94 Camry 5SFE acceleration issue after timing belt change

[zuper8]

Mark recently bought a 94 Camry from a family member with 195K. I know the car and it's history quite well fortunately. 5SFE 4 cyl engine.

Symptoms: I replaced the timing belt on it (first timing belt change!). I'm happy I got it done and the car runs. However, a problem has come up after the job. The car does not accelerate as readily, especially in low gear, and at all speeds it seems to have to rev a little higher than it used to before the trans will shift (auto trans). Now it is definitely an old tired transmission, but it seems to be a big coincidence that the shifting got seemingly "off" after the timing belt change. The issue is far more pronounced going from 1st to second. Higher gears are much less effort, but still seeming to require a little more throttle to achieve. If you are on level ground, the trans seems to shift flawlessly at the appropriate RPM. But on even a small incline, the symptoms appear.

So here's the entirety of what I did:

- Replaced timing belt (Dayco)
- Replaced timing belt tensioner and idlers (Dayco)
- Replaced water pump
- Replaced leaky oil pump seal and crank seal
- Replaced plugs (Autolite platinums)
- Replaced wires (Duralast gold)
- Replaced PCV valve
- Replaced negative battery terminal
- Replaced PS belt (Dayco), alt belt fairly new
- Oil change

Car is operable and has been daily driven since the completion of the job over 3 weeks ago. I just know it wasn't like this before, and naturally the mileage isn't as good either. From the Toyota guides I was following, I was under the impression that if the timing was off it would be really dramatic. But it seems to run decently smooth for a 22 year old car, just doesn't have the same throttle response it used to and seems to rev higher before shifting. And low gear on a steep incline is truly pathetic! Any ideas as to where I could have gone wrong?

[Jrs3800]

Generally if you are a tooth off it could still run, but may run poorly..

If all of the timing marks were spot on when you added tension to the belt, I would then tell you to look elsewhere.. 1 tooth can make a big difference in the way it runs, but on the money is simply that.

Is the Check Engine light on at all?

Does it start easy?

Does it stumble at all?

The flat ground is odd, unless it may be low on trans fluid? What is the condition of the fluid?

Also iirc that generation of camry had the electronic trans, the TPS if its having issues can cause driveability issues as well..

[repinS]

Best generation of Camry, IMO.

Along with what Don said, it's distributor ignition, right? Did ignition timing get touched during the job? Any crank or camshaft sensors get jarred?

[zuper8]

Oh I'm glad you say that, I have a feeling it's going to be a very good car for us and certainly less needy than a Bonneville! Although it's really boring, I'm glad Mark is driving it.

So, I did unplug the distributor and re plug it during the job, I did this so I could bump the starter to loosen the crank bolt (not great I know, but I was not able to hold the flywheel with s screwdriver like I can with 3800s). So there's that... as for sensors, I did not unplug any of them, frankly I did not notice the crank sensor at all, was it supposed to be behind the hb? I wonder how it could have escaped my notice while I was changing out the crank oil seal. And lastly, mark was the one who removed and installed the new plug wires, we did not change the distributor cap or rotor however. Perhaps that would be a good idea...