[ratnfested]

hi. My wife has a 97 Camry that occasionally after it is warmed up for a short drive then parked for a short time and then driven again will fall on its face and not move. I will usually get going down the road and then once your out of the parking lot it will act up to the point where you have to pull over and it might not even idle. If you can get the thing to rev it will get going and run ok until you get up to speed and let off the gas then it will start dying again. Usually flooring it will just make it backfire but if you catch it quick and stomp it it'll rev up and clear out. Usually after letting it idle (roughly) for a few minutes you can drive it and it'll be like nothing ever happened. I changed the fuel filter but want to check the Fuel pressure now cause I believe it is fuel related. For the last year I had the 02 sensor unhooked cause it was bad and during that time it ran fine but since I bought the new one (got it inspected and all OBDII systems passed) it suddenly started this crap again. ARG! Please help if you know anything I might try. Plugs are new, wires are new. The car has 188k miles on it. Thanks
-Phil

 

[ratnfested]

Wish it was that easy but cats don't act up intermittently and besides it is new. I just forgot to mention it. The old exhaust rotted out at the flex joint. Got any other ideas?

 

[Gary_602Z]

Sure it isn't an ignition problem with it backfiring? Is it backfiring out the exhaust or the intake?

Gary

 

[V6LE_CAMRY]

Couln't it be the coolant temperature sensor? Doesn't that cause those kind of problems? Do you have a I4?

 

[dirtdiggler]

i would start cleaning the air intake and remove and replace tb gasket and pcv valve. try those first.

dirt diggler

 

[Mike Gerber]

First of all, take it to a place like Autozone and get the OBD2 codes checked. They will do this for free. The check engine light (also called the MIL) could have gone on and off with neither you or your wife seeing it. If they get a code, report the code back here and someone should be able to help you.

Second, I agree with V6LE_CAMRY. Check the ECT (engine coolant temperature) sensor for being in spec. You will need a DVM and the specs from any manual to check this out. This should however, show up when you have the OBD2 codes read, but I have seen stranger things happen.

Third, and this is just a wild guess here, when you had the O2 sensor disconnected, did any of the wires inside of that small loom (there should be 4 wires) get chaffed? If chaffed, they could be causing a problem now that the the O2 sensor has been replaced and the wiring reattached. Inspect this carefully.

Also remember, this car has 2 O2 sensors if it is an I4, or 3 O2 sensors if it is a V6. One of the other O2 sensors could now be defective. This would cause the exact problems you describe. That's why I suggested you get the codes read.

Good luck.

Mike

 

[trioptimum]

Probably not going to help, but if you didn't already, disconnect the battery for a few minutes to clear the computer (ECU) since you re-connected the O2 sensor recently (it will go back to factory settings and re-learn with the new O2 sensor installed).

Might want to pick up the Haynes manual if you don't have it, it has specific steps for checking all these parts (ie resistence reading for the sensors) out and a troubleshooting section.

Might try running some SeaFoam in the gas tank; that along with the O2 sensor cleaned up my stalling problem and made the car run like new.