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Camry-Total Engne Failure 94 4 Cylinder


jherentals

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:unsure::unsure: Well.........it happened, I think. My 94 Camry with 237,000 miles (yeah I know, old right), until now has been running perfectly. I had gotten the kinks out (oil leaks etc) from when I bought it last Fall.......anyway....Today I drove home from work after it rained all day. The engine ran great til I got close to home, then it sputtered like it had some water in the gas or maybe a slightly wet distributor, and it died twice. The OIL LIGHT did not come on and stay on, but it did flicker a couple of times for a few seconds and then went out and stayed off. Then I was noticing slightly louder and increasingly louder engine noise which was metal on metal....maybe valves sticking or something. I knew I could not drive the car like this as more engine damage would happen or it may freeze up. I was worried that the oil pump was failing cuz it had plenty of oil IN the crankcase. Sooo......about two miles from my house, the engine starts making even more noise, so I shut it down right there, and called a tow truck and had the car towed home. The tow driver works for a mechanic and said to not start the engine, but to just turn it over so he could hear what it was doing. He said he thinks it's either one or more valves sticking OR the lower bearings going out. He said with the cost of labor that I may be better off just finding a salvage yard engine and dropping it in.... Anyway, that's where it's all at now. What do you all think? The car is beautfiul for a 94 and just got repainted recently. Should I try to fix the engine once it's diagnoised or go salvage yard? I already got stuck w/ the head gasket job for a profuse oil leak which was fixed, so I am basically married to this car $$. Has anyone had similar probs with their engine, and if so, how did you deal with it? (junking the car is not really an option.....tempting as it may sound). I like Toyotas but this one is up there in miles, so my question is: fix vs replace the engine....? Or any other suggestions....?
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I think if you like the car that much, you ought to be able to find a good used engine with a warranty on it. THat lower end has a lot of mileage on it, so even if you have a valve issue, it's still an old engine.

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I think if you like the car that much, you ought to be able to find a good used engine with a warranty on it. THat lower end has a lot of mileage on it, so even if you have a valve issue, it's still an old engine.

Thanks, I am pretty well buried in the car anyway at this point. I did find an e-bay seller that will sell a used engine w/ 40k on it w/ warranty for about 450 $$, however there are some big bucks to ship it, and Car-X says about 800 to install, about 11 hours or so......

I did start the old engine today and it actually idles ok, if you give it any gas, there is a ticking metallic sound like maybe a valve or lifter etc. I dunno..... I am definitely parking it for a while til I can recover $$

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Sorry to hear about your engine...that's a terrible feeling when you hear noises like that from under the hood...

As Stevelaw says, a used engine should be relatively inexpensive if you're still in love with your car. Try to find one locally though...I imagine shipping an engine may be prohibitively expensive.

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Sorry to hear about your engine...that's a terrible feeling when you hear noises like that from under the hood...

As Stevelaw says, a used engine should be relatively inexpensive if you're still in love with your car. Try to find one locally though...I imagine shipping an engine may be prohibitively expensive.

Thanks :) I thought and hoped from the reputation that a Toyota would "run forever" but obviously not....Anyway I did find a "power-seller" on ebay w/ 100% positive feedback and he deals w/ used Japanese engines primarily. I guess there's a huge market in Japan where they recycle many late model cars w/ low mileage and ship many of them here to the US. Long story short, I found and am buying a used engine from him, they estimate all their engines have aprox 30,000 miles based on the Japanese drivers and their driving histories etc.... Anyway it's supposed to be a direct replacement so we'll see what happens. The price was definitely right, about 425 plus about 150 to ship it to KS. Installation will be up there, but hopefully it will last and run a long time. It's not so much now that I love the car......I mean it is beautiful and looks great, but I am pretty well buried in it $$, so hopefully this will fix it and keep it on the road a long time. Thanks for writing ! :)

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The tow driver works for a mechanic

Therein is the operative phrase. I'm sure the tow driver was the most well meaning guy on earth, but before I parted with heavy cash for another engine, I'd have the existing one looked over by a bona fide tech, the 237K on the odo not withstanding.

FWIW

YMMV

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That's a great price. Is the guy giving you a warranty at all on it?

The price was definitely right, about 425 plus about 150 to ship it to KS. Installation will be up there, but hopefully it will last and run a long time.

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