Toyota Camry Used Engines: A Smart Buy

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The Toyota Camry was birthed in 1983 with a 2.0L engine. The platform has matured over the years. The vehicles now have much more passenger and luggage space, and the top of the line Camry is now equipped with a 3.5L VIN K engine. Growing up has not changed the main reason people like Camry’s: quality.

When a Toyota Camry engine fails, most mechanics will immediately suspect abuse. The thought of a Camry engine failing for natural reasons just doesn’t click with experienced mechanics unless the engine in question is one with very high miles. My sister, for example, drives a 1996 Toyota Camry with a 2.2L 5S-FE engine. Her engine has over 250,000 miles on it, and it drives like a top. Besides regular oil and spark plug changes, I have only had to change her timing belt and water pump once. If I felt like there was any danger in her becoming stranded, I would buy her another car, but the fact that she is in a Camry sets my mind at ease. Even with the high miles on her engine, she has 180 compression straight across on the engine and around 50psi on the oil pressure at idle. In other words, this engine has a lot of life left on it.

Any time we receive a call from someone inquiring about a Camry engine, my first thought is “Now what in the world have they done?” The most common reasons for Camry engine failure are overheating the engine and lack of oil changes. This is definitely something that is categorized under abuse, no ifs ands or buts! No one will ever admit they have abused an engine, of course, and sometimes I wonder how many people realize how hard they are on cars!

2007 and newer Toyota Camry’s were offered with a 3.5L 2GR-FE engine and a 2.4L 2AZ-FE engine. Both of these engines are available in other vehicles. The 2AZ-FE engine doesn’t seem to be quite as reliable as the 2.2L FS-FE engine that it replaced, but it is still one of the best engines in production in the world.

2002-2006 Toyota Camry’s came with 2.4L 2AZ-FE, 3.0L 1MZ-FE, and, for 2004-2006, 3.3L 3MZ-FE engines. All of these are very reliable. In fact, I can count on both hands the number of major problems we’ve seen with 3MZ-FE engines.

Finally, 1994-2001 engines used the 5S-FE 2.2L engine and 3.0L 1MZ-FE. This was, in my opinion, the most reliable generation of Camry’s. I have access to great deals on cars, and I choose to put my family members in this generation of Toyota Camry.

Having examined the reliability of the latest 3 generations of the Toyota Camry, let us then examine our premise for this article, which is that a used Toyota Camry engine is a great buy. In order for something to be a great buy, it has to be a great value. Value = cost – benefits. Cost on replacement Camry engines can be very reasonable if you know how to shop. Make sure though, that you only buy a Low Mileage Engines. I repeat: You want a Low Mileage Engines. A high mileage Camry engine will probably work, but why spend the money to replace an engine if you’re not going to get maximum life? The answer is that a wise person probably would opt for maximum life. And that is what I recommend.

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Source by John David Embry, Jr.