90 Camry -terrible hesitation & stuttering after rain or humid day

Hi: I recently picked up a 90 Camry with only 118,000 miles. The car seems to be in good shape, and runs well, _except_ after a rainy day or humid day. Then there is terrible stuttering and hesitation, especially when accelerating. If I let off the gas, the stuttering goes away.

Could I be getting water in my gas tank & line?

I would appreciate any suggestions on where to look. Maybe I just need a new gas filter.....except that on most days there is no problem at all. Just rainy/humid days.

Thanks for any suggestions.

dave

Check the ignition system for discharges (sparks or glow) in the dark.

i've had the same problem with a 1989 and now an 1990... I never figured it out... Seems to be a common thing... I park in a garage now so it doesn't happen often anymore. Let me know what works for you...

Everyone has coil issues on 89-91, Distributor O rings leak oil eventualy, oil coats Coil , and water , moisture is atracted and shorts it till its dried out. You cant see flashes, Coil is under the cap, Just clean the coil, if it leaks bad replace O ring gasket

This is a classic ignition coil problem. The part is 15 years old. I don't believe you want to mess wit cleaning it all the time. Get a new strong coil and your problem will most likely be solved.

If you want to be methodical about it, you can test your current coil. Detailed in the Chilton's manual for the car, available at the library. A new part is about $40, the replacement is pretty simple.... If you don't want to do it yourself, I imagine an indy mechanic will charge about $50 labor, but will probably charge you more for the part....

I had same problem on my 90 Camry. It's gone after cleaning up the coil and the inside of the distributor. But I'm not sure about the distributor O ring leaking though. I replaced the distributor O ring and it's still leaking oil inside the distributor. I think the leak is from the distributor shaft bearing/oil seal(?), and it's leaking inside the distributor. The O ring only seals the outside shaft. I couldn't figure out a way to replace the bearing/seal. The only way is to replace the distributor. A re-built distributor costs about $200. I think I'll just keep cleaning it when it happens. It's been almost a year now without problems.

Cleaning is easier and alot cheaper than replacing a good coil. Distributor must be removed first. Second aftermarket coils are crap Autozone said they get 1% back. It takes 15 minutes to clean. Probably

1.5 hr to replace at a dealer price I guess of 200$, and 400 by the time you are done bending over. Clean and you can clean cap contacts and sand rotor contacts also. Mine has lasted 1 year and all is still good, no stutter, with rain the last 7-8 days and I park outside in wet shade.

Gosh, even a dealer couldn't justify $400 for a new coil. When I replaced two of them in a one year period (2001 on my Tercel and 2002 on my Corolla, Toyota wanted $45 for OEM and Napa wanted $29). I went with the Toyota part, but the Napa was probably acceptable.

The swap itself takes less than 30 minutes.

Thank you very much for the info.

abc

ZR, Thank you for the info. abc

Thanks very much for the info.

abc

I meant 400 for a dealer to do the job and take you on whatever they can, it happens every day.

That an ignition problem. Maybe the coil or distributor cap. In those situations, I'd replace the leads if they are original. Mine have the year of manufacture on them. If the plugs are old, they too maybe contributing to the problem, but an inspection is needed first on just one plug to see if its lost its gap or the insulator is cracked. A weak spark due to faults in the dizzy will make things much worse if the plugs are marginal.

Jason

I have been suffering through this problem as well.

I have tried many things and am now at this... replacing the ignition coil.

I am not a mechanic, however it looks fairly easy.

I'm guessing, disconnect the battery, then disconnect the ignition wires. Unscrew the unit... Replace with the new one.

Should I replace the wires and spark plugs as well?

Is this something that should be undertaken by an amateur mechanic? I've spent a grand on this problem already and would like to save some cash.

Any guidance would be appreciated.

snipped-for-privacy@zxc.com wrote:

I replaced the ignition coil and this seemed to fix it. I am going to test it again but the initial tests indicate that it's fixed. Thank God! PS... I live in Vancouver so the moisture got into it I'm pretty sure.

Glad it worked. I didn't see your original post on the 16th, but it seems like you were able to figure it out....the only real glitch in this swap is that sometimes the screws holding in th e coil can be a little stubborn and they are small and easy to tear up if you aren't careful...other than that, a breeze.

I like to replace my ignition wires (spark plug cables)every three years or so, but that's a bit of overkill....