Help, Please.

[TOYOTA CARS]

So it rained heavily yesterday and I start the Camry to warm it up this morning. I go back inside and when I come back out the first thing I noticed was the exhaust coming out in quick intervals. Ok... I then see my car physically vibrating with the water beads on the car moving back and forth.

This was not good. I pop the hood open and I see my engine literally bouncing up and down very quickly.

The first thing that came to mind was my engine cracked which led to water seeping in and causing a vibration when the car started. I tried to go for a drive and when I started acclerating, it felt the tranny was failing and the car vibrated the worse @ 1400 RPM. At 2000 RPM it stopped but as soon as it came down, the ugly vibration. I immediately went back towards my house and told my wife not to drive it. I hitched a ride with the wife and kids while they were on there way to school and was dropped off at the train station

What could be the problem? I can't believe a Toyota engine has major engine issues @ 74,000 miles of its life. 10 years old though

I took a test drive and after driving about 5 miles it was gone. My exhaust dripped what seemed to be water and spewed white smoke.


My wife and I are contemplating if we should just get rid of it and get a new car. Currently as of 8:55PM EST, there are none of the vibrations as noted this morning.

[whocares04]

y not take it to a mechanic instead of just flat out getting rid of it?

[TOYOTA CARS]

There's a lot more other problems that need to be addressed and we're somewhat financially trapped and we want to see if it's worth fixing or would it be more economical to buy a new one.

I had $2000 worth of fix put into the car last time and I can't see me putting another $2K only to have something else break later.

[asscarracer]

Maybe just have a mechanic inspect it for a few bucks, get some estimates and then take it from there

[ShawnM]

It kinda sounds like you might just have bad spark plug wires. Bad plug wires tend to arc or short out when theres a lot of moisture in the air, like after a big rain storm. The smoke you saw was probably unburnt fuel getting cooked off after the catalytic converter warmed up. While its running normally try spraying the wires with a little bit of water, like from a spray bottle. If it starts running like crap right after you spray it then its definatly the plug wires. Thats my guess anyway. Let us know what you find.

[TOYOTA CARS]

I apologize for not getting back to this earlier. It was not a spark plug or anything that minor. It was a crack in the block. *sad violin plays*

So within 2004 and 2005 I have spent about $4500 renovating this car to optimal peformance again.

[RningOnFumes]

Originally Posted by TOYOTA CARS

I apologize for not getting back to this earlier. It was not a spark plug or anything that minor. It was a crack in the block. *sad violin plays*

So within 2004 and 2005 I have spent about $4500 renovating this car to optimal peformance again.

eeesh...that's in the middle of the price range in the kelly blue book 4500


ouch is what i can say.

[500KCamry]

Do you know wjhat caused the block to crack?

[TOYOTA CARS]

The mechanic said a major change in temperature (like temperature shock?) could have caused it but he's as clueless as I am. I even saw the crack itself. Just this line in the cylinder wall.

Since I need two cars (wife and kids use the Sienna to school, groceries, sports, etc. and I need the Camry for work), I was forced to fix it. Actually, if I wasn't getting a house right now, I might get rid of it. For a Toyota, this is not what I wanted.

[mandyfig]

Sad story. How come the crack went un-noticed? There were signs.

Good luck.

[Knailgun]

fuckin tragic.....sorry to hear this....though you should consider an ATK for replacement