I've searched here, Google, and other Toyota forums without any success so I'm hoping y'all can steer me in the right direction.
I have a 96 Camry DX I4 with just 123,000 miles on it now.
I bought it 18 months ago in fair to rough condition from a local Toyota dealer's used car division (where a friend works) after the original female owner traded it in with all sorts of little issues, a few mild dents, a steaming radiator, and an obvious lack of maintenance although the date and mileage intervals on oil change sticker were current so at least she was trying to do the right thing...
I replaced the bad factory radiator, did a full timing belt job because the tensioner was squealing!, gave it all new front seals (including front main), and installed plugs, wires, cap, and rotor too... ALL Genuine Toyota parts!!!
Also got a freakin' expensive Toyota water pump on a Gen2 Camry friend's recommendation but decided not to install it 'till the original one dies.
Thermostat also got overlooked in a rush to get it back together to go to work and then went forgotten for a while 'till suddenly the first winter cold snap hit and fuel economy and heat sucked and the car hung in 3rd with the tq converter unlocked for a long time every day so I installed the new Toyota thermostat and those issues all cleared up.
Now here we are with 23k of my own miles on it since I bought it and as I'm cruising down the interstate after a while (20-45 minutes at random) it starts stumbling and the tach starts falling fast as I hold the pedal steady, if I press the throttle more it bogs more, if the A/C is on it gets MUCH worse, if I back off it seems to help a little, but no matter what I do or don't do it just suddenly clears up and jumps back to life again like nothing bad happened, but within a couple more minutes it does it again and clears up again and does it again randomly once every few minutes.
When it does quit stumbling moments later and comes back to life again I can floor it and it revs up and pulls totally fine like nothing's wrong.
Sometimes it feels like a quick little miss that clears up again just as quick as it happened, others it's a full-blown bogging with the intention of stalling.
When the problem occurs it feels like it's running out of gas but it had 3/4 tank of fuel the first time it happened.
I've run errands around town many times since then to finish off that tank with no signs of problems. When the tank got low I replaced the fuel filter (Genuine Toyota filter, same part number as the one I took off) then I refilled the tank and at first that seemed to help and it got me to work just fine (50 miles each way on the interstate) and while still at work it got me to both lunch and dinner at separate times and went on several parts errands on that 24+ hour work day but on my way home from work it happened again...
I pulled the distributor cap thinking the shaft seal might've let go and puked oil in it but it's clean as the day I installed it.
It's freakin' OBD-II and the only code it has is P0441 Purge Flow Not As Expected, which has existed since long before I bought the car and always comes back within a day or less of being cleared out with the reader.
It can tell me to tighten the gas cap (was a stored code from previous owner when I bought it!) but it can't tell me it's about to stop running or at least that something's wrong??? WTH??? :headbang:
I assume that a clogged cat getting hot would trip an O2 sensor code?
I also assume an igniter flaking or overheating might trip a code too?
Since it's OBD-II I'm wondering...
Can it tell if the fuel pump is flaking? As in can it or does it monitor fuel pressure and/or the pump voltage signal?
With such "low mileage" on this car and the fact that it's supposed to be smarter with its' fancy OBD-II ecu I'm really suprised it's threatening to leave me stranded on the interstate and I'm really concerned about driving it to work anymore... My buddy's 92 I4 LE with over 200K miles just keeps going.
I would assume it's either a fuel or spark issue and that'd narrow it down to checking things like the coil and igniter since the plugs/wires/cap/rotor are all Toyota parts replaced 23k miles ago (Denso Plat plugs iirc), or maybe the fuel pump as things to check at this point, assuming it's things like those that the OBD-II system might not be able to "see"???
Toyota wants like $300 for a fuel pump (AFTER my buddy's employee discount!) and I don't have access to a spare coil or ignitor so has anyone else had these symptoms and what suggestions do y'all have?
Oil level is fine. Coolant level is fine. Coolant temp is always about 1/3 scale or less according to the stock gauge. No other idiot lights are on either.
Any guidance would be greatly appreciated as I've got to get this car back to reliable again asap since it's my only way to get to work and I can't afford to replace it right now and it's a suprisingly comfortable and economical commuter box, up 'till now anyway... :disappoin
I have a 96 Camry DX I4 with just 123,000 miles on it now.
I bought it 18 months ago in fair to rough condition from a local Toyota dealer's used car division (where a friend works) after the original female owner traded it in with all sorts of little issues, a few mild dents, a steaming radiator, and an obvious lack of maintenance although the date and mileage intervals on oil change sticker were current so at least she was trying to do the right thing...
I replaced the bad factory radiator, did a full timing belt job because the tensioner was squealing!, gave it all new front seals (including front main), and installed plugs, wires, cap, and rotor too... ALL Genuine Toyota parts!!!
Also got a freakin' expensive Toyota water pump on a Gen2 Camry friend's recommendation but decided not to install it 'till the original one dies.
Thermostat also got overlooked in a rush to get it back together to go to work and then went forgotten for a while 'till suddenly the first winter cold snap hit and fuel economy and heat sucked and the car hung in 3rd with the tq converter unlocked for a long time every day so I installed the new Toyota thermostat and those issues all cleared up.
Now here we are with 23k of my own miles on it since I bought it and as I'm cruising down the interstate after a while (20-45 minutes at random) it starts stumbling and the tach starts falling fast as I hold the pedal steady, if I press the throttle more it bogs more, if the A/C is on it gets MUCH worse, if I back off it seems to help a little, but no matter what I do or don't do it just suddenly clears up and jumps back to life again like nothing bad happened, but within a couple more minutes it does it again and clears up again and does it again randomly once every few minutes.
When it does quit stumbling moments later and comes back to life again I can floor it and it revs up and pulls totally fine like nothing's wrong.
Sometimes it feels like a quick little miss that clears up again just as quick as it happened, others it's a full-blown bogging with the intention of stalling.
When the problem occurs it feels like it's running out of gas but it had 3/4 tank of fuel the first time it happened.
I've run errands around town many times since then to finish off that tank with no signs of problems. When the tank got low I replaced the fuel filter (Genuine Toyota filter, same part number as the one I took off) then I refilled the tank and at first that seemed to help and it got me to work just fine (50 miles each way on the interstate) and while still at work it got me to both lunch and dinner at separate times and went on several parts errands on that 24+ hour work day but on my way home from work it happened again...
I pulled the distributor cap thinking the shaft seal might've let go and puked oil in it but it's clean as the day I installed it.
It's freakin' OBD-II and the only code it has is P0441 Purge Flow Not As Expected, which has existed since long before I bought the car and always comes back within a day or less of being cleared out with the reader.
It can tell me to tighten the gas cap (was a stored code from previous owner when I bought it!) but it can't tell me it's about to stop running or at least that something's wrong??? WTH??? :headbang:
I assume that a clogged cat getting hot would trip an O2 sensor code?
I also assume an igniter flaking or overheating might trip a code too?
Since it's OBD-II I'm wondering...
Can it tell if the fuel pump is flaking? As in can it or does it monitor fuel pressure and/or the pump voltage signal?
With such "low mileage" on this car and the fact that it's supposed to be smarter with its' fancy OBD-II ecu I'm really suprised it's threatening to leave me stranded on the interstate and I'm really concerned about driving it to work anymore... My buddy's 92 I4 LE with over 200K miles just keeps going.
I would assume it's either a fuel or spark issue and that'd narrow it down to checking things like the coil and igniter since the plugs/wires/cap/rotor are all Toyota parts replaced 23k miles ago (Denso Plat plugs iirc), or maybe the fuel pump as things to check at this point, assuming it's things like those that the OBD-II system might not be able to "see"???
Toyota wants like $300 for a fuel pump (AFTER my buddy's employee discount!) and I don't have access to a spare coil or ignitor so has anyone else had these symptoms and what suggestions do y'all have?
Oil level is fine. Coolant level is fine. Coolant temp is always about 1/3 scale or less according to the stock gauge. No other idiot lights are on either.
Any guidance would be greatly appreciated as I've got to get this car back to reliable again asap since it's my only way to get to work and I can't afford to replace it right now and it's a suprisingly comfortable and economical commuter box, up 'till now anyway... :disappoin