1985 Toyota Camry.. Any tips?

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I've recently been itching for a new automotive challenge. The challenge is how quickly I can get a running, driving, and road-tripping car.

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Just picked up this time-capsule 1985 Camry. It has milkshake in the oil, and runs rough (doesn't idle), the PO believes the head gasket blew.

The engine started right up, but was smoking and smelled of burning oil from the back passenger-side corner. It went into gear and I was able to drive it out onto the road from it's hiding place in the driveway.

Has anyone worked on these before? Any tips/tricks on 1st gen Camry engines?
 
This was not a good car when it was new. You have the stunted performance of 1980s smog compliance technology, and the styling of a Toyota Camry. That was when it was new.
 
Have no idea as to the 1985 engine materials, but if it's aluminum head/block, pull the head check for warpage (shop or trust yourself)
on head surface & block surface. Check the radiator for leakage that could've caused the blown gasket, put it back together & drive.
As I recall, every mid-eighties econobox was slow, i.e.60-75hp, top end 108-111 mph. Time probably won't make this one any faster.
 
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Got this 86 back in 2006 for $300 at auction. It ran fine through the lane. Go to drive it to my storage and as soon as I step on the gas to get on the highway, I see a smokescreen behind me like a dragster burnout. Smoke goes away when letting up on the gas and it was only a 5 mile drive so I made it. Thought it had a blown head gasket and a compression test showed 60psi in the center 2 cylinders. So I pull the head, replace the gasket and put it back together. Go for a drive and it still smokes like a mother. Take the head back off and investigate some more. Turned out that those two cylinders had broken piston rings and cracked ring grooves. So I replaced the 2 pistons and rings in all 4 cylinders. Think I replaced the rod bearings as well.

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Turned out real nice, Car ran great and I drove it 800 miles to Chicago for someone I sold it to on Ebay. These Camry's are very pleasant to drive and very comfortable. Few of complicated electronics of newer models to go bad.
 
The quickest would be to pull a crashed total engine from junkyard.

The cheapest would be to take the head off, flatten the head, install with new HG, then run some 20w50 praying that it will not burn too fast. This will likely cost more than the car is worth if you don't have a shop to do the job right.
 
Don't let the nay-sayers deter you. Sounds like a fun project to me! I frequently risk my life in even older automotive technology. Many decades older... It's fun!
 
Milkshake oil and you decide to drive it.

Best tip is don't be fooled into thinking you can make a worn out old vehicle road-trip worthy without pouring far more into it than its worth, which right now is about $200 scrap value.

If you really want to put the time into an old vehicle, start out with something classic, iconic, beautiful, built before '80 at least.
 
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I'd pull the head and go from there. If it's warped it might be best to send it along. The engine that is. Maybe look to see what later model engine would drop in. Maybe an entire driveline swap is in order.

But maybe it's just a blown HG and it'll be a quick job.
 
Originally Posted by atikovi
These Camry's are very pleasant to drive and very comfortable. Few of complicated electronics of newer models to go bad.


I remember these when they were being sold as brand new! While not sporty or stylish they are comfortable, VERY durable, and decently safe even today.
Very straight forward, cheap to keep cars. I'd gladly own one of these today if it wasn't beaten up.
Folks forget this was when Toyota was the most well built and durable cars you could get at any price. They STILL measure up in that department today.
This is a miracle feat.

If you wanted a fun daily driver that was inexpensive and fairly reliable with some room for passengers you'd go for the Honda Accord with stick which was also
a almost Toyota like bulletproof design, but with great driving dynamics too.
 
Originally Posted by Dave9
Milkshake oil and you decide to drive it.

Best tip is don't be fooled into thinking you can make a worn out old vehicle road-trip worthy without pouring far more into it than its worth, which right now is about $200 scrap value.

If you really want to put the time into an old vehicle, start out with something classic, iconic, beautiful, built before '80 at least.


For some reason, post 1980 cars like this are becoming popular with younger generations that never experienced them the first time around. Events like Radwood are becoming popular and are for cars from the 1980s and 1990s only. The Camry in question appears to be mostly rust-free and, sadly, some millennial would probably pay crazy money for it.
 
Originally Posted by alchargo
For some reason, post 1980 cars like this are becoming popular with younger generations that never experienced them the first time around. Events like Radwood are becoming popular and are for cars from the 1980s and 1990s only. The Camry in question appears to be mostly rust-free and, sadly, some millennial would probably pay crazy money for it.

As compared to a muscle car, or anything pre-war...
21.gif
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, I guess.
 
i remember lots of room in that hood, good angles to wrench in, much easier to fiddle with than newer tech. weak spot was the the torque converters - it took toyota (aisin?) a while to figure out TC durability back then, as manuals had previously been more prevalent in 4-cyl life.

replace the oil and do a compression check, both wet and dry, to see what you're getting in to. I might pull the pan and a rod cap and look for scoring on the bearings. If there's damage, I'd look at wrecked or even autozone motor/block prices. If the bearings don't show issues, I'd proceed with head work if the wet/dry tests give similar numbers. If you aren't sure what that means, read up on it so you can get good information to help you make informed decisions.

My best friend in high school had a test drive in one of those. It was a better car IMO than what he ended up with. Unfortunately, it had some TC noises that we figured would become a costly repair in a few months and went with a lesser car in better shape.
 
Originally Posted by atikovi
Take the head back off and investigate some more. Turned out that those two cylinders had broken piston rings and cracked ring grooves. So I replaced the 2 pistons and rings in all 4 cylinders. Think I replaced the rod bearings as well.


I'm hoping this is not the case, as I did not plan on pulling the crank out to get to those pistons.. I'm assuming you didn't have an ingenious way of testing for this without pulling the pistons out?

Originally Posted by meep
replace the oil and do a compression check, both wet and dry, to see what you're getting in to. I might pull the pan and a rod cap and look for scoring on the bearings. If there's damage, I'd look at wrecked or even autozone motor/block prices. If the bearings don't show issues, I'd proceed with head work if the wet/dry tests give similar numbers. If you aren't sure what that means, read up on it so you can get good information to help you make informed decisions.


Good idea, will be doing this first before I start pulling things out.

Originally Posted by supton
As compared to a muscle car, or anything pre-war...
21.gif
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, I guess.


Can't say muscle cars do anything for me.. But then again, I've never owned anything american (as witnessed by my sig.)

If I was going to keep this long term, I'd get a Rabbit or a Beetle, but this is something that, if it dies on the side of the road, I'll be OK towing to the crusher... I say this before giving it any labor of love..
 
Originally Posted by AC1DD
Originally Posted by atikovi
These Camry's are very pleasant to drive and very comfortable. Few of complicated electronics of newer models to go bad.


I remember these when they were being sold as brand new! While not sporty or stylish they are comfortable, VERY durable, and decently safe even today.
Very straight forward, cheap to keep cars. I'd gladly own one of these today if it wasn't beaten up.
Folks forget this was when Toyota was the most well built and durable cars you could get at any price. They STILL measure up in that department today.
This is a miracle feat.

If you wanted a fun daily driver that was inexpensive and fairly reliable with some room for passengers you'd go for the Honda Accord with stick which was also
a almost Toyota like bulletproof design, but with great driving dynamics too.

If these were so durable you would still see some on the road. I still see old Cavaliers but virtually no old Camrys from the same era. Do what you want but you're restoring a throwaway car with no aftermarket support AFAIK. Disclaimer: I restored a 2000 wrecked Mustang GT that's not worth what I have into it so if you like working on old cars, throw a head gasket on it, flush the oil and drive it.
 
Originally Posted by spavel6
Originally Posted by atikovi
Take the head back off and investigate some more. Turned out that those two cylinders had broken piston rings and cracked ring grooves. So I replaced the 2 pistons and rings in all 4 cylinders. Think I replaced the rod bearings as well.


I'm hoping this is not the case, as I did not plan on pulling the crank out to get to those pistons.. I'm assuming you didn't have an ingenious way of testing for this without pulling the pistons out?



No need to pull the crank. Pistons come out the top. To test you do a leak down test first to see if the problem is in the head or the block. If the head is ok, remove it, then adjust the crank so pistons are at the same or similar position down the cylinder, and fill with transmission fluid. Monitor the amount of level drop over the next 24 hours. A cracked piston or broken ring will show up pretty soon.
 
Originally Posted by Silverado12
If these were so durable you would still see some on the road. I still see old Cavaliers but virtually no old Camrys from the same era.


It's 30+ year old car. I don't think I've seen an '80s Cavalier around here in 10 years. I don't think I see an '80's or older car on the road here more than once or twice a month.
 
I see 1980s cars on the road almost every day and we have rust like crazy. Usually it's g bodies or f bodies or mustangs, etc, trucks. Very few economy cars but I have seen the odd mid 80s cavalier as well as the odd Corolla.
 
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