bobnyc

See posts on CAMRY Hestitates. My problem was a bad ignition coil that was arcing- similar symptoms as yours. But that loud 'pop' could have been a backfire/misfire - another clue that the ignition is fouling up.

See also posts on CAMRY Hesitates - check your ignition coil - it may be going bad - arcing. Look for traces of black carbon from metal contact to surrounding areas. Coil is under the plastic cover below the rotor. b-t-w, the idle is controlled by a small screw locked by a small nut under the throttle wheel, next to throttle body. Uses a small hex wrench at lower end to adjust in/out after loosening the lock screw. Adjust while engine is off in order to rotate the throttle wheel out of the way to adjust the screw.

My 92 LE (156K miles) started to hesitate, then stall after right after gassing up at a name brand gas station. Car ran great up to then. Thought I had gotten some bad gasoline. Replaced the plugs, wires, cap, rotor - better but still hestitated and often stalled at idle. Was able to re-start most of the time. Car ran fine at hwy speeds, so it seemed that the fuel pump was okay. Took it to my regular mechanic (ex-BMW) who could not find anything wrong - no codes, etc. He cleaned out the throttle body, added gas treatment & agreed that gas may have been bad. But car still hesitated and stalls. A day later, it stalled on highway - BAD!. Couldn't restart it. After towing it home, I did some web searches on Camry stalling. Found that some changed EGR valve, IAC, etc. One car review site indicated that a known weaknesses in Camry's was the ignition coil, and also mention in the toyotaowners UK site. I checked my ignition coil and found presence of carbon tracks - a definite indication of hi-voltage arcing. Bought a replacement coil for about $72, pulled the distributor & replaced the ignition coil. Car started right up, purrs at idle, and runs like new! Theoretically, the coil could be replaced w/o pulling the distributor since it is mounted outside of the distributor body by 4 small Phillips screws, but its awkward. Just mark lines on the engine block next to distributor flange for re-alignment, and remember the direction of rotor/shaft, It can only be replaced in 1 of 2 ways due to the 'paddle' on the end of shaft (as opposed to a gear). There are two 12mm bolts, at 10 o'clock and 6 o'clock, holding the distributor to the block. Remove the distributor by small twists side-side while pulling out slowly - the straighter you pull the better else it will get cocked in the block. Clearance is tight. While you have the distr. body out, replace the oil seal on the shaft and if needed, the distributor cap seal. Using clean rag, clean out the all mating surfaces and hole in the block before re-installing. Thanks to all who have shared info on Camry Stalls.