I recently purchased a 2001 Camry with a 2.2L 5speed 84k miles
I'm very excited since this is my first stick shift and my first toyota
Basically the only reason I bought it is because of their reliability.
Car had 2 owners: first a female for 6 years and 1 year her brother (if you believe the sellers story, i do, carfax checks out according)
He changed the clutch at 84k (200 miles ago) and teh car has been sitting for a couple of months.
1.)My question is: should i be concerned that the clutch was changed so soon? is that too soon? what is average (im not asking for people's longest lasting clutch records here, but what is it supposed to be changed at?) . Is there a way to make sure the Synchros are fine?
2.)Im also concerned about the timing belt; i read it needs to be done at 90k so i'll probably do it next summer. what should i expect for cost on that?
as a college student money is tight (to say the least)
3.) I read a lot about oil sludge/gelling. I couldn't see it in my car but is there a way to see any signs of it before its too late. I plan on using regular oil - or dino oil as i've seen it called on this forum - and changing it every 3k miles.

Asside from that I might tint the windows and maybe paint the tail lights black. for some reason i just imagine that would give it a very sleek look. did anybody try this already? my car is silver
no "Tuning" its a 4 door camry, i dont plan on finding how fast it is, although the 2.2 is surprisingly quick for the size of the car.

Thanks for reading, and any advice is appreciated.

 

No.Sister and brotherwere probably riding the clutch.

Yes!!!

No average. I got 250k on an 82 Mazda truck with the original clutch. Don't ride it, avoid slipping it, start with as low rpms as possible to get you moving. Resist drag racing.

No, unless you want to tear down the transmission. Is it shifting ok? Is it slipping out of gear? Changing trans oil wouldn't hurt. When I buy a used car with unknown service history I change all fluids.

Don't worry, it's nottimed to break at90k. You might want to have the tension adjusted though. Get a quote, but I don't think it should cost toomuch as it takes me about1/2 hour. Not a must though.


Depending what you have done about $500 - $700. Most people change some seals and maybe water pump, but I think WP should be ok until next TB change. Keep coolant in good condition.

I don't think your year has sludge problem?? You have to remove the valve cover to see sludge build up - don't bother. Change oil as per owners manual. Every 3k should eliminate sludge worry. Change oil yourself and you'll save money. Be sure to dispose of oil in proper manner.

I thought you said you were a student with NO money? Keep it stock and save your money for more important things. Buy a Haynes Manual and learn to do simple things yourself.

 

Thank you for the response.