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1994 Toyota Camry

I was driving home from work one day, when my car all of the sudden died. I tried starting it back up and it would crank but not start. I tried pumping the gas while turning the key to see if maybe it would start, but it didn't it just smelled like gas. I also tried to jump the car battery, which didn't work either. All the lights and radio worked fine. The next day i had my neighbor take a look at it. He checked all the spark plugs and they had no spark to any of them.He stated that the odds of all the spark plugs going out at the same time are 1 in a million, so he doesn't think that could be the problem. He also checked all the fuses, which were fine. He stated that it might be the distributor or the ignition switch. I also spoke to my uncle who thinks it might be the timing belt, but I asked my dad and he doesn't seem to think so. So this morning my dad came over and thought it was the distributor too, so he went and got a new one and changed it. but the car is still not working. it's still doing the exact same thing as before. I called a Toyota Dealership Repair and they stated that it might be the Coils because Camry's have a lot of problems with their coil's. Now i'm confussed. I gave everybody the same senario and got 3 different answers. What should I do? and who should I believe?

Reply to
purdeebaybee
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OK, so you talked to three amadeurs and a professional. While nobody is correct 100% of the time, if it were my car, I would follow the advice of a professional who looks at those cars every day over the advice of an amateur, enthusiast, or even retired professional.

Here is another way to look at it: your neighbor, uncle, and dad have not gotten the car started, and everything that they told you to check is check-able without having to replace it. It is possible to check the operation of the distributor, ignition switch, fuses, timing belt, coils and igniter. I would automatically ignore any advice from anyone who tells you to replace a part without checking the part.

An engine only needs three things to run. A competent technician will know to check for those 3 things.

My recommendation for what you should do is to take the car to a competent technician for diagnosis and repair if you are not able to diagnose and repair the car yourself.

Reply to
Ray O

If the car turns over, the battery doesn't need a jump.

All the lights and radio worked

Your local Toyota boys sound like they know what they are talking about compared to the other answers you've gotten.

Reply to
Reasoned Insanity

Ray,

In a case like this, IF (as happened to me once with a 1986 Camry) something has happened to the timing belt (it happened to me in our driveway) and the car turns over but has no intention of starting....how can you diagnose it and pinpoint the timing belt as the culprit? Is there a peephole in the shroud thru which you might look to see if the belt's moviing as the starter grinds?

Thanks!

Reply to
mack

If the timing belt has jumped a tooth the only way to check is to pull the timing belt cover and visually look at the marks on the camshaft pulleys when #1 cylinder is at top dead center compression. The likelihood that the timing belt has jumped a tooth is pretty slim.

If the timing belt is broken, then there are other symptoms. The engine will crank more quickly than normal because there is no compression for the starter to overcome and if there is conventional distributor, the distributor rotor will not turn because the camshaft is not turning. I am not aware of a peephole in the timing belt cover, but you may be able to loosen a few bolts enough to pull the cover back enough to see what is happening.

Reply to
Ray O

Ray O:

I would automatically ignore any advice from anyone who tells you to replace a part without checking the part.

-- If I did this, I wouldn't have a need for my dealer. That's what they specialize in. Replace parts until the car runs!

Ray O wrote:

Reply to
mrsteveo

========================= There have been many problems reported with the ignition coils inside the distributor cap. That would be the first place to check. See "Ignition"

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Reply to
nospampls2002

One would think that little bit of advice would be obvious, yet people ignore it all the time!

Reply to
Ray O

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