Hi all, I have a '97 Camry 2.2l 4 cyl; about 120K mileage. I noticed a moderate hesitation develop over the last 1000 miles or so. It occurs from low or mid rpm and "feels" like it is running rich. When it happens it sort of bogs down the motor for a second or two, then it seems to relieve. The stronger I accelerate, the worse it is. Still very driveable but I am concerned. How to proceed with troubleshooting? I am partially equipped for my own repairs, but am basically working without any special tools. A silly question: would an engine diagnostic give me a useful code? (no engine idiot light came on, but I thought maybe the computer would still register a code??) Anyway, any advice would be appreciated!

N

 

Sounds like fuel starvation issue. Couple of things come to mind. How long since your last fuel filter change? I guess you don't have a fuel pressure tester? The other thing would be the responsiveness of the fuel system. I would assumewhen the computer gets it's throttle opening signal from the TPSit would momentarily give extra fuel to prevent lag.I would guess similar to the accelerator pump on a carb'dengine. It might be something like an out of ajustment TPS which would be easy to check and adjust. Someone else here would need to comment.

 

when was the last time you performed a tune up, and wires..? do the easy maintain stuff out of the way...like perdro said it would be nice to have a fuel pressure reading...but if you can't.... do the tune up and get back to us.

 

Thanks guys- I started with the basics, and noticed the wire for plug #4 was a little loose. I bought new wires...no more hesitation! I wanted to replace the plugs too, but noticed that spark plug tube #2 had oil collected in the bottom. Unless it is too simplistic I will clean the oil out, then change the plugs, and check to make sure nonuts are loose on the valve cover. Right now I am the only nut on the loose.

Thanks again for your help,
N