1998 Camry [infrequent] hard starting
 

Good morning. I am researching a problem with my daughter's '98 Camry LE (4 cyl). I spent about two hours reading some great posts, but nothing quite matched, so I thought I'd pen this note.

Yesterday, she called me to say it would not start. It turned over nicely, but just would not catch. Through her cell phone, I could hear it "coughing," - like it was trying to catch - but nothing.

So, I headed over to give her a hand. I cranked it several times and nothing. I could now hear the "coughing" really well and I'm wondering if it's just some mini-dieseling from compressing the gas (or not?). Anyway, I ended up running the battery down, so I jumped it from my vehicle. I got it started, but it didn't sound right. A clue is that it was running at a very low RPM for being cold (and for this vehicle). Normally, the RPMs will jump to about 1400-1500 for a minute or so, before it gradually heads down to 800. Now, it was at 1000 RPM. I grabbed the throttle under the hood and attempted to increase the idle and it stalled immediately. It was not running rough per se - as if it was down a cylinder. I got it restarted, and this time the RPMs increased to the "normal" range. I let it sit for a bit to warm up, and it dropped down to an 800 RPM idle. Subsequent restarts, including one 30 minutes later, were fine. The engine sounded smooth, I could rev the engine without stalling, and the RPMs were holding firm at 800 RPM. No low RPM or bouncing, which might indicate a bad IAC.

In summary, it seemed like it was starved for gas, starved for a spark, or both. My research so far has narrowed it down to a few dozen parts!! The apparently intermittent nature of this is making it hard to diagnose.

A few more tidbits: this happened once before about two years ago - and not again until yesterday. The first time, my daughter tried "one more time" and it started fine without any assistance. I keep the throttle body clean, but I'm not clear from the other threads if the IAC could be the issue here. The car was last started Saturday after she dug out from the NE blizzard. The temp yesterday was in the mid-30s and the air was bone dry.

Thanks in advance for your insight. I'm on pins and needles hoping it starts this morning! UPDATE: car started this morning! I'm planning to replace plugs & wires this weekend. Can't hurt.

When was the fuel filter last replaced?

fuel filter?
 

I have no idea - not first owner, I don't have all the records. The car has about 50K miles under my "watch" (120k total).

I'll take it that you are inferring that the filter is clogged. Seems worth a try. I am an "advanced intermediate" mechanic. I have a Haynes manual, but the process looks a bit complicated (de-pressurize system by pulling unit from tank, which is accessed by removing back seat, etc.) Can I pull this off?