driving get rid of this?

I will go ahead and try disconnecting the battery lead to see if that erases the computers memory.

Thank you!

The EGR vacuum modulator goes out pretty easily...if the one you got from the junk yard is broken, it may still be causing problems. I would replace it with a brand new one and then reset the ECU.

[powderblue91]

mine is busted, when i have the AC on and am at idle the engine makes odd revving noises. I suppose I should fix that sometime.

[frogger90]

Just got done resetting the computer. I am pretty sure the valve I discribed still works, but not 100%.

After resetting the computer, the same problem still occurs. The check engine light is always on at idle, but if I keep constant RPM (something above idle), say 2,000 for a length of time, then the light goes off, but if I take my foot off the gas, it comes back on. Also, when at 2,000 RPM, the exhaust does not sound normal. The exhaust is not constant, but more like quiet popping noises, like an old brigs and stratton is flooded or something. The engine is also not smooth at this low RPM with no load.

Is there a possibility of the problem being something else?

[Wintermute]

hmm...I would definetely check your engine codes at this point if you have an OBDII reader, or can get one. You're in arlington, WA right? If you feel like driving to Redmond, I can read them for you. Something definetely sounds off with your motor though, so I wouldn't recommend driving it. The best bet might be to get a friend to drive you to schucks autoparts and buy a reader (about $90-$124 for the low end ones). From there, see what your ECU thinks is wrong and fix it. Also, if the car only has problems at idle, and not while driving, or holding your foot on the gas to keep it at constant rpm, check your throttle body and ensure that it's not screwed up.

[frogger90]

I am actually in redmond right now at the Microsoft campus. Will be here until midnight tonight. Can always sneak away for a few. I can be reached directly via v-jonsco@microsoft.com.

[Wintermute]

Originally posted by frogger90
I am actually in redmond right now at the Microsoft campus. Will be here until midnight tonight. Can always sneak away for a few. I can be reached directly via v-jonsco@microsoft.com.

okay Johnathan, are you at your office? I can meet you at building 112 if you like

[frogger90]

I am actually in Building 11 with the Backups group. Is that cool?

[Wintermute]

Originally posted by frogger90
I am actually in Building 11 with the Backups group. Is that cool?

check your mail

[frogger90]

After further observation with Wintermute on this issue, we have determined that this problem is probably not related to the EGR valve. The engine appears to be getting way too much gasoline to burn it all efficiently.

There are heavy fumes coming out in the exhaust and occasionally while driving down the freeway, I can smell them up front in the drivers seat.

As of yet, we have no idea what could be causing this. My next step is to run the computer diagnostics to count the repetition of the check engine light.

I will post an update to what I find out sometime tomorrow.

Any other possible items to check in relation to this would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

[88 LE]

Originally posted by frogger90
Unfortunately I neglected one thing, which is probably the orignation of my problem. There is what appears to be a valve (Black, has two hose nipples, black nob underneath, on top left corner of engine compartment).

Is this the valve (ac idle up vsv) your talking about?

[frogger90]

Yeah, that is the valve.

[frogger90]

I did the diagnostic test. The engine light flashed 3 times, then 1. This indicated three items that could possibly be wrong. One is the air flow meter, ECU, or (I think it was idle sensor). We ran the tests on the air flow meter and found some dead spots, so we took it apart and fixed it as best we could, then re-sealed it. A new one from the auto part store is between $500-600. On Monday, I am going to see what the price is at a junkyard.

We also ran the Ohm test with a meter on the idle sensor and it turned out ok. With the engine off, we had to push the throttle body back to idle to get it to trigger all the way. There is a rubber trigger that was pushing it out past the trigger point.

Pulled the negative terminal for 20 minutes, but unfortunately the tinkering with the air flow meter did not seem to make a difference. Ran the diagnostics again and it came up with the same repetition pattern.