Broken E-Brake line on a 91 Camry

with 300000 you must be watching things pretty well. I would worry about brake and fuel lines rusting through, mine did and I got into an accident. Hoses can break if old. Check you timing old belts stretch that retards timing and looses power and mpg, my 91 lost 4 mpg on 4 degree retard. But with 300+ you should be telling us what to do.

As Mark says, that is high mileage and as such you need to watch for inidications of engine and to a lessor extent transmission problems, especially excessive oil-leaks, and, if you intend to do long trips in the car, the condition of coolant hoses.

Also inspect the inside of each wheel for signs of haudralic (brake) fluid loss from leaking brake parts. Make sure the brake pedal is reasonabley firm and not spongey. It should not sink slowly to the floor or lose pedal height on constant application.

One can spend a lot of money on older hi-mlieage cars which wont necessarily be worthy of the extra cost, especially if its a town car only.

If the temperature gauge stays steady without any changes in indication once the engine is up to temperature, then its a fair bet the radiator is not clogged and fans are working OK.

The suspension and steering should be checked out for any excessive wear.

The E-brake is operated by cables or steel multi-string wires. If one has snapped, its a relatively easy matter to replace it. One from a breakers yard would probably do the job. It's usually an easy job. If you cant see what's involved in replacing the broken cable from inspecting the car from underneath, either get a w/shop manual or get the job done.

Jason

I dont want to scare you but at 300000 alot of components are worn that could break and leave you stranded, I would be concerned about wheel bearings, ball joints, CV , you got your money out of it and can keep it going but at what cost, does the motor burn much oil, a compression test will indicate life left. My 91 with 100000 can go to 300 after seeing the pollution test shows basicly a low wear motor, but I live where salt eats the car.

Yea, thanks everyone for your advice. I will get started on checking for worn hoses. As far as oil burning, it usually needs a quart every

2k miles. Not sure if that's decent or not. How much does a compression test usually cost? That sounds like a good idea to check how much life it has left. To be honest /w u guys, the car's been in the family for about 10 years so I guess you can say it's sedimental value. In other words, I dont mind spending a few hundred or even a thousand if necessary. My temp guage works fine as does my radiator since that has been recently replaced. When I drive in outdoor temps of 32=BA or lower, the engine gets soo cold, the guage goes right to the bottom and therefore shifts from 4th gear to 3rd. Please correct me if I got the gear order wrong. It goes from overdrive to non-overdrive. Is that normal? Once again, thanks everyone for your advice/suggestions.

Helix

If it isnt leaking it is burning it, near the end of life.

2k miles.

While a pint every 1000 miles is starting to be a little heavy for a modern engine, it may still mean the engine has a couple of years left in it before it starts to display other wear problems. Having said that, unfortunately from what I've read here, Oxygen sensors can suffer from carbon build-up in the exhaust, so if your car is still returning about 22 mpg around town and

30 ish on the hiway, the O2 sensor is probably OK.

Putting heavier grade oil or viscosity enhancers in the existing oil is not a good idea IMO as other areas of the engine which are not worn as much will suffer. Also its wise to change the oil and filter at shorter intervals, say

2000 miles, to stop the oil from becoming overloaded with contaminants due wear. Once an engine is worn, a viscous cycle can start if the owner still changes the oil at longer intervals. Basically the premature dirty oil accelerates engine wear and can produce sludge, especially if the t/stat is allowing the engine to run too cold.

Not sure if that's decent or not. How much does a compression test usually cost?

Not much. It takes about 20 minutes to do. Its of limited use as we already know the oil-rings and possibly bore-wear in the cylinders are not like new. That test will help in determining how much blow-by is occuring (gas escaping past the compression rings into the sump/crankcase. A blowby check which can be done by removing the PCV-valve *once the engine is hot*, and observing any fumes coming out of the cam-cover. If the fumes are heavy, then the expexted life of the engine is reduced. In heavy fuming motors, the pistons can overheat on long trips causing the alloy they're made of to change the piston-bore clearance in extreme cases. If the fuming is hard to see, then its not that bad.

That sounds like a good idea to check how much life it has left. To be honest /w u guys, the car's been in the family for about 10 years so I guess you can say it's sedimental value. In other words, I dont mind spending a few hundred or even a thousand if necessary. My temp guage works fine as does my radiator since that has been recently replaced. When I drive in outdoor temps of 32º or lower, the engine gets soo cold, the guage goes right to the bottom and therefore shifts from 4th gear to 3rd.

That indicates the thermostat is not regulating coolant temperature properly. I 'd spend the money on a Toyota replacement t/stat as some of the cheaper ones are a bit of a toss-up. I've had 2 such aftermarket t/stats fail to open. One did this after initially working OK. A properly working t/stat will control coolant flow so the engine temp reaches normal despite below freezing teps. It will take a little longer though.

Please correct me if I got the gear order wrong. It goes from overdrive to non-overdrive. Is that normal? Once again, thanks everyone for your advice/suggestions.

Sounds correct. The transmission blocks Odrive until proper engine temp is achieved. A higher revving motor (due to being in 3rd rather than ODrive) will heat-up faster.

Jason