We have a 96 toyota camry 4 cyl that had the ceck engine light on (not sure for how long as we recently got the car) and the oil light would come on every now and then. My husband noticed the car would start out driving ok but not at full strength after about 10 miles driving you can feel it kick in to full strength. So we changed oil and the oil light has not come back on but it is still acting odd. We went to change the spark plugs and noticed one had a little bit of oil in it. We then changed the valve gasket cover cleaned out the oil and changed the spark plugs(except for one we werent able to remove its stuck and we didnt want to break it). After changing these things the check engine light has gone off but we are still having the problem of it taking a bit to get up to full strength. Its not the transmission, it changes softly all the way thru all gears. Any ideas on what could be wrong? Please and thank you for any suggestions.

 

Any relation to engine coolant temp? The engine computer uses a coolant sensor to tell engine coolant temp, sensor could be bad.

 

i agree witgh toyomoho. either check the ECT sensor or just replace it. it's about $30 or so new. as for that stuck plug, get it outta there. you might spray some pb blaster down in the hole and let it sit for a few minutes then give it a good yank with the proper sized socket on a 3/8" ratchet. the socket will have a rubber lining that's kinda hard to see but it's there and it will help prevent breaking the glass insulator.
let us know your progress.
tony