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Toyota Camry: Problems & Solutions
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Comments
You should let the engine warm up, then run through all the gears with the engine running, car stopped, brakes on. Then put the car in Park on a level surface, firmly apply the parking brake, and keep the engine running.
Pull the dipstick out (don't let your hair, necktie, or shirt sleeves get caught in moving parts), wipe off all fluid with a clean rag, then re-insert and pull out again. This way you'll get a much more accurate reading.
Anytime I've drained it, I've always had to put in 2 1/2 quarts. But don't add more until you check the proper way! It's better to underfill than to add too much. (You can always add a little more later.)
Also, recheck again after you've driven the car for at least 10 or 15 miles, using the same procedure.
Why "hot" oil level is higher than "Cold"? Suppose with engine/transmission running, transmission oil splash on the surface, less oil in the container (lower oil level). While cooling down to cold, oil on the surface comes back to container which will cause "cold" oil level higher, right? So in my mind, "cold" oil level should be higher than "hot". Please advise.
Because, like everything else in this universe, transmission fluid volume expands as the fluid is heated.
This has been happening intermittently since yday.
Yday, I started up my Camry(heard a wierd engine noise) and when I tried putting it in reverse or drive, it would switch off.
I got it towed to my house. This morning, I got it towed to a shop. and when he tried it, it did skip a start, but once it started(no wierd noise), it did go smoothly forward and backward. He is going to try reproducing it today
What are typical problems associated with a timing belt wear-out? it has 106K miles on it and I suspect it is due for a timing belt replacment anyway. Any other major problems in the Engine that he should look for?(We had replaced the starter a few months back)
And unless I'm sadly mistaken the water pump is always driven by the serpentine belt, while the timing belt is mostly fully encased and protected by by the front engine casing.
Additionally the water pump failures are almost always due to an initial failure of the inner bearing seal and then if not addressed the bearing will fail within a relatively short period.
There is always a "weep" hole/opening in the outer seal race such that the water level within the bearing housing isn't trapped and can readily drain away and thereby be quite noticeable to an observant owner.
So I very strongly suspect that back when rubber ribbed timing belts began to be used a conservative estimate was made as to there likely service life. Now here we are quite some years later, with the product likely having been dramatically improved over the intervening years, and the dealers are still telling use the "sky is falling".
My 2001 AWD RX300 is now at 60,000 miles and maybe the timing belt will get changed out before 150,000 miles...maybe.
The engine was of the non-interference type, so no harm done. But we had to find a phone (and phone book), call the nearest Volvo dealer (since we were from out of town), have the car towed, and wait for it to be serviced. The dealer sent a "chase car" so my wife, sons, and I could ride to the dealership without having to cram unbelted into the tow truck.
About water pumps, are you saying when coolant starts to leak out of the weep hole, the inner bearing seal has failed and the water pump is about to go as well? I always wondered why there was a weep hole in the first place.
I know what you mean about the bearing, because while we were on vacation at the beach about a decade ago, our 1990 Sable started making an awful grinding sound in the engine compartment, and I had a service station take a look. The diagnosis -- bad water pump.
"Always" is a long, Long, very LONG time. It really depends entirely on the engine design. Some engines have an exposed water pump (or at least the input shaft and pulley) which allow the serpentine belt to drive the pump just as you described. Others have the pump entirely enclosed behind the engine front cover and driven either by the timing belt or a seperate, internal, unexposed belt. On those designs it makes perfect sense to replace the waterpump prophylactically at the time the timing belt is replaced while everything is exposed. Labor charges are the major expense with a timing belt replacement ($40.00 - $60.00 for the belt, itself) - an extra $60.00 - $75.00 for a new water pump is an annoyance but not a deal buster. Murphy's law at work. (Murph was an optimist.)
This weekend I removed the rear hub assembly to look at the
condition of the bearing grease. I looked over the hub but
couldn't figure out how to remove and replace the wheel
bearings. The front wheel bearings seem to be serviceable
so it would figure the rear bearings also are by design.
Anyone have some general infomation on replacing the rear
bearings?
Alex
I can't remember encountering even one in more than 55 years of driving and DIY experience. And I am certain sure that no current model Lexus or Toyota is so configured.
Not at all. Honda has used timing belt-driven waterpumps for some time on Accord I4 and V6 motors. Whether that's still true since MY 2003 I can't say. The new Hyundai "Mu" series 2.7L V6 engine with CVVT used in the just introduced 2006.5 Optima also uses the camshaft timing belt to drive the waterpump. My '03 Sonata with the older "Delta" 2.7L V6 has the water pump inaccessibly mounted behind the engine front covers, but the input shaft and pully protrudes and is driven conventionally by the serpentine accessory belt. In any case, all of these engines will require some serious time and aggravation for an owner to replace the waterpump due to its unconventional location.
trim panel around the stereo, climate control, and ash tray. Use a small eye glass screw driver to pry back the trim at a given point, then slowly work your way around the whole trim. Be careful as the plastic chips easily. The lower part of the trim panel near the ash tray area is pretty difficult to unbuckel. With the trim panel pulled back (not removed as I prefer) you have to unbolt 4 bolts and the stereo will come out.
Alex
Normh
Well, there might not be anyone else who posts here with one.
If the movement is "very slight," I wouldn't worry about it.
I got a price quote from the dealer, the add on cd player was something like $250... The toyota cd players are also on eBay but they seem to usually go for $60+. I wanted to buy a used Toyota player but opted to install a non toyota head unit in the end.
Alex
Of course the dealer is an option anyone else have a favorite parts website they order there Toyota goods from?
I have a Camry 97 V6-XLE. Its right signal lights sometimes go fast and sometimes normal. The lamps are Ok. Does anybody have any such experience and is there any way to fix it?
Thanks and regards.
Look VERY closely at any bulb that has 2 filaments in it.
This happened repeatedly on my '97 Camry, but only on the LEFT side, for some reason.
Please advise.
Thank You.
My 2003 Soanta's V6 starts and runs just dandy on 10% gasahol (which is fortunate since that's all I can buy where I live). I doubt Hyundai knows anything not already known by Toyota. At least from 1996 (the earliest year I still have an owner's manual for), all cars sold in the U.S. (including Alaska) were designed to operate properly on 10% ethanol blends.
Soon after that, "check engine" light come on for different problems. This time, it is "engine gasket" and will cost 500 to fix it.
I don't know much about car. I am wondering how serious it is for this engine gasket problem? The car appears to be running fine but this amber check engine light worries me. Any advice?
Thanks!
I'm always with the manual transmission, I4s. This car is really different from others.
(Note to self - do not attempt to transport bodies for burial in rural New Jersey in new Toyota Camry trunks.
-Tony Soprano)
But it is hard to believe that the support is that flimsy.
I transported many bags of sand and cement in many different cars and that never happened to me .
Thanks a ton,
Bret