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From: John on 2 Apr 2010 09:49 Hello. I have a 1999 camry CE (4-cyl) with about 250K kilometers on it. Lately, it's been having a strange problem. When I first turn it on and start to drive it, it runs perfectly. But, after it's been driven for 10 or 15 minutes, it starts to shake a bit. It's less noticeable at highway speeds, but it's incredibly noticeable when I hit the brakes. It's as if I was pressing them, then letting them go, then pressing them, then letting them go, but really fast, making the car jerk. As the car slows down, the frequency of the jerkiness also slows down. Kind of like what anti-lock brakes would do if you really slammed them on, though this car doesn't have anti-lock brakes. Then, when I'm idling, there's something like a scraping noise coming from somewhere in the back end of the car. However, it doesn't always happen. It used to happen maybe once every 2 or 3 months, but lately it's been more frequent. There are times when I can drive the car and it won't happen at all, but there are other times when it's constant whenever I'm idling. It's pretty loud, and therefore very annoying. My car idles around 500 RPM... if I bring the RPM up to around 800, the noise goes away. However, this means that when I'm at a stop light, I need to keep one foot on the brake and the other one slightly pressing the accelerator. That'll probably kill my gas mileage, not to mention the fact that it's probably not exactly the safest thing to do. I haven't brought the car in to a dealer yet, because they always want to charge me thousands of dollars to "fix" things that aren't really broken, and I simply can't afford that. Does anyone have any thoughts on what the problem could be? Thanks. John
From: ransley on 2 Apr 2010 17:53 On Apr 2, 8:49 am, John <jrtwy...(a)gmail.com> wrote: > Hello. > > I have a 1999 camry CE (4-cyl) with about 250K kilometers on it. > Lately, it's been having a strange problem. When I first turn it on > and start to drive it, it runs perfectly. But, after it's been driven > for 10 or 15 minutes, it starts to shake a bit. It's less noticeable > at highway speeds, but it's incredibly noticeable when I hit the > brakes. It's as if I was pressing them, then letting them go, then > pressing them, then letting them go, but really fast, making the car > jerk. As the car slows down, the frequency of the jerkiness also slows > down. Kind of like what anti-lock brakes would do if you really > slammed them on, though this car doesn't have anti-lock brakes. > > Then, when I'm idling, there's something like a scraping noise coming > from somewhere in the back end of the car. However, it doesn't always > happen. It used to happen maybe once every 2 or 3 months, but lately > it's been more frequent. There are times when I can drive the car and > it won't happen at all, but there are other times when it's constant > whenever I'm idling. It's pretty loud, and therefore very annoying. My > car idles around 500 RPM... if I bring the RPM up to around 800, the > noise goes away. However, this means that when I'm at a stop light, I > need to keep one foot on the brake and the other one slightly pressing > the accelerator. That'll probably kill my gas mileage, not to mention > the fact that it's probably not exactly the safest thing to do. > > I haven't brought the car in to a dealer yet, because they always want > to charge me thousands of dollars to "fix" things that aren't really > broken, and I simply can't afford that. > > Does anyone have any thoughts on what the problem could be? > > Thanks. > > John I never go to dealers unless it warranty work, they charge 2-3x more than my mechanic. 500 rpm is to low 6-700 is better. When car is cold the gas mixture is richer, when it warms up is when you have an issue. It sounds like a simple tune up is needed, the scraping in rear is probably something loose. Fine a good local mechanic. If my car ran at 500 rpm it would not idle well.
From: Jason James on 5 Apr 2010 05:29
"John" <jrtwynam(a)gmail.com> wrote in message news:a1ad2a17-5b8e-4422-83b2-768e6a2b087c(a)u31g2000yqb.googlegroups.com... > Hello. > > I have a 1999 camry CE (4-cyl) with about 250K kilometers on it. > Lately, it's been having a strange problem. When I first turn it on > and start to drive it, it runs perfectly. But, after it's been driven > for 10 or 15 minutes, it starts to shake a bit. It's less noticeable > at highway speeds, but it's incredibly noticeable when I hit the > brakes. It's as if I was pressing them, then letting them go, then > pressing them, then letting them go, but really fast, making the car > jerk. As the car slows down, the frequency of the jerkiness also slows > down. Kind of like what anti-lock brakes would do if you really > slammed them on, though this car doesn't have anti-lock brakes. Your disks are out of round,...I'd leave it, unless it became grossly so. > Then, when I'm idling, there's something like a scraping noise coming > from somewhere in the back end of the car. However, it doesn't always > happen. It used to happen maybe once every 2 or 3 months, but lately > it's been more frequent. Exhaust is rattling against the body or rear suspension,..no biggy,..leave it unless it really shits you. There are times when I can drive the car and > it won't happen at all, but there are other times when it's constant > whenever I'm idling. It's pretty loud, and therefore very annoying. My > car idles around 500 RPM. Should be higher,..minimum 800,..ideal 1100 or so with AC on too. ... if I bring the RPM up to around 800, the > noise goes away. Its the exhaust,..dont worry about it. However, this means that when I'm at a stop light, I > need to keep one foot on the brake and the other one slightly pressing > the accelerator. That'll probably kill my gas mileage, not to mention > the fact that it's probably not exactly the safest thing to do. > > I haven't brought the car in to a dealer yet, because they always want > to charge me thousands of dollars to "fix" things that aren't really > broken, and I simply can't afford that. > > Does anyone have any thoughts on what the problem could be? If you really want to see what is happening,..set the car up to make the noise WHILE it is jacked up at the back,..get a friend to keep the car in that state while YOU go and check out the exhaust from roughly the rear door backwards,.....you will see where the noise is eminating from. Jason |