Toyota Camry 95 Automatic Stalls?

Question

Hi!

I have a toyota camry 1995, which has recently started stalling for no apparent reason. It starts fine, runs fine for 15-30 minutes and then starts giving trouble. Eventually it dies, it will start again a few times, but after another 15-30 minutes it refuses. After 5 minutes it recovers just enought to start, and continues to stall. The only way to run it then is to use both accelarator and brake... not pleasant!

I have had it tuned, inspected by mechanic for a whole day and he couldnt find what was wrong with it. I am a broke student. someone help me out please.

I read online it could be EGR, but they usually give trouble even when car is cold, I have no idea. Could someone tell me how to test the EGR valve? Ive heard its expensive (for a student).

Oh. and my car's muffler has been asking for repair for a while (6 months) but I chose to ignore it, and now i have to ignore it as i paid for tune up.

thanks in advance!!!

I went to a new mechanic today he spent 2 hours on it... He said that the car would stall on him, but except for one time it would always start right back up. When it didn't start for a while he manage to check that the sparking plugs etc was working fine, so he said it's probably not electronic; probably fuel pump. He said he had to close the shop and to bring it back on Monday. I asked him if could be bad fuel, he said "no, bad fuel would make the car behave funny, not just die"
Anyways, so I am not sure if I made this clear:

The car stalls no matter if it is in N or D, but D sometimes kills it quicker. When sufficiently warm, it just dies, no other quirks. Sometimes it survives a stall when I accelerate hard. Sometimes giving it acceleration cures the problem temporarily. However, the main problem with mechanics has been reproducing the problem to the extent that they can diagnose it. Does this mechanic sound good or should I take it to another, or do some other diagnosis.

Answer 1

Ah yes, the mighty EGR on the 95 Camry. I own one and I just recently had to install a new EGR to get her to pass emissions. And to answer your question, there could be many many things as to why you're stalling. You say you took the car to a tech for a whole day. Did he mention anything about the EGR Valve working properly? Or did he even bother to look at your PCV valve as well? Maybe even your Mass Air Flow sensor could be failing. Or how about ignition issues, such as a faulty distributor or faulty spark plug wires. As to the exhaust and muffler, I highly doubt this is causing any problems whatsoever.

To make this short, take your car to a different shop and have a tech determine if the EGR and all of your emission components are working properly. That would be the area to look at first!

Answer 2

You might be trying to address several issues at once here.
EGR Functional Test - Engine idling, apply vacuum to the little vacuum nipple on the top of the valve. You can do this by finding a vacuum source on the engine and apply this vacuum to the valve. At idle, the engine should try to stall.
If the engine is idling well and smooth, I don't think this is the issue.
When it was tuned, was the fuel pressure and volume checked?
When it begins to try to die, does it act "constipated"? Does it begin to sound like a Hoover? If so, the exhaust is most likely the issue. Perhaps the cat is restricted, or the cat's substrate has begun to come apart and part of it has become caught in the muffler.
There are many other things to look at, but these are what come to mind for the symptoms you describe.
You can also check to see if there are any codes stored in the PCM.
Go Here----->

http://autorepair.about.com/library/ts/obd-i/bl-dtcs-65a.htm

...and scroll down below the descriptions for a discussion of the procedure for retrieving the Diagnostic Trouble Codes. It is simple, and requires only a paperclip. If there are codes stored, refer to a repair manual for the proper diagnostic routine(s) involved for repair.

Good Luck and Merry Christmas

Answer 3

It looks like you have found your problem. Some EGR valves require back pressure to work properly. If you have one of these, get your exhaust fixed first (even if you buy muffler tape and do it your self) There is no guarantee this will work but it's a start.