Engine consumption and engine replacement clarification

consumption and engine replacement clarification

I am sorry if this is too much like some other postings. However, after some long searching and calling to JDM engine importers, I need some help or some Advil because of my headache (for real). Currently, I have a 2000 corolla LE with a 1zz and it drinks conservatively over 2 quarts of oil per 300 miles. As mentioned in some other thread, someone had a similar problem where the car did not show any obvious amounts of oil leaks or constant visual exhaust showing the burning of oil. The engine was apart and the engine walls did not show any obvious signs of a “lip” being developed above the piston. Anyways, instead of rebuilding the engine or anything else like that, I want to replace the engine. I called a JDM dealer and he told me that the only engine that is replaceable with the 1zzfe VVTi is the 1zzfe vvti. I want to know are there any other alternatives that have no complications in terms of installation, in other words can be put in with little to no extra parts. Lastly, since I am no expert on auto mechanics please clearly clarify the model numbers and years that will work with my car. Thanks

Well, another 1ZZ would be a direct drop-in. An A-series engine (4A-GE, 4A-GZE, blacktop, and silvertop) would fit with some modification (but not too much, if I understand correctly). A 2ZZ-GE would be a VERY nice swap, but it'll be pricey, plus it's gonna take a good bit of work (not to mention a custom intake and header, maybe banging in the firewall around the header).

Hope this helps even a little. GL.

If what he is saying is true about the "A" series, could anyone elaborate on the modifications needed to put one in.

ecu and wiring harness mainly. maybe the transmission? not sure on that part since the last person who did a swap that i know replaced everything. I would just stick with a 1ZZ again.

As far as the engine eating up oil, did you ever figure that out?

All 01-02 1zzs have this ridiculous problem and in most cases, even a complete rebuild was not able to fix the problem. Most of the guys who had their rollas under warranty had it rebuilt at the dealership and that worked for some of them but not all, so I guess SleepinRolla's theory is the only possibility left out as an explanation. I would recommend getting a new 1zz with warranty on it, coz thats what I'm gonna do, OR you can order heavyduty parts from MWR and get it rebuilt and try your luck...

My engine eats oil .. not as bad as you .. but i def. would do a different engine than the 1zzfe .. probably a 3sgte, 3sge, or maybe the 2zzge

Either do the 1ZZFE again or the 2ZZGE. The 3SGTE or 3SFE will make your car unbalanced and crazy with understeer.

Since I purchased the car at a used auto center and under there "warranty", they thought that because of the symptoms mentioned above in one of my other posts, that it was my head gasket. However, I did not believe them and told them if that was not the problem I was not going to pay for the work or parts. Turns out that I was correct, a new head did not fix the problem and they said that while the engine was apart, that the cylinder walls showed no signs of wearing, no lip or grooves. While they were wrong the first time, can I take their word the second time, or should I get a whole new engine and make shore that the problem is fixed for shore? So that is why I am asking about alternatives to the 1zz series, because I have lost some faith in that particular engine.

This was a while back but When we had our car meet, I was speaking with SleepinRolla (a member who doesn't come here often anymore) and he was mentioning to me something very interesting which was that his theory for the oil being sucked up so quickly is that the PCV hose is sucking up of the oil and and then it gets burned off. If his theory is correct (and I thought it was a great theory) then maybe depending on the engine, the vacuum could be stronger on some engines than others causing oil to be sucked in. The other thing is do you ever smell oil burning like when you first turn on your engine in the mornings or maybe at high RPM's? Also what type of oil is being used? If your oil isn't leaking, then it has to go somewhere.

on www.trdforums.com you can try asking the same question since there are more knowledgeable people there and maybe even Dr. Tweak could help you out. Or something i've always wanted to do but never had the time was to call up the guys at Car Talk on the weekend. 1-888-CAR-TALK i think was their number (help me out here RollaTuner).

Although many people mentioned different engines, I would still recommend sticking with the same engine. It will have the least amount of headaches.

One more question: when did you realize the oil was being eaten up? recently or has it been doing this for a while? also did it gradually happen or did you do something to the car and or maybe one day it just decided to eat up more oil?

lancaster pa area near all the amish

I dont know how cold it gets there but what if you tried 10W30 instead of 5W30. Its a little more thicker so maybe it may not get sucked in through the PCV Valve as easily? This is just a wild thought. That is if the PCV valve is playing a role in the consumption of oil.

I have always used 10W30 in my car but I also live in california. I know people who have used the same in -15degrees weather with no problem so maybe it might work? Input from others might help too.

I would first like to thank you all for your help. To answer a few questions asked by drundsaru, while I do not smell oil being burnt I do however, see oil being burnt when I first turn on my engine in the mornings and at high RPM's around 4000+. I use the factory recommended 5w30 oil and the problem was preexistent when I purchased the car, but has gotten worse over the last 3000 miles (I am now adding about 1 quart extra then when I first got the car which currently has about 12000 mi.)

Many of you suggested staying with the same engine. Which logically for me sounds the best, but what are my chances of having similar issues with another 1zz?

one more stupid question. Where do you live?

If you get an OEM used engine, you MIGHT have the same problem, but some of the Remanufacturing companies like Jasper Engines, have a 3yr/75K nationwide warranty which to me sounds reasonable. Try them....

VVTi Engine oil burning

I am also having the dreaded oil consumption problem with the 1zz-fe. I am pretty sure it is a bad set of piston rings. My problem is not real bad yet, maybe 3/4 to 1 qt per 1,000 miles or so, but I am considering replacing the puistons and rings with a set of Wiseco's. Has anyone out there replaced their pistons and rings and did this permanently fix their problem? Thanks.

will somebody please put a 20b in that would be a swap that i have yet to see in that model corolla.

consumption and engine replacement clarficatio

I have not yet replaced the piston and rings on my 98 corolla with 165,000 miles. I too have the oil consumption issue. My hopeful solution is to use a product called Auto-rx which in theory could release stuck rings and clean up the crud that gets builtup in our engines. I also believe that using auto-rx can prep your engine to make the switch from non-syntheitic to full sythetic.

Well .. ive used both 5w-30 and 10w-30 .. when i was using 5w-30 .. the oil burning was very noticable .. i have about 1/4 of a quart left inside engine when doing oil change. When i used 10w-30 .. i noticed that the oil turned black but still had a good 2 quarts or so inside engine .. so if the theory of the PVC piping consuming the oil is correct .. then maybe we should find an alternative way to pipe.

If your looking at an alternative way to pipe your PVC, then take a look at using an oil catch can or air/oil seperator. Either one of this items will tell you if you have a PVC problem, by allowing you to see how much oil is collected in the can. You can construct one from items readily available at your local Home Depot. Here's the website that tells you how to make the thing: http://www.pbase.com/rsrock/oil_catch_can I've been using this set up on my 2005 Corolla supercharged 1zzfe for sometime now and have had no problems. I think it cost me around $25.00, with tax, to put this thing together. Another problem you maybe having, is your piston rings are going bad. I had this same exact problem with my 1997 4afe powered Corolla before I did a swap with the 3sgte out of a JDM Caldina. The piston rings in the number four cylinder, on my 4afe, were taking a sh** on me and the oil consumtion was going thru the roof. It was strange that the thing never smoked at all but used oil like crazy. But I had a sh** load of oil coming out of the PVC valve and it was going right back into the intake. The reason I say you may have a ring problem is because, when your rings start to wear out you'll get an increase in blow-by into your crankcase due to the compressed gases slipping pass the rings during the compression stroke. This in turn will cause excessive amounts of oil to come out from you PVC valve and also causes your oil to turn black pretty damn quick due to the contaminates in the blow-by. Another cause maybe bad valve stem seals which will somewhat cause the same problem. The best thing to do, would be to perform a pressure test of the cylinders and maybe even a leak down test on each cylinder inorder to figure out whether or not you have a problem with your rings or with your valve stem seals. With a leak down check, you can pretty much pinpoint where the problem is because you'll hear air leaking from the area that has the problem. I hope this helps.

Well .. I know my engine is shit now .. i get good throttle response .. but my gas mileage is down the drain .. and its all stock .. i went from 30mpg .. to 14mpg .. just doing local roads .. i was thinking about doing an engine swap .. or maybe a new car ..

Sounds like your rings or your valve seals might be taken a sh** on you. I bet it's your rings, but it could be both. If your filling up your oil to full on the dipstick and then when you check the level again, 3000 miles later, and you only have two quarts or less in it, then you got some serious problems. I would do the cylinder leak down test on it to pinpoint exactly what item maybe failing on you.

If your looking at doing an engine swap out with anything other then what the car came with, prepare to spend some cash. I'm not trying to scare you or tell you not to do it. I mean don't get me wrong, I'm all for engine swaps. Hell, on my 97 Corolla I swaped my 4afe for 3sgte,out of a JDM Caldina, and then spent thousands to get 500hp on racing fuel (476hp on 91 octane). Every damn penny I spent in that thing was worth it. But what I'm trying to say is lets take for example, you want to go with the 1zzfe with vvt-i but the Corolla you have now doesn't have vvt-i. So not only do you have to change out the engine, but the wiring harness, ECU and maybe the exhaust layout. There maybe other things that you may have to change, that I don't know right off the top off my head. The reason you have to change your wiring harness is because it doesn't have the connectors for the vvt-i solenoid and so on. Plus you have to swap out your ECU because your current one won't work with the vvt-i. If your looking at doing the 3sgte swap, which is what I would highly recommend if your willing to throw down some serious cash to do it, then you have allot of things that have to be changed and upgraded. With the 3sgte swap, you have to beef up the suspension and brake system inorder to handle the power. For example, you wouldn't put a 150hp motor on a go cart that has cheap a** suspension and tinny little brakes and then expect it to have manners would you? So that's why that's one things you have to up grade. You also have to swap out the wiring harnesses, which takes allot of time if you don't know what your doing. And then there's the whole mounting the engine issue. The 3sgte will not just drop into your engine bay, at least it didn't on my 97 Corolla. I know I keep mentioning my 97 Corolla, but allot didn't change between the 7th gen E100 and the 8th gen E110. the only things that changed, if I'm not mistaken, were the drivetrain, exterior, interior, and maybe a couple other little things. But the whole underside of the vehicle stayed the same. You'll have to move the mounts around in the engine bay and reweld them. There really is allot to do when you go this route. But man once its done, you can stand back and look at all you did and just smile. And it feels really good when your one of a few, if not the only one, that has the 3sgte or any other swap for that matter. Just don't be dumb, and drop in a highly over rated piece of sh** honda engine,or something like that, and end up disgracing us all. Also, it's an awesome feeling when you can eat up the competition likes it nothing.

i was thinking of doing the 3sgte swap but i know the engine itself is like 3k and then wiring brakes and everything else would be like another 3grand .. then the labor to do the work .. new paint new body panels .. im guessing anywhere from the 10k - 13k range ..

Your right about it getting pretty expensive. But then again, it all depends on what you want to do with it. You can get a complete front clip, basicly you get the front half of the car. If you know what your doing, you can save some money. When I did it, I had no idea what needed to be done so I had a shop do it and plus I wanted it to be done right. The complete JDM 3sgte powered Caldina front clip cost me a little over 4k. That was when they were very rare and then I alos purchased a 3sge Beams cylinder head with dual VVT-i to use on it. When all said and down, the total cost of my set up came to over 25K, but I was putting down 500 whp on racing fuel, which it wasn't tuned to run on if had been it would have been in the 550-600 whp range. On 91 octane it was tuned and putting down 476 whp. So like I said, "if you want to get serious it's going to cost you a lot of money." You could just go with the either the 4age 20 valve silver top, 20 valve black top or the 4agze (supercharged) all out of the JDM AE111. The 4age options will cost less. But either way you go, make sure to get the complete front clip it'll save you allot of headaches. Also, do some search on these engines and then decide which one you feel is best for what you want to do.