Hey guys/gals,

Yesterday i had to do a rescue mission because one of my friends broke down...

Now my friend being female told me over the phone that it overheats all the time and wont run when it happens...

I get to the scene, overflow bottle at normal level, engine temp at normal level, i find out that she took it to a mechanic that couldnt find the problem but gave it a service.

I checked Auto tranny fluid level and colour, looked ok to me.

I got her to start it, started fine. Put it in Nuetral, revved fine.

She tells me that while driving above 80kms the car starts to die, puts foot down and nothing, revvs drop off and wont go back to normal.

I dont think its fuel delivery otherwise it would happen all the time. I had a sneaky suspiscion it may have been the transmission, sounded like LIMP mode... but she drove it home ok and i didnt think it missed a beat.

So she thinks it happens only when it gets hot. Does anyone have any suggestions?

EDIT: Forgot to add it was the old gen camry. Fuel Injected though.

they used to have head problems having ruled that out

I would look at the radiator cap / thermatic fan / the thermostat/ clogged radiator

I had several as fleet cars with sticking throttle bodies aircondioning switches

never any auto problems even after 400 000
dont rule out a gearbox electronic computer controller or the injectors and engine managemnet computer have to test all sensors /clogged catalytic converter /ox sensor:nuts:


Could i nearly rule out oxy sensor, cat convertor, injectors? Would these not come into play just by free revving in park or Nuetral?

I will check radiator cap and fan. Thermostat would be difficult for me to check.

The mechanic who looked at the car surely would have checked all these and sourced a problem wouldnt they?

Thanks for that link.

Bad fuel I suspect- I've had this happen to me in Queenland before whilst driving our Vienta, the car's computer puts it into limp mode when it doesnt like the RON.

Try to hit it into second and see if you can get any overtaking power.

Otherwise check the auto box fluid levels for being too high (rather than too low) - another problem we've had before.

I had a similar problem with GE Sigma years ago. Spent ages try all sorts of fuel fixes. New pump and all sorts. In the end I took it to an auto electrician. As soon as I told him what was going on he said " Heat sink in the distributor" Dizzy gets hot and shuts down to protect itself. Had nothing to do with the fuel. Just another possible cause.

A bit more information needed, is it an early model like SV21, SDV10 (widebody) 4 cylinder?
If so, I'd be looking at the high tension leads breaking down and arcing when the vehicle gets hot... so pull out the leads, and look at the plastic tubes.. do you see "arc" markings, or cracks on the tubes? If so, replace the complete set.
On the SV21 models, the leads come with the distributor cap, on the "widebody", they come seperately.
Earlier model camrys were known to have lead problems when the klms got higher, along with other things, like rear main oil leaks, spark plug tube leaks, distributor "O" ring leaks, noisy suspension, etc etc! But the transmissions were always pretty bullet proof!
In saying that, always rule out ignition faults first, before you blame fuel! That's from the mechanic's gospel!

A bit more information needed, is it an early model like SV21, SDV10 (widebody)
On the SV21 models, the leads come with the distributor cap..
In saying that, always rule out ignition faults first, before you blame fuel! That's from the mechanic's gospel!

& unfortunately they're bloody expensive... :doubt:

Also.. i totally agree with ruling out ignition faults first.

Definetly check the items listed with the above two posters. One thing also to check but means removing the distributor of the vehicle is the coil pack. Its built in. The old Camry i had had a similar issue as you mention. The coil was cracked. At the end it was cheaper to replace the distributor with the coil from a wrecker than getting a new one. They are quite expensive...