1991 Toyota Camry DX Stalls
My 1991 Toyota Camry stalled today after getting gas and putting it in reverse. It
started back up then put it in reverse and it stalled again. It happened 4 times in a
row. I have never had that problem before. I do have the occasional stalls when idling
at a stop light or anytime idling. Which yes it is very annoying and scary. Also today
while car was in park, the air conditioner would not cool off the car. I was sweating
inside my car! It was actually cooler when I got out of the car in the 90 degree
weather. When my car was moving, it was cool. Too weird. What is up with all this?
Make sure that your radiator fans are kicked on when the A/C is on. If the A/C is on, and you notice the hot air, pull over and see if the fans are on. If not, there's the problem. As far as the stalling is concerned, Buy some throttle body cleaner, remove the throttle body, tear it down and clean it. Also do the same with your IAC. You may want to buy a can of Mass Air Flow cleaner and spray that down as well.
What do I spray with the Mass Air Flow Cleaner?
There's a spray for the MAF made by CRC. You can pick it up at any auto store. You need to remove the MAF and spray the wire contacts inside. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQGSkWEC_u4 Yours will look different. If you follow the black intake tube over to the right of the screen, it goes into that silver box with the black plastic horseshoe on the top. That's your mass air flow unit. Never torn into one that old.
Here's a closer look.
Which engine is in this vehicle? Is the" Check Engine Light" on when this engine is running? Mileage?
V6. "Check Engine Light" has never come on. Mileage 182,000. Firestone told me today is the Vacuum Control Valve. What do you think?
Do they mean the EGR vacuum control valve, or are they talking the EVAP solenoid down by the gas tank? Because the first one is like a $15 part. If it's the EVAP solenoid, then it's going to be much pricier. I would clarify before letting them do any work. This is the inexpensive EGR control valve.
Here's the more expensive one. This is for the EVAP. It's about $50 for after market. Genuine Toyota will be much more.
That EGR control valve is a likely suspect. If the EGR valve hangs open...it will definitely cause a stall. sounds like a reasonable diagnosis.
They did not say anything about a EVAP solenoid so I am assuming it is the EGR Vacuum Control Valve. I will definitely get them to clarify to make sure. Thank you so much for your help!! How hard is to replace the EGR vacuum control valve? Do you have to take a lot of stuff apart to get to it?
No. It just slips into a ring and you hook up a couple of vac hoses. Easy. Takes about a minute to change.
RR{removal and replacement of this valve is usually quick and easy. It's those rubber{vacuum} hoses which can be problematic. These rubber hoses usually crack get hard and brittle and become difficult to deal with. An easy test of this valve is to disconnect all the hoses and plug them. Start the engine and see if this corrects the problem. If the problem goes away...the valve is bad. If the problem remains...the problem is else ware.
