Off Topic Tech Question
 

If anyone on this list has any experience with Toyotas, I'm going nuts trying to diagnose a problem with a 1988 Camry (4 valve 4 banger). Story goes like this... typically on damp days, the car stumbles horribly and doesn't want to run when first started. Feels like its starved for fuel or getting no spark, can't decide. Once it's warmed up and turned off, it will start back up and run like a swiss watch, no stumble at all.

Car was as gift from in-laws for daughter when she gets license. 85 k miles (actual miles, they bought car new and I did most of the maintenance), in last two months I've replaced:
plugs, plug wires/dist cap, rotor, engine oil and filter, tranny oil and filter, air filter, fuel filter, and differential fluid. I'm thinking it might be the igniter, but I'm not sure how this works and I've only got a Haynes manual to go from.

Weak MB content: my wfie comes into the garage, where I'm putting the 1980 300D back together from a dashboard out climate control party to tell me she almost got killed when the car died in an intersection.

Help me if you can!!!

Thanks a bunch,

someguyfromMaryland

SGFM:

My 84 celica GTS (259,000 miles, 4 cyl) had similar symptoms, cured by replacing the distributer :eek: The distributer base and drive shaft/gear (?) had worn to the point of major slop when cold and things hadn't yet expanded. The excess play was allowing severe wear. It has been a year, and I am out of my element here, but that is more or less what I recall the tech saying. I went in there wanting it to be just a marginal coil or coil wire, but.......

Thanks, JCE. I'm going to see if I can find out what the igniter's role is in all of this first. If I can figure out the problem, I don't mind spending the bucks. I just hate throwing parts at the problem when they're expensive parts.

someguyfromMaryland

...also check your cold start injector...:)

I had a Mazda MPV (1991 - 140k miles) and when the ignitor went bad the vehicle would start and run good until it got hot. It would start missing and finally shut down. I could pull over, open the hood for a few minutes - things would cool off and it would crank right up and go again until the ignitor would get too hot again.