Nightfall

Hi folks I had my sxv20/5sfe major/minor serviced about 1,000km ago but I think that my motor oil seems to be disappearing.. a couple of days ago, I happened to make a pretty hard break on the road and it was the first time i saw the low oil pressure light lit up and went out in the dashboard. I first checked the the owner's manual, which I read that the low oil pressure light going on and off is kind of a normal symptom after a harsh break. Then just to make sure, I checked the engine oil dipstick and I couldn't see any oil on it. Afterwards, the light often comes on and off(blinks) when the car gets a jolt or a turn(it's hard to pinpoint when it happens..:() I'm not sure if this is the thing that happened after the hard break or the hard break was only a chance that made me find out about the engine oil going missing:( I see no leak from under the car nor around the engine room and as far as I know, motor oil doesn't evaporate like this(not this fast at least) What is going on? Is there anyone that has been through what I'm going through right now? the motor oil vanishing in the air? As the car's quite old, I have no intention to spend a lot of money on it, so I'm thinking that I should just top up the motor oil everytime it runs short..LOL But here rises the problem again; I don't know what kind of motor oil was put in the last time LOL I don't know the viscosity or anything and I don't have time nor tools to flush old oil out and put new oil in it.. will it be a BBBBBBBIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGGGGGGGG mistake to just put more oil and let it be mixed with the old oil, even if it doesn't have a same viscosity and all that? What happens if I do that? does the car explodes while driving like in a war movie? I wish I could call the mechanic that serviced my car the last time but it's weekend during which he doesn't work nor answers to phone calls..and I have to work from early moring from next week so I'm kind of in need of an urgent help.......HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! PLEASE!!!!!!!!SOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's done! I bought the tank from a dealership for 52$ and did it with nothing but an adjustable wrench. For those who need this information, and if your camry is 97-01 SXV20 with 5S-FE engine, all you have to do is take out the radiator hose from the tank, undo the bolt attached to the side of the tank and pull the tank upwards. And then fit a new tank, bolt it tight and connect the radiator hose back to the coolant reservoir. As it was the first time doing it and there were no instruction or such thing in repair manual or on the internet, I kind of got confused with which bolt to remove and took more time than it should but if I did it again, I probably would have done it within 3 minutes. real breeze LOL

Is is just me not being able to find it or there actually isn't a coolant bottle for 4th gen camry on ebay? I see tons of those for wide body camry but I couldn't find a single one for mine LOL guess I might be going to a dealership anyways ..

Hi all, I own a '97 camry and(4th gen) with 5S FE engine, 4cyl 2.2L,and I realized that the coolant reservoir of mine has a couple of severe cracks on it and needs replacing right away.. coolant is leaking all over from it :( I was thinking of doing it myself as it's gonna cost me a lot to have it done at a workshop or someplace else. I was told that buying the coolant reservoir also known as coolant overflow tank costs around 50 bucks at a toyota dealership part store.. am I right? and I kind of looked at it and there seems to be 3 bolts and one hose connected to the radiator to be taken off for the work. I was wondering what size of a ratchet socket would I be in need of and if I could reuse the coolant once the current coolant reservoir has been taken off. Coolant replacement was just done about a week ago so I don't want to spend money again on buying coolant. So please guys help me on this and help me start being a DIYer!!

I just saw VP executive commodore wagon and went for a test-drive. The owner says that the car has been regularly serviced at K-mart by him, and at peddlers by the ex owner. Checked the oil cap, dipstick, radiator cap, coolant reservoir and etc, the seemed to have been serviced at least once in a while. Window sealings and the loose indicator stick seemed to be an issue, which I think will be done in RWC test(am I right?). My concern is that when I shifted gear from P to R or R to D on idling, there was more than a slight *****(engagement was made pretty quickly, though) with quite noticeable clunk, also when the gear was shifting from first to second on test driving. Do you think there's a possible transmission problem with the car? I'm good if the car has a ding or slight dent but I can't afford replacing the transmission right after the purchase Please help me!!

Thank you but I went to Ruiz Car Care right across the safeway caltex highpoint, and it was pretty good. Turned out that the problem was a thermostat not working properly, thus changed it, drained the radiator fluid and refilled. There was few oil left in the motor, which the mechanic said either the previous mechanic did a sloppy job doing the minor service or the overheating made the oil burn out and be evaporated. Engine oil refill + Thermostat replacement + coolant topup + labour cost me 140 bucks. Does this sound reasonable?

Hi all, I'm the fool who wrote about the coolant thing about eight hours ago. As I kept looking, i came to think that it might not be a coolant problem but a bigger one, such as thermostat or radiator, at worst head gasket. Hence looking for a good mechanic, in melbourne's west suburbs. I live in maribyrnong near footscray and I see a lot of mechanics around highpoint shopping centre, which makes me hard to choose one. I had been ripped off by a dealer and a mechanic a couple of times in the past so I need someone who really knows his job and does a transparent work, is honest and possibly good with Toyota. (I doubt if there's a single mechanic who fits all the description but..) Even a vaguest idea would help this poor man. Thank you.

Well. I'm having a second thought, it might not be just a problem of coolant having run out. I should get the car checked and see if there's a problem outside the radiator.

HI all, I am very confused with the cooling system of my '97 Camry 2.2L M/T. The engine has been constantly overheating for quite a while I think it's time for me to flush, drain the radiator and fill up the fresh coolant and all that but here's the problem. I was told at the autobarn that my camry would consume green coloured concentrated coolant and I bought it. Came home and opened a radiator drain plug and then I saw this damn pink fluid coming out...... Thank god I didn't pop the coolant container open prior to that So I did some googling to sort this out but the longer I googled the more I was confused.. in some article, someone says that 97 camry(SXV20R, 5SFE ENGINE) needs 'Long life coolant', which is green, and in another posting of someone says that the camry comes with pink coolant, which is known to be 'super long life coolant', designed for aluminium engine equipment. Now, as long as the fluid was pink coloured I've seen coming out of the radiator, I might go have a refund on my current green one and buy a pink one. I mean, if they mix, is the engine gonna explode or something? LOL

I'm looking all over. Actually I have never met an honest dealer who's not obsessed with ripping off the customers..LOL

I can't find a single camry wagon out for trade/swap.. I'm desperate.. god...

what is a safety certificate, is it something like a roadworthy certificate in QLD? Sorry I'm from out of the town so I'm not familiar with car-related terms outside Victoria :( If I'm right, both cars will be offered with the certificates. How much would you say that I could expect to collect at least? I won't be to picky on the deal, so I'd like to set a lower limit and not be a phanton of money. Inspection-wise, I don't think we both can afford that kind of money man LOL I know I'm downtrading and I'm a bit nervous about that yet I have no other option :( I have to get a wagon by the end of the week..

Hi there dirty hands! I'd have to say thank you very much first for your quick, kind reply. However I should've mentioned more clearly that I'm doing the deal privately, not with a dealer. Sorry about the confusion. Do you think it would go the same in that case as well?

Hi all,I have a 97 camry(4th gen) with 215000km and thinking of trading it with '92 holden commodore wagon.. solely because I need way more space to do my job from now on. Ford might be better but I can't find a good deal privately so I have no other choice. Problem is, I can't come up with how much I'd have to collect for the different value of the two cars as I know very few about cars. I tried looking it up in drive.com.au and redbook.com.au but I'm not sure it's alright to do the deal according to those contents. Both cars have long rego left but the commodore has run about 4~50Ks more than my camry. Can you guys help this poor person suggest a right price to the trade-wise opponent please please please? Anyways, I really hate to see my camry go after just five weeks after the purchase.. I spent almost 600$ for a timing belt replacement and minor services and have to let it go anyways after less than a month LOL

G'day all, I'm a silly newbie from South Korea. I'm a camry owner and I'm quite sure that I know about my camry less than most of you guys so I'll be asking a lot of questions that you don't feel like answering.. please don't hate me!