car problem....starts and dies

[Dr.Sound]

hey guys, this is to help my sister out.
not a mazda....it's a '99 camry, BUT i know this forums rocks and you guys will be able to help me.

so my sister is 17, knows nothing about cars, and got this camry without my concent......so now i'm stuck reparing it.

problem:
cold start. engine cranks (i bought new batterry 1 month ago)
it starts but as soon as rpms drop from being cranked by starter the motor dies.
if i keep my foot on the gas arround 1500-2000 rpm then it's fine...doesnt sputter or anything.
as soon as i take the foot off RPM just fall and it dies.

NOW, if i keep my foot on gas for like 2 min (car warms up), the problem dissapears. it idles fine on its own.

so what do u think the problem might be?

i posted here because i will get most response in this section, rather then OT.

thanks guys!! (nana)

[ghettobubba2001]

vacumn leak?

[Dr.Sound]

hmm, why would i work fine after it warms up?

[ruskiMSP]

clogged fuel filter? buddy had sort of the same problem, on his jetta, turned out to be FF.

[jrodhotrod]

sounds like a problem my folks had with an Intrepid, turned out to be clogged injectors.

For starters try running some sort of injector cleaner and changing the fuel filter see how that goes. Techron used to work wonders on the 'trep.

[Dr.Sound]

hmm, ok
fuel filter sounds about right.

btw, just by any chance, do any of u guys know where the filter is on a camry?

EDIT: nevermind, got it...it's right under the fuel pump.

[winty87]

My 96 T-Bird would do that sometimes even after driving for 20 min i'd go to park and the RPM's would drop and it would stall and it was an Auto. I change the plugs and wires and it was fine.

[orng1]

Is it a 4 cyl or the V6? Check the compresion and the plugs, bad rings will expand as the car warms up and run better but not perfect also valve seals could cause it to run poor at first start from oil leaking to the combustion chamber over night, check to see if it smokes blue when you start it after it burns out the oil it will run better. Those are my recommendations, I have 2 4cyl Camrys here at my house one is stick and the other is a n auto if you need to see something for comparison or something both run perfect.

[Dr.Sound]

cool man.
btw, it's a 4-cyl.

i'll check all those things.

[Fudgie]

Get your hands on some type of scanner just to confirm coolant temp reading in live data prior to a cold start-up. Clean the TB!! I would remove it from the intake ( I believe the gasket is steel and they always seem to stick to the manifold side). Remove the housing on the bottom (4 little screws w/ a square rubber o-ring, be careful!). Next remove the electrical part of the isc (usually black) 2 screws. Make sure that the isc will rotate nice and smooth in its bore. No hitches. Soak it in carb cleaner. Reassemble, burp the cooling system and I think you should be good to go assuming that cts is w/ in 5-10 degrees of ambient temp. Goodluck

[Fudgie]

Meant to ask if the car idles up for things like A/C and high electrical loads or just stays the same??

[igdrasil]

check maf?

[Bigg Tim]

If it's the 22re motor, that is a somewhat common issue and has been said that it's the "cold start injector". I don't know if it's an actual injector or not, but I had a similar issue in my truck, but mine ended up being some REALLY old plugs. I replaced them and that fixed the issue. I think there is an adjustment by the TB for the cold start injector.