Hi all, new here but not to forums of this nature, nor to DIYS wrenching. Im not an enthusiast for these cars(theyre solid little machines tho!), Im a Chevy B-body guy(94-96 Caprice 9C1 aka police package and Impala SS) and Ive done nearlyall the maintenance and mods on the couple Ive owned, plus Im a vintage Honda SOHC4 freak(partial to mid 70's CB550s) and Ive rebuilt a couple, so Im a fairly competent backyard mechanic. So naturally Im not real keen on my girlfriend being ripped off by the "mechanics" up in Chicago, from now on(since she met me), Ill be her wrench, hence the handle. The first thing I did was get a Haynes manual for it and then sought out this forum. Thanks to the mods and members for putting this together! Its a godsend for guys like me, you can learn so much and SAVE so much.

She has a 2002 Camry with the 2.4 liter, around 100k on it, pretty well maintainted, but it has a couple issues:

1. The most frustrating for her is that she has a hell of a time putting gas in the thing! You know how the gas nozzles at the station have that pressure sensitive valve that shuts off the gas so it doesnt go spewing everywhere when the tank is full? Well it constantly pops off on her when she tries to fill up. I tried it myself and if you pull the trigger full blast the thing pops off instantly, so you have to find the "sweet spot" which is a trickle and it takes forever to fill up. I stopped while filling it a couple times and I could hear the gas "glunk, glunk, glunking" down the filler tube. My guess is the vent line that runs parallel to the filler tube is clogged. Gas builds up a lot of pressure when you slosh it around so if the vent tube is clogged it cant relieve the pressure in the tank and the filler tube fills up with gas and pops the valve on the nozzle. Its a simular effect to pouring a bottle of pop, it will "glunk, glunk" because of the vacuum, but poke a hole in the bottom(vent line) and it comes out smoothly. Does this sound like a reasonable theory or is there something else I should be looking at? I found the vent line but I havnt had a chance to mess with it yet. Im gonna try disconnecting it and blowing compressed air through it to see if air is moving through it freely, and mabey that would dislodge whatever might be clogging it. Any ideas?

2. Her steering wheel vibrates like hell durring moderate to heavy braking anywhere over 50 mph or so, but the car itself remains straight, no pulling toeither side. I pulled the front wheels and had a look at the rotors, they have verylittle wear, no grooves, the pads have plenty of meat on em, the caliper pins move freely allowing the caliper to self adjust like it should and the brake fluid is clean and at the proper level. The ABS light doesnt come on either so it must be purely mechanical. It does seem like the brake pedal needs to be pushed farther than it should before engaging the brakes, but then Im used to the tight pedal on my car so it might be normal. It wouldnt hurt to bleed the brakes tho just to make sure. The only other thing I can think of that would cause this would be a warped rotor, so I may just go ahead and replace them, probably not too expensive? Any other ideas before I do that?

3. I went to autozone(oops) to get new plugs and I saw right on their computer that the OE plugs are platinum(or so it claims) and against my better judgement, I went ahead and boughtthe set of Bosch platinum plugs that were listed for this car. I pulled the first old plug and immediately noticed it was an Iridium NGK(kick *** plugs, the only thing I use in my bikes) and then I notice the sticker on the motor that says, use only Iridium plugs....ok. I went ahead and installed one of the platinums and fired it up, it ran just fine butI put the original plug back in. Im gonna get the proper OE NGKs, but out of curiosity, what happens if you put those platinums in? Do they just foul out early and make the car run like ***, or is it more serious issues like pinging, or is there no issue at all?

4. Ive noticed a distinct vibrating/rattling sound when you take off from a stop, especially when the AC compressor is engaged. It never does it under any other circumstances, just right off idle, and I can make it do it consistantly by tapping the accelerator while idling in gear. I doubt this is normal, but mabey, all cars have different quirks. Is this something I should be concerned about? She lives three hours away so my time to mess with it is kinda limited, but this weekend Ill have her push the gas pedal while I have my head in the engine bay so I can isolate the sound.

The rest of this is just me making observations and generally bitching

5. Holy crap! The price for OE O2 sensors on this thing are outrageous! They have 100k on them so Im sure they need replaced, and her check engine light is going on and off, Ill get it scanned but Im willing to bet its an O2 throwing the CEL.

6. I was gonna grab a new fuel filter for it, but the chick at autozone informed me that the fuel pump must be removed to get to it...WTF.. is this true, and if so, who the hell came up with that one?? Im assuming the pump is in the tank like most modern cars?

7. Yaaaaay!! No timing belt to replace on this motor...but will the timing chain last the lifetime of the motor? Sucks for the V6 people tho!

Thanks for listening! Any heads ups oncommon problems to look out for? Any parts that commonly fail?Thanks in advance!

Clint

 

s*** clint....thatsa long list..
1.sound like you may have something restricting the filler neck..remove the rubber hose that connects the tank to the filler neck and look at the passage. make sure its clear...if its not that it may possibly the evap canister..you may have to take it to the dealer to have the canister tested..
2.it sounds like the rotors are warped
3.iridium plugs get replaced at 120k, but you can use plats, highly recommend denso or ngk.
4.this is a hard one, no cel light on?
5.get the code, it mit also be related to the evap system.
6.i thought the filter was next to the air box. but i could be mistaken.
7.and just listen to the chain makes sure it doesn't sound loose..most of them last over 200k..but i think replacing it around
150k doesn't hurt...

 

The only thing I can speak to a little is #6...the fuel filter thing...the Oreilly's guy told me the same thing...said it was unserviceable. So, he said it was probably built into the fuel pump. I have the 2002 with a V6 though.

 

Backyard mechanic here, only not as committed. Once you get her car A-OK, just drive it out here to PNW,
leave it with me, and I'll buy you both a ticket back to Chicago.
It'll be a vacation she'll remember you for: 'Jeez, I went on my first driving trip w/ him, and we left my car...'



Find an auto parts store that has a lathe and have them turn the rotors - by appointment. I'd also consider swapping out the pads
for the softest version since her driving uses brakes a lot or else you're going to be addressing those rotors every year.
Or just get a new GF next yr ...