"It's dead, Jim." Well now what?

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hawkeye122

hawkeye122

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gdwest1
Well, my Camry is more or less dead.

A month ago, I got the clutch replaced, costing me about $850. But after that the car was flawless. The timing belt still needed doing, but I will get financial aid money in March to pay for that.

It's a this point that I should probably clarify something..
"Dude, you were gonna use your PELL money to pimp your ride? That's hella messed up brah."
I live 25-30 minutes away from my Community college, in a county where the public transit is non-existent. My car is a vital part of the link between me and my education (and, incidentally, the two jobs I hold helping Junior High students learn about engineering). Additionally, I receive the BOGG fee waiver, meaning I simply pay a $45 admin fee and books, which means about $300 a semester out of my pocket. On top of that I get $5k per year in PELL grants, which I must have spent prior to going to university or lose them.

Anyways, I fixed the clutch, drive for a day or so, and then I had a tyre blow on me. $250 later, I have 4 new ones (old tyres didn't meet claimed mileage, I got a solid rebate). Car is great.

Fast forward to today, on my drive to school I hear a rather obnoxious rattling noise. Gearbox? I rowed through a couple different gears, and the noise remained. Ok, that's probably just the timing belt letting go. Ah well, it needed doing anyway, and this isn't an interference engine. We good. I'll just drop it by my mechanic today and make sure.

"Uh oh. Rev it again."
He winced.
"Yeah, that's a rod son. I'm sorry. Run it with low oil?"
He's my best friend's father, he had no reason to lie or try to screw me.

****! The dealer hadn't put the sticker in the window, so i had forgotten to check it periodically. I'm monumentally pissed at myself. It would've taken 45 seconds to ask when it was due for service, and even less to just PUT IN A QUART OF OIL.

Well now what?! Do I suck up the $2k and put the replacement engine in it? Register it salvage and get next to nothing for it? Replace the engine and get rid of it then?

The thing is, I had this planned E46 purchase (My father pays 1k more to insure our Geo Tracker than the Camry) (I get the BMW, father gets the Camry, saving us a killing in insurance AND fuel. Non-op the Tracker until we need it for emergencies) but now it's like... Idk.
It's been my family's car since it was new. The only reason I kept it was the reliability. There was sentimental value but I feel like putting a new engine in... It's not the same.

While there's stuff recently fixed, I also know that the alternator will likely go in the near future. The shocks are in desperate need of replacing. The rear brakes need doing. The windshield has a large crack in it.

You guys are more level-headed than the Opposite Lock/Jalopnik guys. What should I do?
 
Knowing that even after you drop a new motor the car will still need work, I'd let it go. If A-B transpiration is all you need, I'd hunt down a cheap Civic or ironically, another Camry :lol:. They can be found for under 2k in running order. My buddy at work picked up an early 90's Ford Focus for $800 and all it needed was a new radiator, gas and oil.
 
Put some oil in it and see if the knocking goes away. If it doesn't go away, then worry about it.


There's always the ability to have the engine rebuilt without replacing it as well. It won't be cheap, but you can't put a price on sentimental value. At least for me anyways.
 
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It would be pretty much impossible, considering you're in college, to part it out, but that's somewhat a possibility. It would take a long time and it most likely wouldn't be worth the trouble but it's an option (I guess, lol).

And +1 on the 2 posts above mine. They make way more sense than my suggestion :lol:.
 
I think I'd agree with Harry - get a civic. I mean Honda today is the new Toyota in a lot of ways - old people drive them, but if you go back far enough, a great 90s Civic hatch would be fun. Or something completely left field, plenty of other japanese brands to choose from, or even german if you go cheap enough.
 
You could get another Honda Civic, Accord or another Camry in good running order for just about what it'll cost to fix your current car. I'd go that route instead of spending money on another engine when the car will still need quite a bit more work after that.

You could also get a mid '80's diesel Rabbit or Jetta. Over 50mpg, easy as pie to work on and they can be had for pretty damn cheap. The biggest thing you need to worry about on those (in my experience at least) it rust and with you being in California that shouldn't be an issue at all.
 
I feel like getting another Camry would be like owning, say, a Black lab, which then dies but it's ok, because you got another. It's just gonna be not the same.

I really don't fit in Civics very well.. My head touches my roof in a major way. Tall guy probz..

Now the Rabbit would be cool, but again, idk if I would fit so well. My mother tells me about hers a lot, apparently it was gutless. Did they do a Rabbit GTi?

E30 328e perhaps? Older Celica? Obviously something sporty is preferred but not required.

@Slash Been there, done that. The noise is fractionally quieter, but still there
 
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hawkeye122
I really don't fit in Civics very well.. My head touches my roof in a major way. Tall guy probz..
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I'm quite tall myself, the best solution I found for Civics is to get a "mild" bucket seat that brings you lower down.

Gives you more head room and you feel more "In control" if that makes sense.
 
I'm horribly biased but a well-looked-after E30 would be practically as good to you as a Civic or Camry in terms of dependable transport, other than parts prices if anything goes wrong.

I can certainly relate to the sentimental value, but if you've already saved to get something more to your liking, and you can smooth it over with your father to get something for yourself (since he was supposed to get the Camry back), I think you should go ahead with the plan rather than sinking more into the Camry or another simple A-B car. As long as you don't rush into anything without the proper research or inspection, it should be fine. 👍
 
Fix current car, sell.
Know budget buy another car responsibly. Just dont waste your money on a replacement that is a money sink.
 
If I was looking for cheap running and reliability at that kind of age/budget I'd be looking for something Japanese, not a Euro car (even a BMW). I don't know what the parts are like stateside but in Europe for premier marques like Audi, BMW, Merc, they can be very expensive.

That said, I was looking at an E46 the other day... fun over sense... grrr.. :)
 
Don't know much about prices in the US as far as cars and parts go , but it is pretty simple actually .
Make a list with all the things needing fixing on the camry ... and then calculate how much its gonna cost you ...
If you get 4 new tires for 250$ ( +- 180 euro ) then i would consider it to be dirt cheap ...
Then again 2K for an engine swap is ridiculous ...

Keep in mind ( i am only assuming ) that european car dealers are not that commen in you're area , i might be wrong offcourse ... but this might limit you're options for getting parts in the future ... yeah yeah a BMW is nice and when i was a lot younger i was looking non stop at them also ... but they are expensive and unless you have a junkyard around the corner with a couple of beemers there some small parts may blow you away on prices to replace ....
 
Why would an engine swap cost $2k? Go pull a runner out of the junk yard for a couple hundred and be done with it. Everything doesn't always have to be brand new. Just because the junker car is wrecked doesnt mean the motor isn't good.
 
Slash
Why would an engine swap cost $2k? Go pull a runner out of the junk yard for a couple hundred and be done with it. Everything doesn't always have to be brand new. Just because the junker car is wrecked doesnt mean the motor isn't good.
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This engine has been rebuilt and only has 116,000 miles on it, along with a six month warranty. The engine cost itself was only $1300, and I filled in the blank with labor costs. He dropped the engine to do the clutch, so I'm guessing it's broadly the same.

@UrieHusky True, but then I'm spending money on new seats.

My mother is really reluctant to let me get another car, which is unfortunate. It would have to end up meeting her standards (Which are flawed on account of she knows nothing about cars) whereas my father seems to trust my judgment. I still don't really know what I'm going to do. For now, I really need to sort out how to get around until my money comes...
 
I've seen rod knocks fixed by replacing the just bearing, (assuming it's the the crank end) it's a backyard hack thing to do but if it works for a while...
Is it just the 1 rod knocking ? If so it may be isolated by removing the plug wire while the engine is running, the noise may disappear or be significantly reduced when you pull the wire off the offending cylinder.

I'd only try this if your just trying to get another few months or a year out it, like I said its a hack fix.
 
When is it knocking? All the time? Just when you rev it?
 
Slash
When is it knocking? All the time? Just when you rev it?
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MOST of the time. Below 2000 RPM and minimal throttle input tends to get it to stop, but on lift-off it resumes. If you just give it a stab in neutral it does it anyway.
 
If you rev it does it do it all the time or only when the revs come back down? By all the time I mean as rpms rise and decrease.
 
Hmm. I think the only way you'll really know then is to pull it apart. There's a number of things it could be with those symptoms.


A bad connecting rod will be loudest when the engine slows down after a rev. For example, you rev your engine and it sound fine and when you let off,knock knock knock. What you are telling me sounds more like it spun a bearing and is easily repairable without causing lasting damage to the engine if caught early. Not a challenging fix for most mechanics, simply drop the oil pan and look for heat marks that are more frequent on one than another and replace them. Knock should go away. This is kind of what Mikey said earlier. This route is much cheaper than a new car or having the engine replaced.

Not sure if your motor is OHV which I doubt but another thing is the chance of a collapsed hydraulic lifter but that will be much higher pitched and can be all the time.

How long exactly did you go like that before the knocking started?
 
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Yeah I remember your BMW dilema a while back. I'll say it again: I think it's time to let the Camry go and look for something else (but not the Beamer).
 
A video clip with good sound would be helpfully too so we can hear the pitch or tone of the knock.

Try to isolate what cylinder/piston/rod is causing the noise, pull one plug wire at a time and see if/or when the noise decreases. Removing the load from the cylinder can sometimes eliminate or decrease the noise, does not always work but it just takes literally 1 minutes to try. Then do what @Slash says, drop the pan and have a peek. Not sure how easy it is to drop the pan in a Camry, sometimes there is a cross-member or exhaust pipe in the way. Start with draining the oil and look for bearing material, and check the filter too, look for copper flakes or particles. All this will cost is a little time and effort but can save you big money in the long run....don't give up on her yet, that car deserves a little of your time and effort, she's been good to your family, be good to her :)
 
Yup copper flakes, or flakes in general are a sign of a bad main bearing. Being that it's constant I think that might be it. Like Mikey said, a video would really help.
 
Slash
Hmm. I think the only way you'll really know then is to pull it apart. There's a number of things it could be with those symptoms.


A bad connecting rod will be loudest when the engine slows down after a rev. For example, you rev your engine and it sound fine and when you let off,knock knock knock.
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This most accurately describes what happens. It also knocks lightly above 2000 RPM, but it's not nearly as loud.
I probably drove it 7 miles after the knocking started, straight to the shop.

I asked about the bearings and he said that if that WAS the case, it would be silly to just replace those. And by the time he opens it to make sure the rod is the issue, he may as well rebuild it, which would be silly, since it would be cheaper to get replaced.
My mother is rather effectively cornering me into keeping it and getting it fixed, which means I want EVERYTHING in that ruddy car to be tip-top. New alternator, radiator, power steering pump, cords, hoses, everything. No sense in getting a new engine and then having something else happen later on down the road.
 
Yes silly to replace just bearings if you want long term reliability. If the car is solid and rust free then I'd get it fixed, if the car is worth 2 grand with a good engine then spend 2 grand to fix it, you can buy another car just like it for 2 grand but then you get something you know nothing about. I'd prefer the repaired car I know the history of.

When you own a car there's always something (to go wrong) down the road :)
 
Like I said before, have a motor pulled from a junker and have it installed. Sometimes cars get trashed but the motor is still good.

What's the cost to have it rebuilt? I can't imagine a ton, people have V8s built for not a lot.
 

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