Camry Acting VERY strange, please HELP!

[ToyJoeta]

Hello fellow toyotaholics! I have only owned Toyota's and have loved every car ive had.

I recently in the past year purchased a 92 Camry as I have a new born baby and had to get something roomy.

I got the car for dirt cheap and its in good overall condition.. BUT..

I am experiencing a problem which has baffled both me and my mechanic who is very familiar with the make.

Immediately after putting this car on the road I noticed right away that the car would 'Bog Out' when the gas is pressed medium to heavy 'too the floor'.

I then noticed that the problem was very severe on a low tank of gas and went COMPLETELY away when the tank was filled!!??

I spoke to my mechanic and he even test drove it, and was able to experience the problem first hand, but was just as confused as I was.

Money has been tight and I left the problem for the time being, and just kept the tank over half full, to which the problem was well bandaged, and has only happened if the tank dipped below..

My mechanic cannot for the life of him figure this out, and in all of the Toyota's ive owned in the past have never seen this unless a previous owner had tampered with the MAF sensor..

This car does not have the type mass air flow that can be advanced or retarded, and the fact that fuel level effects the issue, this cannot be it.

The engine is the 5SFE 4 cylinder with auto transmission. Please tell me there is another soul out there who has had some experience with this problem. I would like to fix myself, or at least have an idea as to what the problem may be.


Thanks all who read and reply. I have a new family and am trying to work this problem out avoiding any unnecessary costs..

Great forum by the way!

[BMR]

Weak fuel pump?... the sending unit in the tank?? Just a guess.

[ToyJoeta]

Originally Posted by BMR

Weak fuel pump?... the sending unit in the tank?? Just a guess.

This is what im checking first. The only thing about this idea is that my mechanic has serviced many Camry's and drives one himself. He said that its a rare thing to have issues with the fuel pump in this car.

I posted ideally to see if this has been an issue with this particular model, but nobody ive talked to seem to have heard of it.

Today when it got to its worst, the problem went away after the engine cooled..lol

There is still a hint of power loss when cold, but the car was acting as if it was severely overheating while in traffic. The temp gauge however was reading normal the whole time. Im really at odd's with this one.

[JayP71]

Fuel pressure regulator? That's not going to throw a code when it's behaving correctly, so it would be easy to miss. Especially since the scanner port is under the hood, rather than under the dash. Did the mechanic have some kind of code reader wired in while the car was being driven.

[AlmightyCamry777]

Sure sounds like a fuel problem alright.
-Is there a dent in the fuel tank?
-just like BMR said: possibly weak fuel pump (although 95% of the time they just quit).
-a whole bunch of dirt in the tank.
-clogged fuel filter (some fuel pumps have a filter inside, on your model year there is a fuel filter in the engine compartment too i think).

I'd guess its the fuel pump. Wait for the tank to get low again then disconnect the fuel line at the filter and check the fuel output.
I'd also change the fuel filter while i was at it.

[ToyJoeta]

I always knew Toyota owners were like a family Thanks guys! Im on my way outside to check what I can, and will start with the filter.

I just cant understand why it would bog like this when it was hot, but go away after it cooled. Perhaps there is a blockage which settles after a while giving the false sense that it had gone away..

I will be sure to report the outcome of this problem in case other have the same troubles.


Thanks much,

Joe.

[ToyJoeta]

Great news! I went to my mechanic this morning and started pricing parts. The biggest expense for a fix was a new fuel pump as this could only be the problem.

Problem is, is a new fuel pump runs 355$ Can. from Toyota directly. Seeing as this part does not commonly burn out, i figured it may be worth a trip to the local scrap yard.

I was able to pull 2 pumps from 2 separate cars in less than 10mins! The pump is accessed from under the back seat and requires none of the usual by dropping out the tank..

It was a fast and painless job. The good news is the car is running good with no bogging issues. The original pump has a fine mesh screen filter on the pick up tube, and for some reason was soo clogged. Not sure how this happened, my mech thinks it may be from the previous owner(s) constantly driving on an empty tank...

The pump probably still works fine, was just suffering severe clogging issues and was unable to provide a good flow.

So if anybody has this odd problem, it is a quick and simple fix.

Total cost of repair 39$ for the pump, 20mins of time and a big 0$ for labor.

Thanks for the replies!! Got me on the right track.

[BMR]

Awesome!!! Thanks for reporting back. It feels good to fix a stumper like this, eh? Especially so when ya get it done so cheaply!

[Mike Gerber]

Nice job figuring this out and fixing it yourself.

"The original pump has a fine mesh screen filter on the pick up tube, and for some reason was soo clogged."

Given what you saw inside on the tank filter, it might be a good idea to also change the filter in the engine compartment, just to be safe. At lest now you could do something like that as your time alllows.

Mike

[ToyJoeta]

I was thinking the same thing about the filter located on the firewall, and will be replacing that as well very soon.

Im having my coffee right now and will be going to the shop to get the fuel lines done shortly. I noticed some seepage on a rusty line in the rear of the car underneath... Dont want to chance messing anything up , so I will leave that to a professional..

I took the car out last night and played around on a few ramps to the highway, at 3am of course when there is nobody around

The car is performing well under the stress of some old school fun. The acceleration is much better than its been in the past year, guess thats a given under the circumstances.

My 4 door sedan is starting to feel like my 89 corolla gts in the corners, and coming out of them. Nice and peppy with a typical toyota engine that only screams for more when rev'd to its limit. This car has over 300k on it now, and it hauls like a little monster. Seems all the toyotas ive had have the same ability to turn your knuckles white, and provide some fun even for a family car.

Next I have to do the brakes, tighten up the old and fading suspension, and some body work. Apparently the last owner had issues with a neighbor or something to the like, as there are huge gouges in the paint from a key..

None the less I got the car super cheap and its another toyota that makes a great used car. Im in Toronto, and the heat has been ugly for the past few days. The A/C in this car is awesome, its like walking into a giant freezer when the system comes to temp.


I have driven a lot of cars in my time, and I always have and always will buy toyota, and nothing else! Accept NO substitute


Thanks again guys, great forum and community here.

Joe.