94 Camry questions - bushings, rattles, etc...

The dealer should be able to get the right bushings for you, go there. For the rattling noise, keep looking for it. Maybe open the hood set the parking brake, hold the foot brake and have your mechanic stand next to the car while you put it under load in drive. Have the compression checked, maybe time for a new head gasket or you could have a leaky valve. Get the fuel injectors cleaned. Dont just dump some miracle oil in the tank. The dealer can hook up a chemical directly to the fuel rail and disconnects the fuel system. The car runs only on the cleaning chemical for about 10 minutes and it really cleans out the injectors. You did use NGK plugs or Denso I hope.Forget the K&N filter. Forget the o2 sensors. Clean the throttle body. Make sure the timing belt is on correctly and not too loose or skipped a tooth. Set timing to specs...

The dealer has the rubber bushings for $32/pair. Online retailers have polyurethane bushings for $10/pair. Reading up on the differences, polyurethane is supposed to have higher "performance." Even if it doesnt, it saves me a bit from getting it from the dealer. About the rattling noise, you can only hear it when the car is actually moving. Having it in park and accelerating doesnt produce the sound. I hear it only for a few seconds after i put my foot on the gas, and up until about 40mph. Then it either gets drowned out by the other sounds or it goes away. I can't be sure. My other suspicion (besides exhaust) was that it could be something from one of the wheels.. I wouldnt know where to begin thinking about that though. I'll just take it to a few more mechanics and see what they figure. I'll try out that fuel injector cleaning, though not at the dealer. Local shops here in NJ do it for $60 or $70. I've used alot of those miracle additives and I'm not sure I've noticed any difference with them. The throttle body was cleaned in August this year.. wouldn't hurt to open it back up and check it out. The timing belt was changed about a year ago and I trust the timing was set to specs since I havent noticed any change in performance since. I'll have the timing checked though, good idea.

Thanks for the advice, will let you know if the injector cleaning makes any difference

Ok sounded like you did not know what size to get thats why I said go to the dealer.

OK check the motor mounts, they do go bad and the top one that looks like a dogbone can break too. I had a rattle in my 97 that baffled me for several months. I did the open hood, rev it in drive method and found out it was the air cleaner box rattling! even when it is fully tightened it has some play in it that made a rumble/rattle I thought was serious. I loosened the bolts holding it down and slid a sponge under it and tightened it down and it is nice and quiet again.

My Toyota dealer does it for $50...better ask HOW they do it first. It may just be a cleaning device they put on the air intake and that cleans up pistons and valves, does nothing for injectors... I've used alot of those miracle additives and I'm not sure I've noticed any difference with them.

I went thru a lot ot expensive techron with no results with a clogged injector. You could feel it skipping once past idle. The Toyota method really worked great, power and mileage restored.

back up and check it out.

Ok, I would not bother with it then. But it is only 1 screw to look. open the throttle wide so you can see inside and the back of the butterfly valve.

That's my prescription for power. Try actually reading the technical information all the way through - much useful data there. Also, properly cleaning the throttle body on your car involves removing it. Recently followed the procedures in the factory service manual for cleaning the throttle body on my '94, 4 cyl., and discovered pinhole blockage at one of the EGR modulator vacuum feeds in the throttle body throat, plus the TPS (throttle position sensor) required adjustment as did the throttle stop. You need to apply a vacuum to the throttle positioner and then check RPMs as described. If you're going to be doing your own work on that car, it is worth acquiring the factory service manual. The Redline can take a long time to clean, but stay with it. You should notice an immediate improvement also. I too, had noticed nothing with Techron, but use the Redline with each tankful. When I first acquired the vehicle, I changed the lubricants, and then shortly thereafter switched to Mobil 1 synthetics for the engine oil, transmission, differential and power steering, plus added Lucas products. Have experimented for some time to find optimum concentrations. Point is, when I changed the differential fluid, there was a noticeable improvement in power. When changing the timing belt, noticed the idler and tensioner rollers both made noise when turned by hand - that can also draw power. For the 14" wheels, I run the tires at 30F/26R with light loads, that improves power also. Make sure you used the factory plugs and wires. The small center electrode on Bosch platinums have been known to cause problems. The O2 sensor can be checked from the underhood diagnostic port. Again the factory manual gives the procedure. So many swings of the needle on a voltmeter per so many seconds using the OX1 connector. I think the Haynes manual gives some information on this also. Check for exhaust back pressure. Simple test is check for dropping vacuum at constant throttle. When you get everything working just right, that little engine pulls pretty well. After all these changes, noticed full throttle is rarely required. Recently used full throttle uphill on the highway and was accelerating up to 95 in third. Also, after the throttle body cleaning and adjustment, noticed that same hill (a regular route) no longer required the engine to downshift out of overdrive when set on cruise control at 65 mph. BTW, forget about the K&N air filter. Just use factory parts. If you drive in dusty areas, blow out the stock filter with compressed air more often. K&N admits more silica (dirt) and accelerated engine wear does not improve power over time. Also forget about J.C.Whitney. I purchased a metric crow foot wrench set there, not finding it elsewhere, and then discovered I could order the single size I needed for the lower fuel filter bolt in the SK line

- quality is sooo much superior, never even used the JC Whitney low quality tool. Just get the stock anti sway bar bushings. Spread some silicone paste before applying to minimize squeaks. (small inexpensive tube of "dielectric grease" works fine for rubber parts). Changed mine shortly after acquiring the car, no problems since. As a general rule be sure to stay with factory parts for all. Especially coolant, thermostat, radiator cap, belts, just everything. Try setting an aftermarket part next to the original - generally the differences in quality are obvious. Good luck with sorting out your problem. Those are some of the most trouble free vehicles on the road when serviced and maintained properly. Also, remove the air intake hose and check for cracks in the pleats.