94 Toyota Camry won't start

Oct 25, 2003 3 Replies

My wife's camry lost power on the highway, so she pulled over to the side of the shoulder, and turned the engine off. She said that the car was not running rough even when it lost power. The RPMs just kept going down even while she was stepping on the gas. She also said that the engine was still running when she parked in the shoulder, and she had to turn the iginition off.



I couldn't start the car when I arrived, so I had it towed home. I checked the plugs and they look ok. All plugs give off a strong spark. I also smell gas, so I think I'm getting gas. In fact, I think the engine's flooded now.



What I don't understand is why the engine won't start. I have spark, I get gas, and I've taken out the air filter hose and sprayed a little starting fluid in the air chamber.



I can only guess that my timing belt may have slipped a bit, but that seems highly unlikely. Then again, if I have gas, air, and spark, the engine should start.



Any ideas on what else I should check?


You may still want to check the timing belt. When the water pump on these cars go, generally the pulley, driven by the timing belt, starts to wobble and the loosened timing belt slips teeth. Not that hard of a job. If the water pump is going-going-gone, I would recommend a unit from Toyota. Really not that expensive and you don't have to deal with the crummy aftermarket units.

Hope this helps.

Loren.

As it turns out, the water pump failed and caused the timing belt to slip.

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