[BlueGem64]

My 1985 Toyota Camry won't start. Leaks oil but not bad. I always just refill it. I left town for the memorial day weekend using my other car. Came back monday, went to work in the 1985 on tuesday. It died on the street after a 20 min drive from my house, over the freeway, right in front of work. I parked it and towed it home after work. I was leaking a lot of anti-freeze. Checked the oil when I got home, and it was dry

I should have checked again, but I just had it changed like a month ago. My own fault I guess. Any ideas what's wrong based on this sound? It made some gurgling sounds and a light grinding when it went out. The car turns over but won't catch. I refilled the oil anti-freeze. Please, any suggestions on where to start looking before I take it to a shop? I really don't want to put a lot of money into. It may just be worth it to get another "craigslist" car and take better care...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZScu4Mziqmg&feature=youtu.be

 

[BMR]

Welcome to TN! I moved your thread to the Gen1/2 Camry forum so you'll be more likely to get some help.

 

[fourdrinie]

sounds like it could be a fuel problem to me...check to see that the fuel pump is pumping...look up threads here for fuel pump noise when paper clip inserted into diagnostic module....

 

[Lee250]

Sounds like it's cranking pretty fast. How many miles since last timing belt replacement?

 

[BlueGem64]

Not sure about the timing belt. The car be,longed to my step great grandmother. It went to my brother who drove it for a few years. He did some work on it every now and then but it was like the master cylinder for the breaks and some other stuff. My dad owned it for about 2 years and it just sat in his garage. My wife and I got it from him for free in Feb 2011 after we got married. We just paid the registration fees and replaced the battery. Like I mentioned, it's been leakin oil for years but we just filled it backup up. I know that's lazy but were not rich, and I figure the car would just die one day anyway

There is a sticker inside the hood on the firewall that says timing belt replaced at like 77,000 miles. It now has about 135,000.

Im wondering if I blew a cylinder since I basically ran it on no oil for about 20 min at freeway speeds. But what should that sound like??

 

[Mike Gerber]

I agree with Lee250. That sounds like it is turning over too fast. That means no compression in multiple cylinders which most likely indicates a broken timing belt. To confirm this remove the distributor cap and have someone crank the engine over while you observe the distributor rotor. If the rotor is not moving it means the timing belt has snapped.

Mike

 

[BlueGem64]

I appreciate the tip. I'm going to go check that right now.

I wish I took shop. I don't know what the distributor cap is... that's sad

EDIT: Ok I know what is now. Just looked it up. Are there any precautions to take while removing or reinstalling the cap?
EDIT::: Ok, there doesn't appear to be anything moving.

http://youtu.be/Qax35iRn26k

The timing block is expensive to repair at a shop isn't it... Is it possible to DIY with not much experience..?

EDIT AGAIN::

Yup, the belt snapped. I looked around a bit harder and noticed a couple inches of the belt hanging out of the cover. I feel pretty dumb for missing that in the first place, but I appreciate all the tips to get me looking in the right place. Really, thank you

I guess my next question is:

If I replace the timing belt myself, what other issues do I need to be aware of? There's still the anti-freeze that leaked, could the water pump be out? Do I need to realign the wheels before putting the new belt on?

 

[white90dx]

The motor is likely not damage (luckily for you). In most cars, this would mean a complete engine rebuild.

What probably happened: Broken water pump (thus the leaking coolant) seized up, caused extra pressure on timing belt, which broke that.

You will need:
New timing belt
New timing belt tension and idler pullies
New water pump and thermostat

If you have a good set of tools, it isn't very difficult. Its less than $200 in parts, and the car would be good to go for a long time. You might even be able to fix an oil leak or two while you are in there (crank or cam seal and the oil pump seal can all leak oil and are easy to change while you are there).

-Charlie

 

[BlueGem64]

Thanks Charlie

Sorry if this is an ignorant question, but what is the purpose of changing the tension and idler pullies? Are they just likely to be worn or damaged by the broken belt? And what is involved in changing the thermostat?

I've changed out a water pump myself on a 95 pontiac grand am, but honestly I'm not mechanically inclined and its been a few years since I've tinkered with anything. I don't retain much knowledge on the subject once I've finished the job :facepalm:

 

[white90dx]

Thanks Charlie

Sorry if this is an ignorant question, but what is the purpose of changing the tension and idler pullies? Are they just likely to be worn or damaged by the broken belt? And what is involved in changing the thermostat?

I've changed out a water pump myself on a 95 pontiac grand am, but honestly I'm not mechanically inclined and its been a few years since I've tinkered with anything. I don't retain much knowledge on the subject once I've finished the job :facepalm:

The idler pulley and tensioner pulley have bearings that wear out, normally around the second timing belt. No reason not to change them, they are cheap and save you from doing hours of work over again.

The thermostat should be very easy compared to everything else. It is right where the lower radiator hose comes into the engine. The thing it bolts to on the engine is the water pump. Since the water pump is driven by the timing belt on this engine, you have to remove the timing belt to get to it. It just comes as a good package deal to do all the labor at the same time...

I would say that you should be somewhat mechanically inclined to do the job. But think of it this way: You can buy all the tools, repair manuals and parts for much less than half of a new car... Heck, you could have a shop replace those things for less than a new car.

-Charlie

 

[Mike Gerber]

^ I totally area with whitedx90. First on his theory that the water pump probably seized up and took out the timing belt. Second, about changing everything out under and near the timing belt while the belt is off. You will probably find the cam and crank seals under the timing belt and water pump are leaking oil. That's pretty typical of a car this age. The idler pulley and thermostat are just precautionary and easy things to do while everything else is out of the way.

As to the question of whether or not to do this yourself, I have mixed feelings. Saying you didn't know what a distributor cap was scares me a bit, but saying that you changed out a water pump on a 95 Grand Am says you know how to do this; that is assuming the water pump on the Grand Am was under the timing belt. I would guess that parts for all of this work would run about $250. To have a shop do all of this would run about $1000. You are the one who best knows your abilities and also your financial situation, so you are the best one to judge whether this is a job you tackle yourself.

Good luck.

Mike

 

[Kingdom934]

The 2SE is a pretty easy engine to work on, especially how much space there is in the engine bay and where everything is located.


You will have to remove the passenger side motor mount to get the timing cover (top) off. You will also have to move the power steering reservor to move the cover.

I'd suggest you to have air tools. Trying to loosen the main crank shaft bolt is gonna be a bitch. Ironically mines didn't wanna budge, even when I did the 'bump' starter, actually the engine stop spinning lol. For me, the timing belt on my Camry is streching causing a rattling noise, so I adjuested the tensioner for now as a temporary fix. Not sure if a larger battery would give me more 'crank' to bump the bolt loose though.


I suggest to find the part on Amazon

It comes with the belt, tensioners and seals. You will still need to get the oil pump seal though. I'd recommend doing the seals while your down there. Timing belt + oil leak on belt = belt don't last long.

 

[white90dx]

If the crank pulley bolt is stuck, take it to a shop to have them do just that one part. A 3/4" impact with 140psi behind it will take just about anything off. They can just snug it back down and you can do your own work from there.

-Charlie

 

[Kingdom934]

If the crank pulley bolt is stuck, take it to a shop to have them do just that one part. A 3/4" impact with 140psi behind it will take just about anything off. They can just snug it back down and you can do your own work from there.

-Charlie

That's what I was thinking about doing haha. Or I. Could get air tools