Conversations on Camry (Continued from Welcome Forum)

[maguserroris]

Hello to you all! For those of you who do not know, I just joined recently. My screen name is Magus Erroris, but you can call me Mike. Or Magus, whatever you want.

I drive a 1995 Toyota Camry LE, 2.2L I4.

I've had her for a couple of years now, and she's had very few problems.

My mod so far:
1. After-market conical air filter.
2. 17" MSR Style 044 lightweight rims.
3. Superwhite headlight bulbs.
4. Brand new platinum-tipped plugs.
5. New Battery.
6. (previous owner) 180 watt pre-amp cd player.
7. (me) 240 watt rear-dash 6"x9" Blapunkt speakers.


Lately though, I've noticed that my acceleration drops off after the first few seconds in a given gear. (Automatic tranny, of course.)

I've driven her pretty hard the past six months, a couple hundred miles north and back, and I've only noticed a few additional issues:

1. I get a slight shake/rattle when backing out of the drive (when in reverse).
2. A/C whines at a stop or when parked, but not while the engine is under load.
3. Engine seems to eat oil almost a quart per month. (Synthetic 10W30)

I'm at a loss for what may be causing these small irregularities, but they are so annoying! Until I have the money for more serious modification, I just want her to run smoothly. Any ideas what may be causing these issues? I'd appreciate any help with them.



As for my future plans, I'd like to do one of two things:

1. Clean up, wrap, replace and polish anything under the hood and fine tune the 5S-FE to run at peak performance naturally aspirated (maybe turbo'd) and just clean up the car to show quality.

2. Actually swap out the 5S-FE to the 3rd gen single turbo 1JZ-GTE, (which I don't think was actually used in a supra...) OR a 3S-GTE from the 1990/1991 MR2. (The air-to-air intercooled version)

Granted, it will take massive modification of the engine bay to harness the 1JZ, it would be the most awesome swap a Camry could ever see. (In my own opinion.) The 3S-GTE swap would basically drop in, as the mounts line up pretty well from what I hear.

Either way, those are my plans for the Camry. If I just leave the 5S-FE, I may get an MR2 as a second car, and just make that one my project car, and keep the Camry as a very clean daily driver.



What do you think?

 

[obi_waynne]

Certainly sounds like a plan to me. I think I would go the engine swap way. This would give more power per money than anything you can do to the standard engine.

From what you have said I would guess that your losing compression in some of the cylinders - the high oil consumption and loss of power are typical symptoms of this.

Are you using the correct grade of oil? What does the book recommend? You might find that the oil is simply too thin.

I think the camry is in need of some attention so you have to decide if you want to commit to keeping it as a second car or making it radically different.

 

[maguserroris]

The recommended grade of oil is actually a bit thinner, 5W30, so I figured 10W30 could only be better (given the gradual wearing down of parts, allowing for thicker oil to move as freely.

What else could be causing this loss of compression? Could it have something to do with a clogged cat?


As far as the attention thing, I completely agree. I love my little Camry, and I plan to give her lots of attention. I really want to swap the 1JZ-GTE, but I need about $8,000-10,000 for the parts and labor, a second car to drive while it's in the garage, and a week of free time to work on it. (Unless I can get my buddies to help out.)

Since I have none of that, I figure my first priority is getting a second vehicle. That way I can work on the Camry freely, in preparation for the eventual swap.

I really want an AE86 (levin, not trueno) to restore and use as a drifter, but they're hard to find down here.

 

[obi_waynne]

The oil choice sounds sensible. Loss of compresison is due to usually wear on the piston rings so they don't mate up to the cylinder wall as closely as they should or the valve seating can wear effectively meaning that the valves do not fully close. It is usually the former of these 2 and a strip down of the engine is the only real way of dealing with it.

A compression test is pretty easy to do and will at least tell you how the engine is doing in terms of this wear.

The AE86 are lovely little cars and they are pretty rare over here. Despite their age they are still fetching prices that you would expect from a 5-8 year old car.

 

[maguserroris]

I may end up just testing the compression soon, and seeing if it tells me anything.

A friend of mine knows a guy selling a nice, clean AE86, but it's quite expensive. Seems the guy babied it, and redid the whole suspension to support drifting better. Sadly it'll be at least another 6 months before I could afford it though, and he'll probably sell it by then.

 

[obi_waynne]

See if he'll hold it for you it is quite rare to get a good one and this sounds like it is in A1 condition.

 

[Otay1000]

I suspect you will find the 1JZ straight six wont fit and still have the gearbox in there! The turbo 5S might be easier! We have a 2.5 and 3 litre v6 versions from japan here in NZ and they go very nicly. my bet would be the 2.2L 4 rebuilt and turboed with a GE head on it maybe.Lots of lovely room for the turbo and manifold with the engine leaned back as it is in these...

 

[maguserroris]

Yeah, you're right. I did some research recently and found that there was a model called the Chaser/Mark II that had the 1JZ. Apparently there's an FSE version that was more efficient than the -GTE, but the torque is lacking at lower rpms. So I think I'll keep the Camry as a daily driver and when I can find a Chaser and MR2, I'll make those my project cars.


Update: Also, I fixed the problems I was having with my Camry. Turns out there were some leaking oil seals on the backside of the engine and one of the spark plugs had been mis-threaded. Once these were fixed, she runs smoothly now.

 

[Eclaire]

Chaser's/ Mark II's were never sold outside of Japan, so it will probably be very difficult to get a hold of one unless you import it. They are great cars though. I've been looking into getting one as well, but I live in a snowy, moutinous region. Most Chaser's/Mark II's are RWD, but they did make some 4WD ones. However, the 4WD ones are all Automatic and non-turbo...


Anyhow, if you can get a hold of one, they are awesome cars!!

 

[maguserroris]

I'm fine with RWD, so long as I can get that 1JZ and it's high torque at low rpm's!

 

[Yugguy]

Actually I disagree about the oil, but oilman could do with commenting I guess - thicker oil doesnt get to where it should as fast.

 

[jedics]

Hi there, I was wondering if this is the place for me to talk about a project I want to do, I want to buy a toyota hiace sbv and put a JTG LPG system on it. This probably means rebuilding the engine (and perhaps do a balancing on it) as I intend on keeping this car for a long time. Im not a car head at all but I do understand that if u want a car thats economical and reliable then you have to go that extra step.

So I am here hoping to find some advise from ppl who know more than me (eg. what the motor in the hiace is like) before I take my project to seriously

 

[Otay1000]

Have a look on the Wiki for info on the FSE engine. Was direct cylinder injection so much more efficient. Still seems to trot out reasonable horsepower too... I also found a link to turboing the 5S FE moter too. simple parts swap acoording to how much power you want.

As an aside, loaned my Hiace to a mate and it came back missing like crazy at idle. Beat him around the head for a while and pulled the cylinder head. Turns out at 440,000 kms it still has no visible bore wear or rings wear! So seems the turbo conversion is all on even at that mileage! Amazing old Toyota engine. Have a Subie turbo scored from work and will make a J pipe off the factory manifold. A bracket to support it off the bellhousing bolts and and an Air to Water intercooler under the floor should work ok I think!