Well the engine has not over heated once, the gauge stays in the middle once engine warms up. Also, I have been checking oil level every couple of days, so definitely no neglect there.

The mechanic wants me to bring back the vehicle for a full inspection tomorrow. He dropped me a line (sort of hint) that its not unusual for a used engine to burn that much oil. I was like, you must be kidding.

Used engines do use oil, but they should never put one in a car that uses that much.

 

 

Just got a word from the mechanic.

They found a small leak and have fixed it. They have also poured some sort of additive inside all the cylinders and let it sit overnight to free up rings, and they're doing an oil change.

Sounds to me like a temporary solution. If the rings are stuck, could they be rescued by additives or they must be replaced. Looks like I need to take another long road trip to make sure its not burning oil again.

Any ideas? I am picking up car in 6 hours from now.

Edit: He also told me that they did compression test and it was consistent across the cylinders.

Just got the car back. When I got there, I asked for the compression numbers and the mechanic did a dry compression test while I was there. The compression is 100 PSI in every cylinder. Is that good or is it low? They have put on a new filter and fresh oil.

I am taking it on a roadtrip on Saturday.

thats like 1/2 what it should be. the 'new' engine is probably a dud with stuck rings.

Bitter: Just noticed the same on Celica forums.

1ZZFE Minimum pressure: 145 psi

Compression: 218 psi

This is shocking. It seems that the guys don't have any idea what they're doing. They were cool about the compression numbers.

What should I do now? I wish I could just get rid of this car and stay car free.

Edit: Can someone send me a PDF or scanned image of the factory manual page on compression figures? I would like to take it with me tomorrow when I go see the mechanic.

Just got the car back. When I got there, I asked for the compression numbers and the mechanic did a dry compression test while I was there. The compression is 100 PSI in every cylinder. Is that good or is it low? They have put on a new filter and fresh oil.

I am taking it on a roadtrip on Saturday.

Where was the car leaking oil?

 

That compression number is way too low.

Your engine would not be putting out much power with that bad a compression.

At 100psi, that engine is a total turd... nothing short of major rebuild work will bring back 118psi of compression..

Here:

http://www.newcelica.org/forums/showthread.php?t=4332 <- tons of engine info

http://www.radphys.com/ARTICLE_ENGINE_COMPRESSION_CHECK.pdf

The compression check article doesn't mention that you should also disconnect your fuel injectors so you don't wash down your cylinder walls with gas while you do the test.

At 100psi, that engine is a total turd... nothing short of major rebuild work will bring back 118psi of compression.. Here:

 

http://www.newcelica.org/forums/showthread.php?t=4332 <- tons of engine info

http://www.radphys.com/ARTICLE_ENGINE_COMPRESSION_CHECK.pdf

The compression check article doesn't mention that you should also disconnect your fuel injectors so you don't wash down your cylinder walls with gas while you do the test.

Good information -

 

If the cylinder compression in one or more cylinders is low, pour a small amount of engine oil into the cylinder through

the spark plug hole and repeat compression check for cylinders with low compression.

¡ If adding oil helps the compression, it is likely that the piston rings and/or cylinder bore are worn or damaged.

¡ If pressure stays low, a valve may be sticking or seating is improper, or there may be leakage past the gasket.

Update:

Before I went back to the swap mechanic, I decided to get a second opinion from my trusted mechanic. He personally did the compression test while I was there and found the numbers to be between 170 and 185 psi for the 4 cylinders. He and fish suggested I switch to 10W30 to reduce oil consumption.

Last weekend I drove the car around 300 miles and the about halfway through that had the 5w30 go down to the minimum mark on the dipstick, so I poured some 10w30 to see if that helps. After 300 miles, the 10w30 is also getting burnt. I haven't seen any smoke through the tailpipe at any speed. Apart from the oil consumption, the engine has been making rattling sounds as well.

So I wasn't real sure what to do this morning when I called the swap mechanic. He listened to me and said they will replace the engine once again at their cost. He said he'll get me a low mileage motor and will call when it is in. I certainly did not expect that, but that is re-establishing my faith in mechanics. The guy seems to be genuinely nice.

Hopefully the next motor will turn out to be good. He happened to mention that such incidences although not common, happen about once a year and its cool with them to do another engine swap. I told him I was sorry about their loss and glad that they understand.

I will keep you guys posted. Thanks for all the support.

The mechanic sounds like a decent guy. We have a guy nearby that specializes in engine swaps. He buys his engines from a local junk yard and the engines are warrantied by the junk yard. They also reimburse the mechanic for his labor if additional replacements are required. My sister in law just had an engine replaced in her Jeep Cherokee and Isuzu Rodeo. The engine failed again in the Jeep and he replaced it a 2nd time at no charge to her.

Good luck with your 2nd replacement engine,

Jay in MA

Update:

Before I went back to the swap mechanic, I decided to get a second opinion from my trusted mechanic. He personally did the compression test while I was there and found the numbers to be between 170 and 185 psi for the 4 cylinders. He and fish suggested I switch to 10W30 to reduce oil consumption.

Last weekend I drove the car around 300 miles and the about halfway through that had the 5w30 go down to the minimum mark on the dipstick, so I poured some 10w30 to see if that helps. After 300 miles, the 10w30 is also getting burnt. I haven't seen any smoke through the tailpipe at any speed. Apart from the oil consumption, the engine has been making rattling sounds as well.

So I wasn't real sure what to do this morning when I called the swap mechanic. He listened to me and said they will replace the engine once again at their cost. He said he'll get me a low mileage motor and will call when it is in. I certainly did not expect that, but that is re-establishing my faith in mechanics. The guy seems to be genuinely nice.

Hopefully the next motor will turn out to be good. He happened to mention that such incidences although not common, happen about once a year and its cool with them to do another engine swap. I told him I was sorry about their loss and glad that they understand.

I will keep you guys posted. Thanks for all the support.

Wow - a second egine? I hope they will cover the cost.

Major Update:

It took them three weeks, but they got me a almost new engine with only 6000 miles on it. It has been driving great, I have about 200 miles on it so far. Has not lost oil. Physically also, the engine looks great. They covered it under warranty.

But wait a second....

My troubles are not over yet. Since yesterday, I am noticing that car hesitates and starts shaking after 65MPH. If I try to accelerate beyond 65MPH, I feel hesitation and the car will start shaking erratically. This has me scared to death, and also frustrated beyond your wildest imagination. Its like the problems will never end.

I have checked the transmission fluid level, its fine and the color is cherry red. The engine has not burned a drop of oil yet, and oil looks very clean.

Is it my engine or transmission? Is it possible that they did not mate the engine with transmission properly and thats why it is hesitating? But then why does it hesitate only at higher speeds. It drives totally fine under 60MPH.

Any advice greatly appreciated. Hope I don't need to change the transmission too now. Never had this hesitation problem before. Though my previous engine burned oil, I never had hesitation problem.

Does it appear to be engine performance related?

I don't know about the hesitation but the shaking might possibly be the alignment of the engine in the cradle. This is a wild guess but I know there is a dimension for centering the engine/transaxle on the Chrysler minivans that must be followed. If not correct, the location of the engine and transaxle in reference to the axles can cause significant problems.

Good luck,

Jay

Major Update:

It took them three weeks, but they got me a almost new engine with only 6000 miles on it. It has been driving great, I have about 200 miles on it so far. Has not lost oil. Physically also, the engine looks great. They covered it under warranty.

But wait a second....

My troubles are not over yet. Since yesterday, I am noticing that car hesitates and starts shaking after 65MPH. If I try to accelerate beyond 65MPH, I feel hesitation and the car will start shaking erratically. This has me scared to death, and also frustrated beyond your wildest imagination. Its like the problems will never end.

I have checked the transmission fluid level, its fine and the color is cherry red. The engine has not burned a drop of oil yet, and oil looks very clean.

Is it my engine or transmission? Is it possible that they did not mate the engine with transmission properly and thats why it is hesitating? But then why does it hesitate only at higher speeds. It drives totally fine under 60MPH.

Any advice greatly appreciated. Hope I don't need to change the transmission too now. Never had this hesitation problem before. Though my previous engine burned oil, I never had hesitation problem.

I was just at the garage. The mech drove it and confirmed the problem. He doesn't think its the transmission. He says more than likely the gas filter, bad gas or injection problem. He said change the gas filter, fill 91 octane gas for one time and use fuel injection cleaner once. That should solve the problem.

Does anyone know where fuel filter is located on 2000 Corolla? If possible, I would like to change it myself, unless of course the car needs to be lifted.

I checked 1sttoyotaparts and there are two fuel filters available for 2000 corolla, one for $8 and another for $34. What is the difference between them? I don't know which one needs replacement.

When I called local dealership, they said fuel filter ($34 part) was a lifetime part and that Toyota thinks it doesn't need replacement during the life of the car.

Any ideas? Thanks.

On my cars there are two fuel filters. One is in the engine compartment on the fuel line before it goes into the intake for the manifold.

The other is like a sock inside the fuel tank attached to the fuel pump. It is supposed to filter the sediment from getting into the fuel line before it gets to the pump.