bought my first Toyota today

[JOD]

Originally Posted By: chevyboy14
It was done at 135k so its good for awhile. What all should I do ? Tune up oil atf and check the rest?


I'd do the plugs/wires/distro and rotor if they haven't been done recently, and flush the ps fluid and brake fluid. The other thing you may want to consider is a valve adjustment or at least checking them. You can find a tutorial on line. Keep in mind, this car uses the shim-style adjustment vs. the Honda style adjustable lifters. They're less likely to need adjustment but more of a pain to adjust (you need to buy the shims). At a minimum you can at least check them and then post some pics of your valvetrain on here!

Besides that, there isn't much to do on this car. I replaced the CV boots @ 200K and re-greased the joints, but that was at a different time. Axles are cheap now, so I'm not sure I'd waste the time.

 

[artificialist]

Originally Posted By: JOD
Originally Posted By: chevyboy14
An old man owned mine. He was a cool old guy and took care of it. How often should timing belt be done?


It's not an interference engine, so just do it when you have time and $$ to to it. I'm embarrassed to admit that I never changed mine.

My dad the same for his Lexus ES300. He sold it with 160,000 miles and 9 years on the OE belt.

Anyway if you do a timing belt replace the water pump and pulleys, otherwise you will be replacing them halfway in the life of the new belt.

I know this kind of car is designed to have valve lash adjusted, but I rarely ever see that job get done.

 

[eljefino]

Good job. That car is really from the golden era of when they put R&D, and thought, into CARS. Now it's all SUVs, and they spend all the R&D on computers and tchotskies instead of nuts and bolts.

That era lead to a cohesive *machine* design. IDK if it's the first gen camry specifically meant for the US market and not Japans, which divides sedans into class sizes based on external dimensions. But you can see where they "stretched" it to fit big Americans.

Good visibility, thin doors for lots of room inside, decent room for the weight involved, good MPG from lean programming allowed at the time (NOx emissions), if you got a creampuff, you did good.

 

[Dakota1820]

Biggest problem is its never had the cob webs blown outbid it. It does smoke under hard acceleration and I noticed when taking off at wot it shifts from first to drive causing it to fall on it's face. But if you shift it manually its fine. Not sure why maybe a shift solenoid or something

 

[MONKEYMAN]

Seems like you found a nice car for the money. We had a 87 Camry Wagon in the Monastery, followed by a 92 Camry Wagon. Both very reliable. I take care of a 2001 RX300. It is only driven 5,000 miles a year. I found some Techron every oil change or so has helped a lot. That may help with those cobwebs. It is easy to find buy one get one free offers at the parts stores. I tend to buy what oil is on sale. Advance has some NextGen that is pretty much free:

Almost free oil

An old shoe salesman used to say "if it is free, it is for me".

I hope it works out for you!

 

[eljefino]

Originally Posted By: chevyboy14
Biggest problem is its never had the cob webs blown outbid it. It does smoke under hard acceleration and I noticed when taking off at wot it shifts from first to drive causing it to fall on it's face. But if you shift it manually its fine. Not sure why maybe a shift solenoid or something


Sounds like a plugged up valve body. A couple ATF flushes might free it up. Also make sure the kickdown cable works correctly and smoothly, you can grab it at the throttle body and work it with your fingers.

My uncle bought a mid 70s Toyota Corona for $100 for its radiator. This was back in the mid 80s. That brass radiator may as well have been gold from the Toyota dealer. Unlike his other Corona which he bought new with a stick shift, this guy had a 3 speed AT. 2nd gear was no good. The rest of the car was okay, so he went ahead and put plates on it and drove it for a year. Every morning he'd fly out of his driveway in 1st then with the engine screaming at 40 mph it would finally drop into drive and keep on keeping on.

My cousins were enamored with the holes in the floorboards, and threw corn and junk through them to then gleefully watch it bounce behind them.

 

[Dakota1820]

I changed the fluid should I do it again any particular fluid you would recommend? Maybe ad some lube guard to? Maybe change the filter I know its a lifetime filter but maybe changing it is a good idea? Or is it just wasting time?

 

[eljefino]

If it's an aisin warner tranny it probably takes dexron and has a window screen for a filter, so changing it won't do you much good. I agree with the "cobwebs" sentiment.

Poking around, it looks like you might have the A140E, electronically controlled. If you have a bunch of wires going in and out of the trans, but no kickdown cable or vacuum hose, that would verify.

In that case you could have a wonky sensor, and diagnosing a 91 toyota is going to, well, require a toyota fan website.

Don't throw parts at it, but if you have a mechanical speedometer, the vehicle speed sensor might be flaking out and you wouldn't otherwise know.

 

[CharBaby]

One of the things that I liked about older Toyota's is that their fluids are very basic.

ATF/DIFF-DEXRON
Man Tranny-anything GL-4or5 Gear Oil...Owners Manual
Power steering-DEXRON
OIL/FILTER-just about anything
Brake fluid-DOT-3
Coolant-anything OAT/HOAT

These vehicles just didn't seem to be fussy IMHO!

And then the car procedes to run forever!

I think that the ignition coil is under the dist cap IIRC! Othewise, it just simple plugs/wires, cap/rotor and easy to DIY brakes.

 

[addyguy]

Keep an eye on the oil level...these engines aren't known the burn oil, BUT, HM 4-cylinders always have the potential to burn a lot.

 

[daves87rs]

Pics?

 

[lexus114]

wait a minute....wait a minute....Chevy Boy bought a Toyota?? Wow man. Your going to have to change your name to...ToyotaBoy

 

[Dakota1820]

Yea but I don't like it I mean for 1000 it's OK but it won't be around long. We are going to get rid of it in September because I ended up being approved for a pretty decent student loan. So she will learn on it and then when she is good we will sell it and get a much nicer car. Atleast if she wrecks the car or something it wasn't worth a whole lot LOL

 

[jigen]

You're only keeping it for 3 months??

 

[Dakota1820]

I may keep it longer I only have to keep it for 3months . Just depends on how its running. The guy I bought it from hid some stuff but overall it runs decent. Just depends maybe longer but atleast 3 months. I basically got it so my fiance can learn to drive good on a cheap car that way if she tears it up its not a huge loss. Heck if I can fix some piddly stuff on it I can probably sell it for more than I paid . LOL.

 

[Dakota1820]

Its keeps running better and better . And ac is working good now . Shifting has also improved. It passed inspection today as well

 

[eljefino]

You can pass inspection with a cracked windscreen? Cool state.

The consensus of cobwebs sounds pretty accurate.

 

[Doog]

For the trans do one drain fill and you will notice the shifting gets better. Then do another in a month. Then put 2 tanks of gas treated with techron through it and a good freeway drive.

 

[Jarlaxle]

Originally Posted By: eljefino
You can pass inspection with a cracked windscreen? Cool state.


Many states will pass if it's not in the field of vision.

Quote:
The consensus of cobwebs sounds pretty accurate.


I wonder if it had been so long since it was in high gear that something hung up when it tried!

 

[Dakota1820]

It threw a code for speed sensor but I think to replace it you have to remove the axle. It shifts fine except taking off from the floor and if you shift it manually from first to second its fine .