pls help me guys,my camry 98model(tiny lights) brings out thick black smoke.the engine oil has been changed and plugs to. the mechanic now said its the air flow meter,it has been changed and it still smokes. has any1 experienced such b4?what can i do about it?I reside in portharcout.waiting for your candid replays.thanks.

Have a rewire reset/check your brainbox. Its very key

@ onwan,thanks alot. I will consider checking the brain box.

Kindly get you Car diagnosed. I am pretty sure the CHECK ENGINE LIGHT is ON unless it has been tampered with.

Diagnosing you Car will let you have access to the exact problem which will further facilitate repair without any guess work.

For further enquiries, you can get me on this line: +234 803 5496 482 or lexyzs@yahoo.com

somebody had this same problem here in the forum. the person had to change the brainbox.

don't do that.

Its emission related, do a tune-up and clean you fuel injectors.

Your check engine light is on, get the codes.

@edwin 101,

you were refering to me AND THIS IS MY INITIAL POST:

My toyota camry 99 v6 smokes, it doesnt smoke at the start of the engine, steams well without smoke but the smoke comes when u accelerate. It consumes A LITTLE more fuel to my view.

When i start the car and steam it, it moves well but after some time, it jarks at the initial acceleration but balances up when u re on speed.

My mechanic recommend me to change two things:

1. the brain box ( to stop the smoke)
2. the fuel pump ( to stop the jarking).

Please, advice before i take the wrong step.



THATS TRUE.

@poster,

Dont waste ur money any longer on changing or servicing parts, The smoke is thick and peperish in nature signifying fuel consumption, GO CHANGE THE BRAIN BOX BEFORE IT WILL DAMAGE THE ENGINE.

IF YOU NEED ANY BACKGROUND INFO ON HOW TO GO ABOUT IT, CONTACT ME TO SHARE IDEAS.

seal4all@yahoo.com(ONLINE MOST OF THE TIME)
08034429268

I think the problem is that a lot of people do not know what the brainbox actually does.

Its actually the brain and a lot of the vehicle's basic operations are tied and wired to it; and it always tries to find a balance - which explains why the combustion, plugs firing, nuzzles, everything and anything can be affected by the brainbox.

At times a simple reset can do the trick, at times (which is very rare) a complete change is required.

@onwan
@poster

We all learn from experience: A guy had similar problem with his Camry and had to pay through his nose to get a solution.

It’s a thick smoke issue and he was ask to change the brain box but as a result of advices from different engineers he had the car diagnosed, changed the air filter, fuel filter, fuel pump,the plugs, the oil and so on to no avail but in the process the engine was tampered with.

When the problems persist and it was smoking and consuming fuel at an alarming rate, making the car a nightmare driving experience, he agreed to change the whole engine.

To his charging surprise, the car still smokes.

According to him, he shamefully agreed to change the brain box and to his amazement, the car stopped smoking right at the point of changing the brain box.

I quite agree with you but in my own case I never regret accepting my mechanics advice to change the brain box.

It’s possible to get a reset as u said or get it diagnosed but I wouldn’t want to go through such exercise when I have the assurance of a good result by changing the brain box.

Its unexplainable but you need to drive the car before and after the problem, I AM A HAPPY AND PROUD OWNER OF A CAMRY 1999 V6 AMERICAN SPEC.

SECRET : My mechanic told me that considering the state of the car and the price i bought it, he concluded the owner sold the car as a result of his engineer’s inability to find a solution to the smoking issue.

Well thats the case.

If you check the thread; you will notice that my advise was to have the brainbox checked/reset or fixed.

Most of us offer advise from experience; you might want to understand that as well.

If you want to change the brainbox out-rightly, its your call/cash. My experience is that it can be fixed and reset.

I do not know about diagnostics and all that computer thing; I know a good rewire can take care of that task.

@Onwan,

pls comment on this if you have an idea.
One surprising thing about this whole issue is the fact that the guy claimed replacing it with TOYOTA CAMRY brain box will only last months before it starts to smoke again, so the brain box was replaced with that of TOYOTA SIENNA ( ummmm , na wa for nigerian engineer ooooooo)

the real test is getting a good re wire as u ve said, if u can offer a helping hand to the guy by introducing your re wire to him, that will be wonderful.

Its not a nice experience to live with, when it comes to driving experience, FOR THIS HARD TIME WEY  MONEY NO DEY.

I think you should be involved in this; go with your car and your current mechanic/rewire to Ladipo market. When you get there, after lobbying a parking space there, ask your man to remove the brainbox - now go into the market to the toyota camry brainbox and sensors side.

They will give you about 3 of your exact types; you will then go with one of their sales persons back to your car and try those. One of them will work and you are done. Don't care about what that idiot is saying about Sienna brainbox. Its not your model so its not optimized for your model.

Cheers

If you change the current one, make sure you keep the old one; It usually only needs to be repaired or reset. I used a lexus once and it had that problem - the rewire had the brainbox reset and I paid him 1,500.

@ Onwan,

The guy whose car has the problem seem not to be responding, I am just posting my suggestions.

I had mine changed at ladipo months ago and has since been using the car in perfect condition

I still have the old one i changed in my car, who knows, i might convert it to cash one day

thanks a million guys.sorry 4 not responding just came back 4rm a journey.@seal777.@onwa and co i appreciate. my camry is a 4 cylinder engine and yes it consumes a whole lot of fuel.my engine has been tamperd by quacks and it hurts me.thats y i decided 2 seek the advice from NL guys.well i guess i have to give it a shot.i will change the brain box.
@onwa i reside in ph and i guess ur descreption is in lagos.thanks once again.

Thanks alot guys. I changed the brain box of my car and the smoke has since then stopped .The fuel economy is also excellent. The car is back 2 shape and am glad about it. Thanks once again 4 all those that contributed to solve the problem.I really apprecite.

I AM PARTICULARLY HAPPY FOR YOU COS I WAS ONCE ON THAT ROAD BUT FOR GOD.

Atleast we can help ourselves save cherished cash and help the economy grow by preventing aviodable waste in the hands of our dear colleague in progress( auto machanics ).

@onwa,
thanks my man for making the thread meaningful.

Anytime sir

Please let me know how much you paid for the Engine and brain-box of the 1998 Toyota Camry

@kafin

What was changed in both instances was the brain box, not the engine.

I am not sure of the price of the engine, expect a reply as soon as i can get the information.

As for the brain box, it ranges from 25,000 to 30,000 naira, though i changed mine for 25,000 including installation.(Nothing is secret in nairaland )

Thanks Seal777, it is a good and encouraging feeling when information is shared.

@kaffin,
i only changed the brain box,and it cost me 20k.i reside in ph,incase u want to know my location.

great nairalanders. I just read this thread. Plz can anyone of u guys advice me on what to do about my toyota Camry 95 model fuel consumption? Its becoming unbearable. I decided not to allow these funny mechanics fiddle wit it, Some say its the air flow meter, timing too high. And all that. Plz assist me wit ur candid advices,

Don't change the Air-flow meter/sensor yet.

For high fuel consumption, there is a very important part that you need to either clean or change - Its the Air filter. If you have a bad air-flow meter; you would be having rough idle and your vehicle will be shaking and stuff like that.

Tell them to remove the air filter - Its a framed paper like thing. Mostly, people just take it to a Vulcanizer to blow - but in your case I will suggest you have it changed.

Also have them thoroughly clean the airflow system - all the hose and the part of it that attaches to the throttle body. Also have them clean the injector/nussles.

Summary:
Most important is the air filter (Change it), then clean the air system - from the air filter housing to the big hose, then to that part of the throttle body that the big hose connects to.

Test for a while and observe; then if you dont get an impressive mileage you can have them service the injector/nuzzle system.

PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS MUST BE DONE BY A REWIRE. NOT A MECHANIC.

Pls i must say that i really appreciate you guys on NL. My Rover 620 is consuming too much fuel. I have done alot of things to no avail to correct it. I changed the fuel filter, clean the injector, bought new plugs and yet the problem is still there. It all started with this smoking of a thing and my mechanic after so much attempts have to disconnect the trottle body sensor. This actually stop the smoking but the high fuel consumption is still there. Imagine i have to consume about 20 litres from Benin to Warri which is less than 90Km. I will appreciate if you guys can guide me on the next step to take to correct this problem.

If your Rewire/Mechanic has done all those things and you are still having the issue then its the brainbox.

If you cant get anyone you are sure will reset or repair it for you then have them remove it, and take it to the parts marker - Ladipo preferred - let them give you the exact model of your vehicle. That should sort it out.

It will be cheaper IF you can get someone to fix the brainbox though.

Thanks Onwan. I will definitely replace the brainbox ASAP. I will keep you posted.

Anytime.

Just make sure they give you the exact one for your model.

@onwan,
the Guru him self, are u sure u will not arrange a symposium on BRAIN BOX?.

We seem to be living in the past, we acqire millenium cars without acquring millenium knowledge, na wa oh.

All these infos are on the net free of charge for who ever cares to update their knowledge.

KNOWLEDGE IS POWER and it saves some money, valuable time and heart beat bro

@Seal777
The thing is that the stress a car gives is more than the cost of repairs. It can be a nightmare. And I also found out that in most cases when you have a problem; you mechanic is as confused as you are BUT will not let you know - and of course they can experiment because you brought the car to them.

Its good to learn about one's vehicle - In fact one is forced to learn - except you are ready to have them mess up your vehicle for you and then they make you sell it to them for peanuts. They can be very wicked.