Hi. I've got a '93 Camry V6 with an automatic transmission, and I recently replaced the distributor cap, rotor, and spark plug wires as part of a larger project. Initially, the car wouldn't crank, so I had it towed to a mechanic, who fixed the problem by resetting my stupid anti-theft system. Feeling a little like a chump, I drove my car to work, which was a half-hour drive at both highway speeds and in stop-and-go traffic. Along the way, the RPMs would occaisionally plummet to zero, and then promptly return to an appropriate level--it seemed like it happened when the car would shift gears.
Later today, I began to drive my car home, but before I left the parking garage, the RPMs dropped and didn't return. I was going around a corner, so I couldn't press the gas to try to "resurrect" the engine, and it stalled. When I tried to restart it, it would rev, (crank?) but it wouldn't start at all. That is, it'd make a revving sound, but when I released the key, I'd merely hear something that sounded like some spinning device slowing down and stopping. I'm
*guessing* that this is the distributor rotor, but I have no way of knowing.Strangely, the car DID start again about ten or fifteen minutes later. I let it idle, which it did steadily at about 700 RPM, and I called the auto shop where it had been that morning. They said that it hadn't done anything unusual like that when they took it out for a test drive, so if they're being honest, then this problem began as I was driving it work, and it's rapidly been getting worse. Anyway, when I slammed the hood shut, the engine immediately stalled, and it wouldn't restart.
I checked the spark plug wires, which are properly connected to the distributor cap. All other hoses and electrical connections are, as far as I can see, properly connected. I didn't smell any gasoline when I opened the hood.
Also, in regards to the distributor rotor: when I removed the old one, I partially stripped one of the two screws that held it in place. I replaced those screws with identical new ones, but I had to use slightly larger washers on both of those screws. (I couldn't fit washers of the original sizes onto the new screws, for some reason.) Both screws have one normal washer and one lock washer between the head of the screw and the plate underneath the rotor. I tightened the screws as much as possible without stripping them. When attached, the new rotor wouldn't spin at all when I gently tried turning it by hand--I'm not sure whether or not it's meant to.
Does anybody have any idea what's going on? Thanks a million.