Questions and Answers

Toyota Camry Won't Start Q. 1987 Toyota Camry. Question: The car cannot be started. I replaced the distributor cap and the rotor. Put in a new computer, a new fuel pump. The car is catching when cranked but will not start. I have spark and fuel pressure at the filter. dealer originally said I had a bad fuel pump. What else can I replace? Leonard

A. Well Leonard, you can replace a lot of things. You can replace the injectors, the fuel pressure regulator, the fuel pump relay, air flow meter, main relay, lots of things. And one of them may actually fix the problem.

Throwing parts at a problem is a very expensive way to fix a car. You can spend hundreds of dollars on parts and change every single part and still not fix it. Mechanics have to be detectives to narrow down and pinpoint a problem.

First thing we need to do is find out what's missing, fuel or spark. Take an old spark plug and gap it to about 0.200". Unplug one of the spark plugs and plug the test plug into it. Lay it on top of the engine, something metal for a good ground. Now crank the engine and see if you have spark, If not, it's an electrical problem.

If you have spark, disconnect a vacuum line from the intake manifold. While someone cranks the engine over, spray carburetor cleaner into the intake. If the engine runs, you have a fuel problem.

Once we narrow this down we can go from there.