[tyemrichard]

Hi All,

I am new here and thought I would share my current problem to see if I can get any helpful pointers. My wife and I just bought an '87 Toyota Camry with 58,000 original miles on it. Had it shipped from Florida to CT, where we live. When it came off the truck, it started up just fine. I changed the oil, plugs, plug wires and distributor cap as soon as it was delivered. Ran great, just a little smokey when you first started it.

Fast forward a couple of weeks, ran the car down to a 1/16th of a tank to burn off gas that we presume had sat in the car for over a year. We gassed it up and since then, the cold start cranks but does not start over until you turn the key 2+ times. Upon starting, a huge cloud of white (slight blue tint at times) smoke comes out, it blows off and it runs like a champ. It does not smoke after it's running.

I took out the cold start injector and it was covered in carbon. I cleaned it, ran mass air cleaner through, changed fuel filter under hood, replaced plugs again, ran multiple fuel injector cleaners through. I'm going to put in a new MAF sensor today. I'm stumped!

Please help! This is the car I use to run my Pepsi sales route. We bought it with 58,000 miles on it because these cars will last well over 300k with some TLC. Let me know what you think. I appreciate all the help.

Thanks!!:grin::grin:

 

[Timpy311]

I would check the compression. It sounds like you could have bad rings or valve guide seals

 

[TheFlyingDutchman]

Maybe check the ISC valve for carbon build up too. But it does sound like you're burning oil somewhere

 

[white90dx]

Still probably an issue with the cold-start injection system. It is not controlled by the ECU, but rather by a switch on the water outlet neck that can go bad. Make sure there is 12V at the injector plug when cranking. You may need to replace the switch.

-Charlie

 

[Mike Gerber]

Check the resistance of that cold start time switch both cold and warm with a digital volt/ohmmeter and compare it to the specs in any manual. If you don't have a meter, a cheap one from Harbor Freight or Walmart will do just fine. You can get the specs from any manual or do a search for "cold start time switch" on this forum. The specs have been posted a few times here. These switches can go out of range and cause the starting problem you are experiencing. Close is not good enough when it comes to this switch. It must be right within it's range to work properly and enrich the mixture properly for a cold start.

As far as the blue tint you are seeing, that's definitely some oil burning. My guess is that with the low mileage you have, it's not rings but rather dried up valve guide seals on a car with this age. I would just check the oil periodically to see how much oil you are actually using. May not be a big concern at this point.

Mike

 

[white90dx]

Check the resistance of that cold start time switch both cold and warm with a digital volt/ohmmeter and compare it to the specs in any manual. If you don't have a meter, a cheap one from Harbor Freight or Walmart will do just fine. You can get the specs from any manual or do a search for "cold start time switch" on this forum. The specs have been posted a few times here. These switches can go out of range and cause the starting problem you are experiencing. Close is not good enough when it comes to this switch. It must be right within it's range to work properly and enrich the mixture properly for a cold start.

As far as the blue tint you are seeing, that's definitely some oil burning. My guess is that with the low mileage you have, it's not rings but rather dried up valve guide seals on a car with this age. I would just check the oil periodically to see how much oil you are actually using. May not be a big concern at this point.

Mike

This is all good info.

-Charlie

 

[66conv6]

Check the resistance of that cold start time switch both cold and warm with a digital volt/ohmmeter and compare it to the specs in any manual. If you don't have a meter, a cheap one from Harbor Freight or Walmart will do just fine. You can get the specs from any manual or do a search for "cold start time switch" on this forum. The specs have been posted a few times here. These switches can go out of range and cause the starting problem you are experiencing. Close is not good enough when it comes to this switch. It must be right within it's range to work properly and enrich the mixture properly for a cold start.

As far as the blue tint you are seeing, that's definitely some oil burning. My guess is that with the low mileage you have, it's not rings but rather dried up valve guide seals on a car with this age. I would just check the oil periodically to see how much oil you are actually using. May not be a big concern at this point.

Mike

Plus 1! We had the same problem on our car some years ago. The resistance check was a bit out of range but I thought "close enough"---NOT. $140 later on Amazon I installed it on our 87 Camry and it starts like a new car. Before, we had to do the two-starts thing which eventually led to a new ignition switch!

Also, just so you know, the owner's manual says to avoid going below a 1/4 tank to avoid drive-ability issues.

We had the brief white-blue smoke puff on start-up for many months but it went away about 20 years ago. Always used full synthetic oil since the 1970's. 187,000 miles and 30years it runs great. Keep an eye on the oil.

 

[tyemrichard]

Hi all,

I never had a chance to follow up. I replaced the cold start switch and it's been running like a champ ever since.

Sadly, I will be posting it for sale soon. My wife and I are expecting a baby in July and I want to get something with airbags for transporting the little one. It's at 66K right now. It has the basketweave rims, sunroof and digital dash cluster. Overall it's in excellent condition.

Spread the word if you know anyone who might be interested. I'll attach a pic for now. Going to take interior pics this weekend.

Thanks again for your help!!

 

[gaijin666]

"Plus 1! We had the same problem on our car some years ago. The resistance check was a bit out of range but I thought "close enough"---NOT. $140 later on Amazon I installed it on our 87 Camry and it starts like a new car."

What is "IT"...?

 

[71Corolla]

You'll regret selling that car.

 

[tyemrichard]

1987 Toyota Camry LE

 

[wallytoo]

You'll regret selling that car.

i agree. that is very nice, in excellent condition.

also, airbags don't save the lives of infants or toddlers; properly installed carseats do!

 

[66conv6]

"Plus 1! We had the same problem on our car some years ago. The resistance check was a bit out of range but I thought "close enough"---NOT. $140 later on Amazon I installed it on our 87 Camry and it starts like a new car."

What is "IT"...?

"it" is a "cold start switch".