'96 Celica Not Starting, Bogging

Maintenance/Repairs
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1

Hi-

Help, please! I have a 1996 Toyota Celica automatic transmission with just under 160k miles. It’s always been a great car, very reliable and very few problems. A few days ago, it started having trouble starting (engine would turn over and not fire, usually starts after four or so tries) and then will bog down considerably while taking off from a stop until it shifts into second gear. No problem idling, not stalling.

Mechanic changed fuel filter, checked fuel pressure, plugs, cam and ignition timing, catalytic converter - all okay. Thinks it might be the distributor but would take a few hundred dollars worth of work to diagnose, plus whatever expense if it is the distributor, and obviously more if it is not. I don’t have a bunch of extra cash, and something about this solution worries me.

Might it be the distributor? Has anybody run into this problem? Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

2

I don’t believe it’s the distributor. If there were a problem with the distributor it would cause a misfire which would cause the Check Engine light to come on with a code for a misfire.

But what I would check out is the MAP sensor. This sensor measures the Manifold Absolute Pressure and the computer uses this information to determine how much fuel should be added to the engine. And the computer also uses the signal from the MAP sensor to determine at what position the EGR valve should be positioned at for the throttle position. So if the MAP sensor is faulty not only will the engine bog down from improper fuel delivery, but also from the EGR valve being in the wrong position.

Tester