What should I do with the Corolla?

What should I do with the Corolla?

Some of you may remember my Seafoam incident..motor overheated and blew stuff (runs fine but doesn't hold compression..at all). As much as I'd like to blame Seafoam, I'm guessing the thermostat stuck shut..and since the car wasn't running, well, stuff boiled.

Anyway, the car has about 200k on it- Fidanza flywheel, ACT clutch, Tokico blues & (tired) Intrax springs...2.25" catback, resonator & muffler and an ELP CAI.

It burned oil pretty badly before- is it worth pulling the motor and rebuilding it, worth swapping motors entirely, or should I just part it out or sell as-is? Sold as-is, I can't imagine I'd get more than a few hundred bucks. I don't mind working on cars, but I also don't have a garage...just limited barn space (enough room to keep my bike inside).

Thoughts, opinions, comments? Anybody want to come to NH or Maine and pick up my 'ex'?

Hard to say - could always hold onto it for a project vehicle later. Of course I say that and I have two older "muscle cars" still waiting to get worked on - they have been sitting in the garage for almost 15 years :lol (maybe my son will work on them - he's five now). To sell as-is or part out, that is a little harder to say.

If the interior/exterior/glass are mint - you probably stand a good chance of getting more from the car parting it out. Engine might be shot - but the transmission is still worth some money - A/C components (compressor, condensor) can net you a good chunk of change.

On the other hand, selling as-is will definitely free up space. You probably won't make as much - but you don't have to deal with the leftovers from parting out a car (i.e. hauling it to a junk yard, getting the neighbors pissed at you, etc.)

You might also consider donating the car to a trade school - they are always looking for cars to work on and you get a potential tax write-off as well.

At first glance, Id say part out. If you did, I would say dibs on stuff, but Ill hold back.

well you could always make it a site donor car, because you know most of the parts would be taken, but you could always go the route of getting a 1ZZFE from a 03-07 as those dont have many cases of the oil burning and such problems as the 8th gen

if you can do a motor swap, i would go for it. I had my mechanic do one for another friend of mine a while back, same engine, lower miles, and though it cost $2000, it was done in 2 days. With the new engine, it runs better and cleaner and better gas mileage. So he's going to keep it until it dies.

If I were you, I would probably do a swap as well if it doesn't take that long (whether you do it yourself or have someone do it) and if you can get it done for cheap enough, maybe even sell it for a good price. economical car prices have jumped significantly in the past two years. I saw a used 2003 corolla LE 65K miles selling for $11,000 at a local used car sales place. I'm sure they would eventually bring it down to like $8000 or $7000 but still... dealers are making money..

at first when i bought my corolla from my dad, i was expecting him to sell me his 01 V6 camry, but now reflecting on it im glad i have my 00 rolla, and if my engine dies ill prob swap rather than get a new car, just love my baby haha

also corollabest is selling a non-vvti, might be worth it just for the price

I say you buy the motor from CorollasBest and get her running again.

plus the non-vvti dont seem to have as many oil problems as our 8.5 gens

I don't have any.

How much would it cost shipped to 03766? It'd save me a lot of fuel to run it in the winter vs my Tundra..

It needs a windshield- that's about it, I think.

I'd say buy the motor from CorollaBest too...you already have the car and if its just the motor then swap and you have a perfectly fine car afterwards

x3

I agree with everyone else. I've decided I'm keeping my rolla forever. If this happens to me, I would get a new engine too.

to tell you the truth i never did get any oil burning problem or any signs of it.the saying goes to a healthy engine is to oil change every 3k miles and let your car warm until rpm settles down(1k rpm)i did this and never had any problem.

I'm only keeping it long enough until my new project car is running reliably. Then it's being sold.

sell me parts from it.

CAI, will take the flywheel/clutch rofl few other things. except im broke.

^ just put it on a lay-away plan

i can take out a loan xD

I've found some area junkyards with engines in the $350-600 range, so it would probably be cheaper for me to get one locally- I'll see if I can find one around here that's in good shape.

Anyone know if the 03+ swap is easily done, or am I looking at more headaches than it's worth?

yes. someone has done it on here before i think.

plu did..he paid $2000 in labor alone- total cost in the $4k range. A little pricey for me...maybe palatable if I did the labor and found a motor for under a grand.

If you know what you are doing and have time you can do it yourself by ordering a wiring harness from dr. tweak.

$475 for the harness, $1000-2000 for the motor..then I run into problems like this- I just found an '88 Supra for $1k. Heh..

Oh. Get the Supra then, spend the $1-2k on a new motor for the Supra

I just found a 2zz in PA for $1k...

That swap is alot of work tho. You'll also need the 6-speed to go along with it, because our transmissions won't work. I think Dr. Tweak did a conversion, you should definitely talk to him.

I've been talking to him already- he just told me that the 5sp tranny will work.

He's absolutely right. It will.