Just aquired a 97 2.2 Camry, car has great body work but the engine seems t0 rev a ittl high and it sounds like the manifold could be blowing. I am looking forward to getting stujk in with this car. Mileage is 124k and the car has a clean MoT, no advisories.

 

There is no idle adjustment Clean the IAC valve, check for vacuum leaks.

 

Thanks for the info, much obliged.

 

I have spent the day looking over my new purchase that was delivered to me yesterday. First impression. The hood was very stiff and had obviously not been opened or the hinges lubricated for quite a while. The scuttle was filled with Sycamore leaves from where the car had been stored. All fluids were good and as expected but the oil was diry and barely on the sttick. It took 3 pints to bring it up to slighty over full. I hope the low level has not damaged the engine but this could explain why I thought the engine noisy, if the valves were being starved of oil. The engine was started by the deivery guy to get if off his trailer, the trailer had a metal floor and so would have amplified the sound. The car also has a stainless exhaust and I am told that these can be sound raspy. The Body is straight and has very few marks on the paint,barely any road rash on the hood. It remains to be seen whether I have bought a great car or just an average one. But I am hopeful that I made a good choice to buy a Camry.

I sse that the oil filter is on the front of the engine at 45 degrees. Is there a way to change this without making a big oily mess? Where exactlly is the drain plug located and what size spanner will I need? Is the oil 10-40 semi synthetic? And what type of fuel should I run the car on. E5 or E10?

Regards. Thomas

 

If the oil level was still showing up on the stick the engine should be OK. Once you change the oil run the engine and check for leaks from under the timing cover. It has happened the oil pump drive shaft seal leaks with age causing a drip WHEN the engine is running.

Place a pan under the filter location. Most of the oil will stay in the filter.

The drain plug is on the oil pan. Don’t know the size, perhaps 18 mm. 10-40 is fine. Make sure you have the engine oil pan bolt and NOT the transmission oil pan bolt. Find the engine, then find the pan and look under the pan. Youtube should have videos on changing the oil on this engine a 5SFE model.

The engine should be able to run fuel up to E10 but E5 might get better MPG.

Find out when the timing belt was changed at its life is around 90K and it can break after this. The engine will not be damaged if it breaks

 

Thanks for pointing out that the engine will not be damaged if the timing belt breaks. I did not know that, I thought it was an interference engine, thats very useful to know. The car is on 124 k miles so I will check the service history. The car was bought new by a pensioner and is one previous owner. The car was always garaged so the bodywork is in great shape.

I drove the car for the first time today just to get some fuel and put E5 in. Toyota's seem to have a higher idle than other cars when cold. My car idles at around 1400 when cold and seems to come down in steps as the engine warms, settling at just under 800rpm, on the guage when fully warm. So it sounds like the ICV is doing its job. All the lights on the dash went out when starting, which I take to be a good sign and the brakes are very powerful. They remind me of American car power brakes, not much pressure is needed to stop quickly. I previously owned and drove a Rover 820 for 21 years and so the Toyota is a bit of a steep learning curve for me.

The exhaust sound is puzzling me. It sounds like the manifold has a crack, like one cylider is discharging to the air, you may know what I mean. Gong down the hill from my house with a cold engine on the overun, I semed to hear popping in the exhaust, like the engine had a weak mixture. My SAAB 99 used to do this. Not so noticeable on acceleration but I could still hear it. I will investigate this tomorrow.

So far, I am plesed with my choice to try a toyota, they seem to be good cars. Thanks again.

Regards. Thomas.

 

Maybe there is hole or leak in the exhaust system.

Did you post photo's of the car or was this someone else?

 

I am responding to the Bew Member thread, did not notice my mistake with the spelling. My bad.

The only pictures I have of the car are what the seller, Mr Mohammad Ali posted. Yes, that was his real name and he was a pleasure to deal with. I copied the pictures to my computer but I cant figure out how to post them. When I was on the rover800info forum, I seem to remember that I would post them to a file hosting company and provide links to them. That must have been 5 years ago now. Cant remember the name of the comany but they shut down and took everybody's pictures with them.

Regards Thomas.