As someone who had a timing belt issue, there are things you'd hear from that would indicate if there was a timing issue. You'd hear a loud, gawd-awful noise (pistons hitting valves, etc). Like, you'd KNOW if your car made the noise, it's literally impossible to not hear it. And if your timing belt is off/broken, I'm fairly certain just trying to start it would make a horrific noise too. But you wouldn't be able to almost start it. And like others had said, the first thing I thought of was whether or not it's a non interference motor or not. If you haven't replaced the timing belt (I think they're about 60-75K intervals), then the belt was obviously at risk for being bad. I'm sure @bodyman5000 and 1 would know for certain if it's a non interference motor (tho I trust the people who said it was a NI motor). And, depending on your mechanical inclination, replacing the motor on one of those cars isn't super hard, and cheaper than buying a new one. That is, of course, if you have the know how or the tools to do it OR a shop you trust. *edit* If it's the engine you just posted about, https://axleaddict.com/auto-repair/Toyota-Camry-5SFE-Engine-Timing-Belt-Water-Pump-Seal-Replacement, it is a NI engine, and whoever told you the valves were bent was either trying to con you OR was woefully ignorant of different engine styles. I've personally replaced 4 timing belts on 3 of my cars. One was NI, the others weren't. How mechanically inclined are you @Chris Craig ?
you know, we should create an OT board for car talk (not like "hey man, I have a slammed stage 1 Honda blah blah", but working on cars and questions about them. Bodyman1 could be a good source to tap into.
Didn't hear a god awful noise. We have been having an issue with the engine stalling when we are driving. Like it it refused to excelerate for a few moments before it went back to normal. We had found a crack in the air hose leading to the manifold. We were actually headed to the auto store to get the part, then to the shop to get it changed out. When we pulled out, the car just died. Shut off. Wasn't very loud that I remember. When we tried to start it, it just whined, wouldn't turnover. Like I said we thought we had run out of gas because we were low. We put gas in the tank. Same result. I thought maybe we blew the fuel pump because the gas was low and she kept trying to start it. We have been good sbout keeping gas in it though. Just got to empty that day. Hadn't run out before. Not very mechanically inclined
Definitely non-interference. When the timing belt broke on my Tacoma this past summer I had to take off the timing case to even know. It sounded fine turning over, no terrible sounds or anything. I actually thought I may have run out of gas also because my gas light had turned on on the way into town right before it happened.
That is DEFINITELY not a timing belt issue. If your belt is toast your car won't start. It doesn't cause it to stall, or stutter. That sounds like a fuel delivery issue, or spark (coil).
Could also be fuel pump, fuel filter, fuel sending unit or injectors (assuming it's a fuel injection and not carb... which at that age should be FI). Could also be a temperature issue (bad thermostat) or can señsor
That was before it died. It won't start now. Maybe it's both. Can a hole in the air hose leading to the manifold cause the car to stall?
I'm really pissed now. And suspicious. The shop said the belt broke and the valve bent. They said it would cost $2000 grand to fix. When we told them we couldn't do that they recommended towing it home and putting it on Craigslist. I am very fucking suspicious. My wife put it on there. We got interest quickly.
There are people who look on CL to buy junked cars, quickly fix them up and sell them. It's why the #1 question I've asked is how long they've owned it. So many people have owned them for a few weeks to months. I don't trust those people
It's possible, but usually it would run rougher, and possibly throw a code (tho your car is old enough that it doesn't have OBDII, might have OBDI). Couple questions. How long have you owned the car and do you know when the last time the timing belt was replaced?
I hate to sound paranoid but I’m kind of on the same page with you. It sounds pretty fucking sketchy. Worst case scenario they are scammers, and at the very best they failed miserably on the diagnosis.
