After 228K miles, my great Camry is quiet. Car was running very well until a week ago. Some roughness started at idle, stalling at times. Overheated once; replaced coolant ok and car ran ok 2 days, though sometimes rough at idle.

After running ok & parking overnight, car did not start. Cranking was normal & fast. In past, car would start almost immediately from cold or hot with minimum crank. Tried "starting ether" into air intact, no attempt to start though cranking well. Jumped electrically from larger car, no help.
While cranking, periodic "hiccup" or momentary stopping of crank.

Removed battery leads and jumped directly to my car; the crank was worse (did not turn over, only 'chuttered'). Replaced battery leads & jumped batteries; crank was good but did not come close to starting.

Any thoughts? My son (better mech. than me) & I will check out in 2 days. We'll check for spark, etc. Any suggestions for us to try would be very helpful.

For those of you with vintage Toyotas, you know the value of the reliability of these cars. I don't want & can't afford another car. Thank you in advanced for any help.

 

If possible remove the plugs and compare against each other.

Overheating can lead to head gasket failure resulting in a host of issues.

If you can check compression.

Hiccup as in fired but maybe backfired?

Although rare, sometimes the timing teeth can break resulting in ign spark but at the wrong time.

If spark it should be hot, as in able to gap 1/2 inch.

The Autozone website may have detailed info on checking specific parts in the sites vehicle repair guide section.

 

After checking spark(ok) and bypassing the air filter with a shot of ether, the car ran until the ether burned out. Another gallon of gas and the car started and runs fine.

Though I had previously put in 1/2 gallon of gas, that apparently wasn't enough. Just goes to show, make sure you're gassed up before running around troubleshooting a phantom problem!

Thanks for your help, Toyomoho.

NavyDad4

 

The problem came back: won't start, tries but "hiccups" was not fixed with additional gas. Turns out the Crankshaft Position Sensor was bad.

According to AutoZone.com, this item would exhibit similar symptoms my car experienced. Check 2nd bullet.

The crankshaft position sensor identifies position of the crankshaft to the ignition control module (ICM), engine control module (ECM) or powertrain control module (PCM)
When not replaced, vehicle could experience no- or hard start, long crank time, misfire, lack of power, excessive hydrocarbons in oil, spark plug fouling, catalytic converter failure, poor fuel economy, CEL/MIL illumination or intermittent shutdown

The Camshaft Position Sensor going bad would cause similar symptoms. I believe an auto computer would be necessary to diagnose either item successfully.

 

Crank sensor inside the distributor?

 

I didn't make the repair, but according to an existing YouTube video, the crankshaft position sensor is just below the alternator and behind its belt. If you want to see how to replace the sensor, check out this video:
How To Install Replace Crankshaft Position Sensor Toyota Camry 3.0L V6 1AAuto.com - YouTube.

Since it cost me $225 to have my car towed and repaired, anyone who fancies themself a mechanic can save a bunch by replacing this $62(AutoZone) part themselves.

Just a reminder, according to the AutoZone repair guide, the camshaft position sensor($80) going bad will give the same/similar symptoms as the crankshaft sensor.