best car in the world when it was new
Potential 1999 Camry purchase
- Thread starter 92saturnsl2
- Start date
Congratulations! That generation Camry imo was the high mark. It should last your daughter a long time. Brother had a 1997, in black with that beige interior that went to 230k miles before he sold it. A coworker still drives his 1998 MY in green which he purchased brand new. Still his daily commuter and has north of 340k miles with no major repairs.Got the title transferred & registration/taxes, so $1690 into it so far. Thought the drive home w/ a basically sight unseen pawn shop car would be dramatic or at least interesting. It was about as vanilla as the car's styling and interior
Misfire is still there but it's very random. At first more than about 1/2 throttle seemed to aggravate it, but I'd get a hiccup here and there at highway speed / low load. At times I could plant my foot in it and it'd be like any other good running engine. 4 miles down the road, just changing the throttle from 15% to ~25% provoked it. I got it home and with the hood up, I heard that satisfying crack sound of an arc grounding where it doesn't belong, which was as random as the misfires I was experiencing. Looks like an ignition issue after all.
The car otherwise seems great. A bit of a rattle/clunk in the passenger side suspension at low speed, probably a sway bar link, strut mount, who knows. Tires are aged well (made in 2016) and need replaced, but treadwear even. Drove straight as an arrow, and took curves on our country roads at 60mph with no effort. When it wasn't misfiring, the 4cyl impressed me with it's smoothness, as did the transmission shift quality.
Brakes were solid once the sitting rust/corrosion wore off, which just added some extra noise for a mile or two. I learned the car has been there since late June and they kept giving the guy extended dates to pick it back up, so it was put up for sale very recently. For a first car, it sort of reminds me of my '86 Tercel that was my first. Just a sedan instead of a wagon and no 4wd. Simple, inexpensive transportation. I wouldn't mind it as a commuter to rack up miles, honestly.
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- Jan 12, 2022
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These are great cars. I had a white 1998 just like the one you have. Best car I ever owned. Easy to maintain and very comfortable. Sold mine with 200,000 miles on it and still ran like new. Only things that I had to replace on mine were rear sway bar links at 100,000 miles and a new thermostat at 175,000 miles. Any other items like belts, brakes etc. were done as routine maintenance. Regret to this day selling it.
Same way my '99 came. Beats me... but I bet it was nice, back in the day. I do like leather seats but many today complain about the inane way options are set up, in order to get ___ you have to also get a, b and c.CD and tape in a 4 cyl Camry with cloth seats?
In a Toyota I suspect cloth is the way to go, not sure if their leather goes the distance. In my '99 the tape deck quit, and the CD player liked to skip--and it wouldn't play mp3's. Quick work to swap out, and I got a cubby hole in the end.
Nick1994
$100 site donor 2024
In 2000 we got side airbags and an electric button for recirculateCD and tape in a 4 cyl Camry with cloth seats?
Power drivers seat too which currently isn't functioning. The motor/electronics work but it's got a stuck track on one side. I told my daughter if I can't fix it, I'll have to buy it back from her since the current seating position is just right for a 6'2" tall person, not so much for a 5'7" teen. I was only half jokingCD and tape in a 4 cyl Camry with cloth seats?
Got the car on the lift and it looks great for its age. Pretty much rust free underneath except a couple exhaust joints, one of which needs attention soon. Lots of oil on the back/underneath side of the engine, which has also coated a good portion of the transmission. It has a known leaking valve cover gasket (I could tell by the coated fuel rail which has no other source), and since these motors are tilted backward, I'm hoping that's 99% of the leak. This engine has a sideways(?) radiator with the plastic tanks on top and bottom. The top plastic portion is visibly leaking through a tiny section of the 25 year old plastic. All belts/hoses/etc are original.
Just made a $370 Rockauto purchase which included OE Denso radiator, plugs/wires, OE Aisin timing belt kit w/ water pump, radiator hoses, belts, some replacement interior bits, basically everything that caught my eye on my initial inspection along with the normal maintenance stuff (air/oil/fuel/transmission filter, PCV valve, etc.)
Car still needs tires which are about $90/each in the 14" size. I'm eyeing these ones: https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Kumho&tireModel=Solus+TA51a&partnum=97HR4TA51A
Talked with the wife about going the new 15" rim w/ mounted tires route, she didn't think that was a good idea unless we found used ones for next to nothing. No need for new rims for a new driver who is likely to just bash them up; I don't think she's wrong. I have to remind myself that my work entails making the car reliable and safe as possible, not make it pretty.
My kids 99 camry rolls on 15" rims (195-65-15) basically to harmonize its tire size with our two Prii. I got a set of steelies from a Hyundai Sonata real cheap. The Camry hub bore is small and accepts nearly every other make of rims.
As time passes, availability of the 15" tire will probably be better than 14. Good if she's away from home and needs a tire now.
Kumho KU27s are $60 each on walmart in 15 inch but they don't make them in 14. I'm running a set on my Prius now and they're the blandest tire (in a good way), so would be perfect for that camry.
As time passes, availability of the 15" tire will probably be better than 14. Good if she's away from home and needs a tire now.
Kumho KU27s are $60 each on walmart in 15 inch but they don't make them in 14. I'm running a set on my Prius now and they're the blandest tire (in a good way), so would be perfect for that camry.
Round one is done:
New timing belt & related components, water pump & housing, radiator & hoses, all accessory belts, resealed oil pump, cam/crank seal, plugs/wires, new diff/trans fluid, probably some others I'm forgetting. Not the easiest timing belt job for a 4-cyl, hope I didn't miss anything that would cause me to go in there again.
Went with the Kumho Solus TA51a tires-- it was a tossup between those and General Altimax RT45. Still have to put the wheel covers on. I was leaning toward a 15" rim and tire package, but the wife talked some sense into me-- no sense spending that money on a teen driver that will probably curb check the heck out of them. Wheel covers are cheaper/easier to replace.
Started up like a champ, but the first time I put some throttle into it-- this happened:
Made my heart sink, the change in engine sound immediately had me thinking something very bad happened. I spotted that bad joint when I had it on the lift, strange coincidence it let loose the moment I was checking my work. There's still some good metal on both sides, I'll have no trouble welding it back together, the muffler itself is fine.
Ran the car a few miles down the road and it's solid so far. Going to do a couple commutes to work and back (70 miles) before I call it finished. Still have to aim the new headlights, dial in trans fluid level, oil change, and it should be a wrap.
New timing belt & related components, water pump & housing, radiator & hoses, all accessory belts, resealed oil pump, cam/crank seal, plugs/wires, new diff/trans fluid, probably some others I'm forgetting. Not the easiest timing belt job for a 4-cyl, hope I didn't miss anything that would cause me to go in there again.
Went with the Kumho Solus TA51a tires-- it was a tossup between those and General Altimax RT45. Still have to put the wheel covers on. I was leaning toward a 15" rim and tire package, but the wife talked some sense into me-- no sense spending that money on a teen driver that will probably curb check the heck out of them. Wheel covers are cheaper/easier to replace.
Started up like a champ, but the first time I put some throttle into it-- this happened:
Made my heart sink, the change in engine sound immediately had me thinking something very bad happened. I spotted that bad joint when I had it on the lift, strange coincidence it let loose the moment I was checking my work. There's still some good metal on both sides, I'll have no trouble welding it back together, the muffler itself is fine.
Ran the car a few miles down the road and it's solid so far. Going to do a couple commutes to work and back (70 miles) before I call it finished. Still have to aim the new headlights, dial in trans fluid level, oil change, and it should be a wrap.
Exhaust welded up no problem. Had to take a shower after cleaning/cutting what was left of the flanges. Took a few weld passes to bridge the gap where the flange gasket used to be (rust pit), but I'd bet my next paycheck this joint isn't leaking.
After test driving it around the block after exhaust repair, I turned some tunes on and realized there's zero output from rear speakers and the fronts are distorted terribly. No father could send a car off to a teen without a properly working stereo, so went off to diagnose that.
Rear speakers looked fine externally but were dead as a doornail. First time I've encountered a car where the whole rear shelf, trim and seat need to come out to replace a pair of speakers. Toyota mounting is non standard which required some drilling to mount the new 6x9s, as well as the fronts (6-1/2").
Fronts were the usual fare, remove door panel and all that jazz. They actually worked but there wasn't a single piece of speaker surround left, just a cone floating in mid air. This one has seperate tweeters high in the door, I left those alone. Was in a hurry so didn't take any pictures, but the new Sony speakers sound pretty good for mid-grade off-the-shelf Walmart units and a factory head unit (which still plays CDs and tapes just fine)
Rear speakers looked fine externally but were dead as a doornail. First time I've encountered a car where the whole rear shelf, trim and seat need to come out to replace a pair of speakers. Toyota mounting is non standard which required some drilling to mount the new 6x9s, as well as the fronts (6-1/2").
Fronts were the usual fare, remove door panel and all that jazz. They actually worked but there wasn't a single piece of speaker surround left, just a cone floating in mid air. This one has seperate tweeters high in the door, I left those alone. Was in a hurry so didn't take any pictures, but the new Sony speakers sound pretty good for mid-grade off-the-shelf Walmart units and a factory head unit (which still plays CDs and tapes just fine
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