Toyota Camry Engine Problems

I'd say you have an engine problem, perhaps a cracked head.  Chemiweld is mostly used for a temporary repair to seal a crack in the cooling system without tearing the engine down and doing a proper fix. It's worked to some degree in that the engine is no longer running roughly and there is less steam coming from the exhaust, but the problem still appears to be there. Pull the engine down and find the real cause of the problem.

The consumption is higher than I would expect. When new Toyota was claiming 11.0 L/100 km in city driving and 8.0 or so on the highway, but after 280,000 km you could expect it to have worn a little and the compression would be down, so you would anticipate that you wouldn't be getting close to the new figures. Even so your consumption does seem too high.

Your mechanic is correct, it's very hard to fix if the problem doesn't manifest itself when he's there to observe it. But I would suggest you start by checking the ignition system, the coils and crank angle sensor.

Radiators fail from time to time on all makes and models. The Camry doesn't stand out as being a problem car in that respect. Toyota has come to the party with an offer to cover the cost of the radiator and fluid, that's a good deal and I would suggest you accept it.

I wouldn't be too concerned about it. Sooty deposits can be because it was running rich, and you could see that in your fuel economy which would have suffered if it were wildly out of whack. If there were no change in the car's performance I would keep driving it and watch for any sign of a malfunction before having it checked.

I would persist with cleaning the injectors and have them cleaned, the injector cleaners work best when they’re used regularly, they don’t always work when only used when there’s a problem.

THOUGH the original question related to the Camry, the advice relates to all fuel-injected cars.

A MECHANIC mate recommends using the cleaner regularly, whether running on regular unleaded or premium. He advises using it once a month, not once a year, which is too infrequent to be of any benefit.

IT DEPENDS on the location of the leak. If it is from the front cover it will be fixed when the belt is serviced, but if it's from the front crankshaft seal it won't be and that will have to be an additional job. It's best to do them at the same time if you have to because that should save you some money compared with doing them independently. There's not much chance of the oil leaking into the cylinders.

THERE'S no problem running the V6 on LPG. It's a popular conversion. There's an IMPCO kit available that fits well into the car.