Camry vs Windom - What to look for?

[Dina]

Hi all,
Iam in the market for a daily driver and have found a couple of cars I am looking at tomorrow. The first is a 1992 Toyota Camry Prominent.
The second is a 1994 Toyota Windom. Both 3l V6 models and both traveled around the 170-180,000km mark.

Is there anything I should look for with these two vehicles? Any known problems, faults etc..

If anyone could share some info or experiences it would be appreciated.

Cheers

[z|gen]

biggest thing would be making sure the cambelts have been done.
and what condition the autos are in..if auto

[andyztouring]

Be very wary of buying Camry/Windoms with the 2/3VZ-FE(2.5 and 3 litre) engines,they have a design fault which causes the engine block to corrode leading to blown head gaskets,oftens starts to show at the 180ish kms mark.Replacement engines are very hard to get and expensive(when I needed an engine about 3 years ago they wanted $1850 upwards with no guarantee as for condition).If you must get a Camry/Windom get the later model with the 1MZ-FE (I think that the code),they didn`t have the same issues.

[Dina]

is the engine type written on it or do I have to look for a chassis stamp/plate?

[rollaholic]

you'll have to check the build plate, but i think both those cars are too old to have a 1mz

[hsmidy]

yeah um dont get one man , they arent worth the hassle every one i have knowen has blowen a head gasket

[matt dunn]

The common problems we see at work are broken engine mounts which leads to broken air intakes between the AFM and the throttle body.

[Mr Revhead]

yes to all of the above

there is a reason you can get these for $2000. or less.....

and why the ES300 lexus based on them is now worth about $4000.....

buy the later 1MZ versions

[darkwolf]

Also air leaks are a bitch in the Windom and anything above 80KPH and the tappet cover seals seem to be leaky.

[Dina]

The camry has a 4VZ-1019680 engine number. Is this also a problem motor? The car itself is reasonable tidy.

Thanks for help so far

[UZZ30]

Be very wary of buying Camry/Windoms with the 2/3VZ-FE(2.5 and 3 litre) engines,they have a design fault which causes the engine block to corrode leading to blown head gaskets,oftens starts to show at the 180ish kms mark.Replacement engines are very hard to get and expensive(when I needed an engine about 3 years ago they wanted $1850 upwards with no guarantee as for condition).If you must get a Camry/Windom get the later model with the 1MZ-FE (I think that the code),they didn`t have the same issues.

Yeah Exactly, thats the main fault Ive commonly seen with the early VZ motor versions.

If you do try get one go for the newer 1995+ version with the 1MZ-FE its not a bad engine from what Ive heard.

[andyztouring]

Dina-What size is the 4VZ engine? 2litre?however the corrision issue affected all the VZ engines,best avoided,nearly as bad as Mitsubishis.

[Dina]

3L

[Dina]

My mistake, it is a 2.5L