1988 toyota camry will not start help me please!!!!

ok here is the situation i have a 1988 toyota camry it has 260,000 niles on it timming belt was replaced 15,000 miles ago. ok ive had a repeating problem

1st 9 months ago the car started to hesitate then it stalled and would not start. I let it sit for a few days then it started fine and i drove it home. Next day it would not start. So I replaced xpark plugs and distributor cap and rotor and wires. after car started right up and ran great for 3 months then it happened again. this time i replace fuel filter and fuel pump then new plugs, rotor, cap, wires and new air filter and cleaned the heck out of the throttlebody/ fuel injector thingy becasue it was black inside with gunk. anyways i worked on it for a bout a week and it would not start. So i gave up and was about to have it towed to shop. I let it sit for a week then went out to try to start it before i had the tow truck come and get it. It started up perfectly and had no more problems for 3 more months and about 2000 miles of daily driving. Anyways last night it happened again this time i was on the freeway about 30 miles from home. Car started to hesitate and stalled. then it would not start. So i had to push car off freway by myself, almost died doing it. So tonight i went back to try to start it hoping it was not yet towed, anyways it started but whenever i put it into 2nd gear it would stall. I drove it about 10 miles in 1st gear to the schucks parking lot. then i went in and talked to them and bought the usual new plugs wires cap rotor. When i went back out and tried to start car it would not start. I replaced plugs, wires cap rotor. And it still would not start. Checked for spark and its good on all 4. Also checked fuel filter for gas and it has gas. Anyways my car will not start and its in the schucks parking lot and i need to try again tommorow so any help or advice would sure be appreciated. This time it seems that I willnot be able to get it working without some expet help. Also it seems that the car turns over real fast now much faster then usual but i might be just noticing something that is not abnormal anyways help me out if you can if you have any advice ill try anything! you can replay here or email me at snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com
Reply to
onedalla
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I have the same year Camry....4 cyl 3SFE engine. If it has the sound of turning over fast, faster than normal, that is a pretty strong indication that the engine has lost compression. The timing belt may not have been tensioned properly when changed and the timing has jumped. Is there a check engine light? get a schraeder tee and put it on your fuel line between the fuel rail and the fuel filter. Then it is easy to connect a fuel press. gauge in to see if you have a fuel delivery problem.

Reply to
geronimo

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Other parts that can go intermittent on you are the coil and the ignitor. Also the pickup coil in the distributor. All are difficult to impossible to diagnose and not that cheap. A weak spark might appear to test OK, but not be able to ignite the charge under high load. Make sure when you test the spark that it is jumping the required distance.

Reply to
Kurt

This problem is a little confusing in that you have established there is spark, replaced the spark-leads, plugs, rotor and cap,..there is fuel in the filter and the problem is intermittant. So it follows there still maybe an intermittancy in the spark and or fuel. Things like valve timing and other large mechanical parts, do not go intermittant, they either work or do not. In view of this, you need to check the tachometer needle is flicking upwards while the engine is being cranked. This will confirm there is at least some ignition occuring. Because it stalled when placed in 2nd gear, the fuel delivery system may not be responding correctly. This points to fuel-rail pressure. If the filter is marginal or almost fully blocked or the fuel-pump is only just pumping, this could explain this symptom.

Intermittant fuel pressure is more likely to be the fuel-pump itself or a wiring intermittancy in the battery supply to the pump. Make sure you have adequate fuel pressure after the filter. If its OK, make sure the spark is able to jump at least 1/2". Place an insulated screwdriver blade up into a plug cover and get a helper to position the blade near the engine cam-cover.

Jason

Reply to
Jason James

Coils are known issues since they are under the cap and get oil coated and short. A spark no load does not mean a spark under load. Your cap gasket may be bad letting in moisture, once you replaced it and it helped since maybe the cap was loose, this must be tight. Its probably the coil shorting but could be other components. Mine only did this after a rain, a tight cap fixed it. Coils do go bad.

Reply to
m Ransley

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