[JohnIan84]

Got this idea from this thread: http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/showthread.php?t=337177 Just to keep things a little neater.
Like the title says...
Just putting this up for those of you that didn't really do anything that significant to start a new thread for..... so just add it to the list here. ANYTHING you did to your Camry today post it up. 👍 PLEASE keep this on topic!

Discovered my local mechanics have the IQ of room temperature. “Sir, your exhaust system is shot. Hear this? rattle rattle (shakes a PCV) this thing is shot. You’re gonna need a new catalytic converter, at the very least.”

sigh “Tom, is it? (Reading his tag) you realize I work here right? I bought that PCV valve... from you... last month in Parts. And it’s supposed to do that. Just do what I said and change the god***** oil. Better yet, no, don’t. I’ll do it. Step away, slowly, from my car. And after you get done cleaning out your locker? Kill yourself.”

Jesus...

 

[JohnIan84]

I drove it then wonder why it was being stupid starting only when it wants.
Then I Cleaned it at honda lol!
yes i work at honda XD,

Hmmmm. You, sir, are a master of disguise. How you hid your horns and tail through the signup process must be investigated.

GENTLEMEN, to arms!!!!

 

[JohnIan84]

It's parts of a gen 3.5. Or a gen 5.5. I'll probably sell the steering wheel if I get a 5.5. It was a okay price, so I might be able to make like $25 bucks. And yes, planning ahead.

I did that the day I bought my 96. I took a nap it the driver's seat. :lol:

Must be a right of passage. Me too... and my cat. weird.

 

[srp365]

HIDs and new parking lamp assemblies. Got the car with LEDs, and couldn't see much at all at night.

 

[Lyrrad85z]

LED dome light, and spray & pour seafoam kit. But I only stopped at the parts store to figure out what the light on my instrument panel was, it looked like it was supposed to represent the turn signals, or tail lights... It was the third brake light. Replaced, no charge.

 

[insightbrewery]

Did a few things to both my Camrys.

Cleaned out the A/C drain tube on beatercam, it was clogged with dirt and black mold. I'd been getting wet carpet, and this solved it.

Resealed the valley plate and installed new Denso knock sensors on my '99 V6. It's coming together now that I have all the parts together and time to put it together - few more days and I'll be able to blast around Highway 9 and Skyline Blvd (definitive drives here in the South Bay Area, if you guys are ever around).

 

[guapoman2000]

There has been some NASTY distractions on Power Steering items (repairs) that has really bothered me to no end.

Most of my adventures are documented over at this thread:

How much is TOO Much to keep an Old GEN3?

Guys, A few of you know me and my 1992 Toyota Camry XLE with now over 530,082 original miles without any rebuilt history. Yes, it's the indestructible 5S-FE (a.k.a., 2.2 Liter Cast Iron lower Block and Aluminum Heads with double overhead CAM). The Automatic Transmission is the famous and very...

www.toyotanation.com

The good news is that today I canceled the PRO SHOP appointment to replace my Camry's RACK & PINION as it has gone back working like nothing ever happened????

Could it be that the System was not Burped Correctly or Sufficiently (Air)?

The Steering Wheel is just as smooth as can be! Don't understand and I driven it over 100 miles today without any issues and in heavy traffic and with lots of turns, both Right & Left turns!!!

I don't get it!

Replaced - new the Power Steering reservoir and Inlet Hose from reservoir to the Pump.
Replaced - new Power Steering Pump (under Warranty)

In the reference discussion thread that I shared above, there was one person that indicated he would purchase all the parts from a Salvage (Junk) Yard. I like to caution with picking old and high mileage components from SALVAGE (JUNK) Yards as these vehicles are pretty OLD and with Lots of high mileage. I have realized during my quest in trying to fix my Camry that the Power Steering is perhaps the most neglected System in any vehicle
and therefore, Salvage Yards parts might be very appealing due to the enormous savings and they might look okay on the outside but, they have held and circurlated some very old Power Steering Fluid and for many years. You are essentially placing some very worn parts on a very important system, the power steering.

I realize that many items on our GEN3 Camry's are pretty easy to do "DIY" but, I can assure you that even the Power Steering Pump is a PAIN IN THE ASHE! You really need a Lift to get the right angles and reach the brackets etc... Down on the ground with Stands will be very messy and at times very difficult. Heck the mechanic didn't have an easy job at all trying access the Pump as it is with a PRO LIFT.

No Sir, I am glad that I decided to do this at a PRO SHOP and negotiating the best price possible and not have to be doing it ALL OVER AGAIN with SALVAGE (JUNK) Yard parts.

 

[guapoman2000]

Hello again good people!

For those with GEN3 Camry's then, feast your eyes on super mechanic's that I have in my area here in Orlando, Florida. This is my go to mechanic when visiting Ruben's Tire and Rim. They have long time mechanics with 25+ years experience and this mechanic took just under an hour to Remove and Replace my 1992 Camry's tired Rack & Pinion. Please don't start saying this can be done at home (DIY) etc...etc... heck it is not easy at all doing this without a lift, period!

After 532,651 original miles without rebuilt history, the original Rack & Pinion still worked but, it developed a major leak and had observations of strange issues about a week ago. Previously, I had a new Power Steering Pump installed plus inlet supply hose and a new Power Steering reservoir tank. Twice this same PRO SHOP replaced my Power Steering pump under warranty so, instead of ruining another pump on a suspect RACK & PINION, I bit the bullet and had them replace the RACK.

A few action shots of today's work!

 

[insightbrewery]

Got P0440 and P0441 on beatercam, "incorrect purge flow." Diagnosed as bad purge VSV, which a PO had replaced with some lame Dorman garbage. Swapped in my donor car's OE spare, gotta drive around to set monitors and see what's up.

 

[ed.]

Overheated my V6...thrice...within 3 hours last night. I just hope to hell I haven't done any long term damage...although that's very unlikely. I'll see to it that I die before it does.

Started driving and saw the temp needle kept rising and rising, decided to turn on the heat. No heat, huh, must be an air bubble in the system. Needle kept climbing and stayed maxed out for at least 5 minutes on the highway before finding a safe spot to stop and let it cool. Noticed all the steam from the gap between the bonnet and the front quarter panel, opened it up and steam came out. Not a billowing cloud, but quite a bit. Also smelt something burning, smell got stronger just above the coolant filler cap. Could see the red coolant was sprayed everywhere around the filler cap and also on the spot under the bonnet directly where the filler cap would be with it closed. That's also when I noticed that I forgot to close the filler cap...my dumb arse forgot to close the cap.

Tried to start the engine but after turning over it'd turn itself off, so I tried it again, same thing again. Decided to take a nap for around half an hour to an hour while listening to the radio. Drove it a bit more again and let it cool down (another hour or so), then started to head back home. Still overheating, decided to get it towed to a petrol station which was probably just 500m down the road but I didn't want to risk further damage. Servo doesn't have any coolant for sale...wut. Oh well, just had to use the water that was at the air hose.

So I guess that's what I did to my Camry. At least last night I did. Was able to drive to Costco and back today for a total distance of 16 km still with the tap water from last night in the system, didn't seem to have any issues...dear lord I hope this is a sign saying that this was a warning for not closing the radiator cap and to not do that ever again. Under the engine oil cap there's small amounts of brown sludge, and also noticed a smidge of sludge on the oil dipstick.

It already has a coolant leak problem somewhere but I'm going to get that checked out in a few days and I just hope I didn't destroy the block or heads or anything like that all because I forgot to close the coolant filler cap. Hopefully if there's nothing wrong with the head gasket I'll treat it to a well deserved flush with distilled water and toyota red, plus OEM valve cover gaskets and plugs.

 

[guapoman2000]

On Friday early evening and after work, I decided to travel to two Shopping Malls to find out an issue with my I-Phone.

Needless to say my Camry started acting up in heavy Traffic and Engine Quit on me during Idle (Stopped) and in "D" Auto gear. It started right up but, the Engine started to be surging some at low RPMs and for a few seconds exhibited lack of power.

Well, two items that I found......

1. The Throttle linkage bolts were found lose. It was in the bracket cradle but, the cable can be seen to move during activation of the throttle wheel.

2. The Throttle Body was very dirty so, I cleaned it after purchasing Throttle Body Cleaner by CRC.

Both solutions worked like a charm and the Engine response has increased dramatically and idle conditions are rock solid.

A few pics....

 

[00GoldSEV6]

I should have took pics. YESTERDAY, I replaced the charcoal canister and all 6 spark plugs. CEL went out but it's still hesitating when the engine is warmed up. I think I'm going to clean the MAF, IAT, throttle body, and EGR valve.

 

[paulbot]

Bought a set of 4 Mastercraft LSR Grand Touring tires online and had them installed yesterday. I had been running the original Michelin spare for the last year or so on one wheel, separated belt in another, and maypops on the rear.

 

[twotoy]

New tires make such a big difference. My '01 LE 2.2 had 2 new Mastercraft tires on it when I got it. The rears were mismatched baloney skins, so I opted to buy two matching Mastercraft so all 4 would be the same. They are quiet enough and do a nice job. I don't drive it a lot. My '01 V6 takes me around as a rule. That has 4 genuine Chinese Doral tires on it. Not meant for racing, but ok. When they wear out, a set of Michelin Defenders are going on.

 

[guapoman2000]

Hello good people!

Well, it's been a little over 3 years since I have replaced the Instrument Cluster on my beloved 1992 Toyota Camry XLE and today I replaced the Instrument Plastic Instrument cluster bezel that contains at least the three AC Vents.

Here is the Instrument Cluster Change out from 2016:

1992 Camry XLE 2.2-Liter Auto Speedometer / Tachometer Problem

Hello good people!:smile: I can't stand it no more and hoping someone can shade some light as to what I need to do to make my Speedometer and my Tachometer (Engine RPMs) work correctly. About three months ago.......:crying: the Speedometer started registering lower speeds than what my 1992...

www.toyotanation.com

This is the 2nd time I am changing out the Bezel because I just could not stand the worn plastic hinges that keep the VENTS to tilt and drop while the AC was running. I guess over time these Plastic tilt hinges wear out and the VENTS tilt downward and now you have the AC air blowing at you down where you don't need.

The other issue was the Instrument Cluster itself. In the beginning the 2nd Cluster did illuminate the Transmission Selector on the middle of the cluster and for some reason it no longer did about a few months ago. Perplexed, I went ahead the carefully took out the Cluster (Partially) and without completely taking out the cluster nor disconnecting any of the connectors. Well, to my amazement I found the connector for the Transmission Selector designation completely disconnected and reason why it was not working! It appears that I did NOT secure this connector correctly and reason with time and vibration this connector worked itself loose.

A few pictures!

 

[Cosmofennema]

This week, Blackie got new rear springs, a brake adjustment, and heated front seats. Tomorrow, the junkyard, to grab some little things (seat pivot bolt ), and to see what they have new there.

 

[kcodyjr]

It's a 1997 LE, V6, AT, NA. About 175K miles on it.

It's my wife's car - marry the woman, marry the car, n'est-ce pas?

Today, I did both rear strut mounts and spring seats. I found the passenger side top bolt loose as a goose, and the bump stop was in upside down... grrowl. Left the existing struts in because they're fine, and did NOT use quick-struts because I don't trust cheap springs. Also, I broke both rear ABS sensors in the process. D'oh...

I did NOT remove the strut from the knuckle; I unbolted the trailing arm, allowed the whole vertical assembly to swing outward, and then applied spring compressors right there.

Also, since 7/15/2019, I've done:

* Both front control arms, but only one ball joint because the one I did was fine, the other seemed so too, and the one was a b***h to get out. The cotter pin was frozen in place.

* Both rear hubs, because some idiot overtorqued the lugnuts to the point the stud spun and "extreme measures" were required to get the wheel off. Used Dorman replacements.

* Totally rebuilt both rear brakes, including rotors, loaded calipers, all bolts, parking brake shoes and all the little fiddly hardware bits, and including all 3 cables.

* Replaced the rear sway bar bushings, which may have been a lark.

* Replaced the rear trailing arms, including the knuckle bushing.

* Changed the oil, and used the larger Lexus filter.

* Both forward rear lateral control arms have been done in the last few months, port side by a shop I'll never trust again for $600, and starboard side by a decent shop for $300.

 

[Cosmofennema]

Blackie is in for spa treatment this week. So: New rear springs, heated seats, matching carpeted floor mats, Lexus wood/leather steering wheel, reverse lights repaired, driver's door hinge replaced/aligned, and finally, hood changed from prop rod to gas struts (ala 2000-01, using parts from same). Oh, yeah, a lot of cleaning/vacuuming, too.

Cosmo

 

[shadako]

My to do list for 1998 Camry "Vienta" : 1. Fix radiator fan not going on when hot or on ignition (they only work when the A/C is on). 2. Rocker cover gaskets + cleaning and maybe plugs while I am there.

 

[Parrotpaul]

I removed the glove box from my '02 Solara...the lock would not unlock, so I had to break a few things to get the door open, but I got the entire unit out, and I found a whole glove box replacement for this model and year...same color. Found it in Minnesota on Ebay...$40 delivered.