New member in need of some help.

[Camrymatic]

Hello guys,
I’ve been watching this forum for a while and think that there are some knowledgeable people here so I think this is a good place to ask some questions. I just purchased a 94 LE (I4 Auto) with 85k miles on it. The carfax has all the miles accounted for until the last 84k miles when it was purchased at an auction in Orlando. This if a Florida car btw. I have not owned new cars before, this is my second one actually and I don’t know If new cars have this to some extent as well, but my question is this: Is it normal for a car this old (although in excellent condition) to make various noises, I don’t mean the same noise constantly, I mean about 3 different ones occasionally. The most prominent one appears after the car has been standing at a red light for about 30-40 seconds and seems to be AC related, it sounds like some vibration in the body as the engine idle pattern changes or seems like some fan vibrating because it tends to be on and off. Also with the reverse gear engaged and holding the brake pedal down the car seems to vibrate a lot as well, and also make a sort of noise associated with low idle. This is also the type of noise it makes when I am starting up hill. My question is: are these noises indicative of serious technical problems or just associated with old age and dried up lubrication on various joints and bearings in the car.
-Second issue I have is more specific: The car seems to be ever so slightly resisting when the ac is on and I am slowly accelerating from light to light. Its almost like the wheels don’t want to turn (a very minute sensation), or like there is some effort to shift into second, once the engine is above 3k it pulls very well though, so I am thinking maybe these I4 Camry’s have really little torque below 2k.
-Final issue is very specific- I wanted to see how she does on the highway and took her out on I10. It was pretty hot (95 maybe) and I floored it and took the engine up to almost redline, she did fine but seconds later the AC light started blinking and the AC turned off. I turned the system off and turned it on again in a few minutes that seemed to fix it for a while and them it happened again. I let it stand for the night and a few days later the problem has not come back, so I am guessing it just overheated and shut down.

Sorry for the long post but these problems require a detailed description. I appreciate your help guys; I am planning to do a lot of things to the car so hopefully ill be a regular.

[TheOtherSide]

I think I can maybe answer one of these.

The most prominent one appears after the car has been standing at a red light for about 30-40 seconds and seems to be AC related, it sounds like some vibration in the body as the engine idle pattern changes or seems like some fan vibrating because it tends to be on and off.

My car does the exact same thing and I narrowed it down to the fan blowing air across the radiator to circulate cooler air over the coolant int he coils. When you are at a stop, there is no air moving over the radiator so the fan takes over where normal driving conditions would normally be all that it takes to keep it cool. My fan isn't all that loud but you can hear and slightly feel the engine adjust when it kicks in. It must pull some serious amps to change the engine idle slightly.

[rusty9]

welcome to the world of oldish cars that make wierd noises and whatnot that will drive you crazy trying to figure out. the noise you hear stopped at lights intermittantly is, as stated above, just the cooling fan switching on and off. normal operations.

the vibration while in reverse is most likely a worn or broken engine or transmission mount.

also, remember your car is old and she aint pushing the ponies she used to. especially with the a/c on. the a/c compressor robs quite a bit of power from a 4 cylinder especially with an automatic tranny.