kezz1

Thankyou, mbruce. Tried to google info but all I found was instructions for removing air filters for US version Camry, which were nothing like my car. Tried to ring local Toyota service Dept but after 3 calls and then being left on hold for ages, gave them a miss. Will give your instructions a try.

Would have a go, trentmeyer23, if I knew what to do. How to remove the animal is what I asked in my post.

Hi. I have a dead animal/reptile stuck in my ventilation fan (I assume). Turned air con on a couple of days ago, turned the cabin fan to full and a terrible racket started coming from the fan. Turned fan and air con off, waited a minute then tried fan again, only for the racket to be worse. Car now pongs so bad I can't drive it without wanting to be sick. Imagine it will get far worse. Can anyone please tell me how to remove the animal? Can't afford a big bill atm.

If you check the oil dipstick and the oil is creamy or even has traces of white scunge, that's a sure sign of a blown headgasket.

Of course, those indicators not being there does not mean that you do not have one.

As for your white exhaust, is it just when you're starting from cold or is it constant? Ie: still highly visible even after driving around for 20 minutes? If it's just at the start, that's perfectly normal. If it's constant, however, then that does indicate something like a blown headgasket. If the exhaust smells a bit sweet (literally), that is a sure sign that coolant is being burned.

Haven't used car since, in case I do more damage. Coolant has all drained into oil now, and sump over full. Will find out extent of problem when head comes off today.

Quick question...

What engine is it?

A stuffed one!

Sorry, trying to keep a sense of humour. It's a 2.2 litre, other than that I don't know.

Hi Kezz,

Sounds like a head gasket, but make sure you get your radiator reconditioned or properly cleaned.

If you see my post under overheating Camry V6 you will see have had similar problems .

Thank goodness we might have solved mine will know this afternoon , the problem was even though we had the radiator cleaned while the engine was being rebuilt it got blocked again after 200k's because there was still some rubbish that hadn't flushed out from the previous flushing .

Also you might be just losing coolant through the overflow bottle as if the radiator is blocked the the cooling system just pushes it out through the bottle ....Which was happening to me , the car was fine at idle never got hot but after a couple of k's it would overheat.

But its a concern the in your words you have white exhaust smoke , So I would find another mechanic for starters and get them as the previous poster stated a gas test or a block test , also have a look at your oil is it clean or does it show signs of water in it ?

Cheers

Lozza

Thanks for reply. Didn't have an overheating problem. Just ran rough when it got to normal temp. Had few pin holes in radiator tank, so got new radiator + thermostat and had system flushed 5 days before coolant blew out oveflow. Haven't used car since, and the coolant has now drained into my oil. Two mechanics have said 99% of time head gone, not just gasket. Head coming off today so keeping my fingers crossed.

Hope your car is fixed now.

Ta for advice. Kezz

I have a 93 wide body camry, which has run rough, stalling etc, on and off over the past 18 months. I've blown $1400 in the past week trying to fix it. I'm at my wits end, broke, and would appreciate any help with diagnosing the problem(s).

When the problem first occured, several bottles of injector cleaner over several weeks, and changing to premium, fixed it. The problem reoccured in Aug this year, and 1 bottle of injector cleaner fixed it.

The problem reoccured this month, worse than ever. My mechanic replaced the fuel filter (which was full of black petrol) and it ran fine for about 5ks. The fuel tank was taken off 3 days later and cleaned out, but had very little dirt in it, and the fuel looked clean. The new fuel filter was also replaced as it was full of black fuel. Spark plugs were replaced, injectors flushed, and other work done. Engine ran fine, but the next day I got stranded with a flat battery. Got it jump started, took it home, cleaned the battery terminals and charged it overnight. It started fine, but I had to take a long trip and after about 20ks tried to use the fan, but even on high it barely worked, so switched it off. Also noticed my o/drive light barely glowed. When I stopped again 100ks later, battery was dead and car wouldn't start, so suspected alternator wasn't working. Found that the mechanic had broken the top of the voltage regulator, tied it back on with a cable tie, and clips weren't connecting properly. Replaced voltage regulator (brushes were also worn). Car went fine, but I now was losing coolant from the radiator tank. The next day I got a new radiator, and thermostat (the old one was stuck open) had system flushed and pressure tested. Engine ran perfectly while idling for half an hour at the radiator shop, but started running a little rough after I'd driven 2-3 ks. Over next few days, it slowly got worse, until it was stalling under load (towing a trailer). I also noticed it ran fine while cold, but rough once it warmed up.

Replaced the coolant temperature sensor. Engine still ran rough, and was stalling a lot, so took it to an auto shop. Was told to bring it back later. Kept stalling on way to where I was staying, and nearly didn't make it. Wouldn't start when I tried it an hour later. I couldn't see a spark from a plug. Rang repair shop, and they said coil had probably gone. My son double checked if there was a spark. There wasn't, yet the engine almost started. Reconnected plug lead, and it started. Managed to drive it to repair shop.

The coil was faulty and was replaced, plus the rotor (which I learned my mechanic had also broken and not replaced). The engine ran perfectly. All pressure tests etc were normal. I drove home the next day, and it ran perfectly for 100ks until I accelerated to overtake, and suddenly green coolant sprayed out from under the bonnet. Looked at temp gauge and it was going up so I stopped and the temp gauge immediately dropped back to it's normal position. Started engine again after 5 mins, and it was running like sh*t. Drove the few ks home and twice the temp started to go up, then dropped back. Got home and let it cool down. Checked coolant, and it had lost about 1 1/2 litres. Topped it up, started engine again, and it still ran like sh*t. Noticed white? smoke coming from the exhaust, which has never happened before. Pushing down on the accelerator made the smoke worse. I disconnected each plug in turn, until I found one that didn't alter how the engine idled. Later, my son fiddled with the leads where they connected to the distributor, and the engine wouldn't restart. He fiddled with them again, and it started, but still ran like sh*t.

Started the car this morning and it ran fine for about 2 mins, then started running rough again. Lots of white? exhaust smoke. The smoke has condensation, but smells like petrol.

Have I blown a head gasket? Cracked the head? (No water is running out the tail pipe). Would a faulty spark plug lead or connection to the distributor cause white smoke? Or is the current problem still related to the other problems I've had. The temp gauge has never gone into the red zone (but close), and the temp sender is supposedly working. Would the voltage regular not working on a long trip, or the rotor being broken, have caused the coil to go? I also burned out platinum plugs in under 20,000k.

I'm female, blonde, and don't know a lot about cars.

Hi Guys

I have a Toyota Camry Vienta Ultima 95 model Camry, I have been advised to use Premium Unleaded (95) because it will be better for it and better preformance and will get more km

Is this true?

What do you use?

I have a 93 wide body. I changed to vortex 95, because my car was running rough and using too much fuel and I was told premium helps clean injectors. My petrol consumption gradually went from 8-9 ks per litre to 12.67, over four tanks of premium, so the extra 8 cents per litre saves me heaps. Work out your consumption now, and see how (if) it changes over a few tanks of premium.