QuestionQUESTION: I recently received a 91 camry 4cyl auto from my parents. The thing is so slow on accleration that it is almost dangerous to drive. The car has been well taken care of . The compression is very even at 137 psi in a compression check. The fuel filter has been changed, plugs, rotor , cap etc. The plugs are burning white on the insulator.
ANSWER: Possibly a restricted intake or exhaust system, more commonly a restricted exhaust, the catalityc converter may be the problem, it should be tested to see if it's even working or it should be removed for inspection to see if it is disintegrating and clogging up the exhaust system,have any repairs been done recently to it that you know of? Another possibility is that the timing belt may have jumped and the timing of the camshaft is now way off, the timing belt could also be the problem.
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QUESTION: I checked the timing belt as it was replaced at 69,800 miles , the timing marks were dead on. The auto has now got 82,000 on it. My parents gave me the auto and they don't seem to recall that the car lost power all of the sudden. They are in there eighties and dad hasen't been driving for at least ten years and quite frankly mom doesn't pay that much attention to the way a car performs, unless it has a major sudden change in performance. Just before I received the car I put new plugs, rotor,cap and wires on it. Also cleaned throttle body as it was very dirty.The car was missing very badly and would just die comming to a stop. The repairs done above allowed the car to run smoother but it still dies at times at stops. Another thing I niticed the underside of the oil cap and oil filler hole in valve cover seemed to have a lot of varnish and build-up possibly caused by blow-by, mabey caused by a restricted cat.Also could a car with a cat so clogged pass an enhanced smog check with flying colors as the car did within the last 8 months? and finally how do you check for a restricted exhaust/cat? Thank You for your help. p.s. the oil has been changed at least every 3-5k miles with 10-30 castrol. Also the car does not overheat.
AnswerIf it passed the smog test 8 months ago the cat could not be the problem at that time, it could have developed a problem later. The best way to check the converters performance is to connect a diagnostic tool to the connector and check the o2 sensor voltages before and after the cat, if both of the sensor voltages are exactly the same then the cat is not working.
