I have a 1996 (3rd gen) Camry wagon. It's my third '96 Camry wagon, and I love them. lately I've been having an issue with a sound coming from what seems like the manifold area - a bit like when you get a small hole in the muffler. It happens when under acceleration and when going up inclines, and loses power. It also sounds louder than it should be when decelerationg. It's also using far more fuel than it should be. There was a slight oil leak in spark plug tube 4, which has been sealed, twice. I've got new spark plugs, new leads, pcv valve and gromet were changed about 8 months ago; and put in Lucas brand injector cleaner in 4 times over a period of months. The car has been serviced by Toyota since new, and has approx. 280,000kms on the clock. One stud was broken where the exhaust goes into the head, but that's since been fixed. The repair has quietened down the car some, but still the sound persists. Mechanics can't find anything, there is no check engine light coming on. The car has no a/c. There is a small oil leak behind the distributor, probably from the o-ring but that can be sorted without too much problem. Any help or suggestions would be much appreciated.

 

Do you know what emissions standard the car was built to, California or Federal?

 

Hi Joey, the car was built in Australia, and it's in New Zealand. I managed to find this information, tho I'm not sure if it helps with your question. In 1995, emission standards were introduced via ADR70/00 (adopting ECE R49, US & Japanese HDV standards). The requirements of the 1995/96 standards were: Required: Euro 1 for both light-duty and heavy-duty vehicles. Euro 2 and 3 were also accepted though not included in the regulation.

 

You are right the emissions info does not help.

Is this an exhaust leak?

US cars have an EGR valve on the head on the manifold side and an exhaust gas tube running to it. Check the EGR valve system for leaks.

One can use a section of hose to narrow down the area of the leak.

 

The EGR valve is in the same position here, as you have it, there. I did wonder about the EGR valve or maybe the catalytic converter, but the symptoms such as pinking from the engine would suggest the EGR. I smelled gas from the exhaust a couple of days ago, so it's definitely not burning fuel efficiently. Am replacing the PCV valve and grommet again also; will clean the EGR, and update this thread. Thankyou, I appreciate your help.