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2001 Corolla Rough Idle, Lacks Power, Cel

by X-ray, September 28, 2009



X-ray

My 2001 Corolla is idling roughly and bogs down when accelerating. I often have to floor the accelerator just to get it moving. The CEL is lit with random misfire codes. I have had two shops look at it with no solution after trying all of the following:

-Replaced the MAF (twice)

-Checked fuel pressure

-Cleaned fuel injectors

-Installed new Denso plugs

-Replaced the O2 sensor

-Replaced the ECU

-Replaced PCV

-Verified that the ignition coils were firing

Anyone have any suggestions? I'm wondering if there might be excessive carbon buildup, but I'm not sure how this would impact the engine performance. The car also seems to have the all-too-common oil burning problem.

does it consume alot of oil between oil changes?

does it consume alot of oil between oil changes?

Time to do a compression test. I have seen a few Corollas with broken or stuck rings and or burnt valves.

X-ray

does it consume alot of oil between oil changes?

Time to do a compression test. I have seen a few Corollas with broken or stuck rings and or burnt valves.

The car does consume quite a bit of oil between changes.

I'm pretty sure that the first shop did check compression and told me it was normal. Is there a DIY way to check compression without taking it into the shop?

does it consume alot of oil between oil changes?

Time to do a compression test. I have seen a few Corollas with broken or stuck rings and or burnt valves.

The car does consume quite a bit of oil between changes.

I'm pretty sure that the first shop did check compression and told me it was normal. Is there a DIY way to check compression without taking it into the shop?

Disconnect the battery. Remove the plastic engine cover. Disconnect each ignition coil and remove them; move the wiring harness out of the way, and keep track of which coil goes where. Take out all the spark plugs and set them aside next to the coil they partner with. Screw a compression gauge (cheap) into the first cylinder. Have a helper press the throttle and crank the engine for a few cranks as you read the gauge. Write down the highest compression reading and move on to each successive cylinder.

X-ray

Great, I'll try that. I'm curious as to why the throttle needs to be pressed though.

Opening the throttle to reduce pumping losses - you basically want the engine to pull in as much air as possible, while minimizing the amount of time cranking the engine. If you find yourself cranking for more than several seconds at a time - either the gauge is wrong or you have a leak somewhere. That point, should give the starter a break to cool off and double check the setup. Should only take a few cranks where it will run to max PSI. Some guages will help you out by having a "max" reading feature - but the way it builds compression is also telling as well. Also helps to pull the EFI fuse, so that the fuel pump won't be pumping fuel this whole time. For a few cranks each cylinder - not a big deal - most of the fuel will evaporate in a short time anyways. But if you are cranking for a while, there is a remote chance that you will load up the cylinder with too much fuel. Past a certain point, and you could hydrolock the engine - that would be a very bad thing.

X-ray

does it consume alot of oil between oil changes?

Time to do a compression test. I have seen a few Corollas with broken or stuck rings and or burnt valves.

 

OK, I checked compression:

Cylinder 1: 210 PSI

Cylinder 2: 205 PSI

Cylinder 3: 215 PSI

Cylinder 4: 210 PSI

According to my Haynes manual, these are all in spec.

After adding about a teaspoon of oil to each cyclinder, I checked again:

Cylinder 1: 235 PSI

Cylinder 2: 230 PSI

Cylinder 3: 240 PSI

Cylinder 4: 230 PSI

Not sure how to interpret these readings. I would expect the pressure to go up, but by how much? Anyone have measurements from a 'good' engine?

One other thing I wanted to mention. The OBD II has the P0300 code as well as P0303 and P0304 codes.

Still struggling....

Well those compression numbers look really good! The fact that adding oil raised the compression slightly, but relatively the same as before you added the oil - shows that the rings are doing their job. I would not suspect any compression or valve sealing issues at this point - at least they wouldn't be at the top of the list.

Did anyone take a look at the throttle body? Pretty much all the "expensive" bits were changed first. I would suspect that the throttle body is a little dirty, possibly the IAC valve on the throttle body is sticking on you. That allows the ECM to bump up the idle speed when the load demands it as well as allow enough air to bypass a closed throttle plate to allow a smooth idle.

Vacuum leaks, bad ECT switch, faulty new parts or something get screwed up during the installation of new parts. Have you tried running a tank of premium octane, just to see if the car responds differently. If you get pinging and detonation on regular gasoline due to excessive carbon buildup - the engine will generally run markedly better on higher octane (also generally see an increase in MPG as well). At least, it will tell you if there is excessive deposits to worry about (have to use a borescope or pull the head off to verify otherwise).

P0303 and P0304 indicate a possible lead - that maybe the igniter on #3 or #4 could be loosing spark. Try swapping #3 with number #2 and see if the misfire follows the coil pack or stays with the cylinder. Due the same thing with #4 and swap with the #2 igniter or #1. I like to swap only one at a time to note any change - doing too many changes at once could complicate the diagnosis.

X-ray

Well those compression numbers look really good! The fact that adding oil raised the compression slightly, but relatively the same as before you added the oil - shows that the rings are doing their job. I would not suspect any compression or valve sealing issues at this point - at least they wouldn't be at the top of the list.

 

Did anyone take a look at the throttle body? Pretty much all the "expensive" bits were changed first. I would suspect that the throttle body is a little dirty, possibly the IAC valve on the throttle body is sticking on you. That allows the ECM to bump up the idle speed when the load demands it as well as allow enough air to bypass a closed throttle plate to allow a smooth idle.

Vacuum leaks, bad ECT switch, faulty new parts or something get screwed up during the installation of new parts. Have you tried running a tank of premium octane, just to see if the car responds differently. If you get pinging and detonation on regular gasoline due to excessive carbon buildup - the engine will generally run markedly better on higher octane (also generally see an increase in MPG as well). At least, it will tell you if there is excessive deposits to worry about (have to use a borescope or pull the head off to verify otherwise).

P0303 and P0304 indicate a possible lead - that maybe the igniter on #3 or #4 could be loosing spark. Try swapping #3 with number #2 and see if the misfire follows the coil pack or stays with the cylinder. Due the same thing with #4 and swap with the #2 igniter or #1. I like to swap only one at a time to note any change - doing too many changes at once could complicate the diagnosis.

 

I removed the throttle body last night and gave it a good cleaning. The screws for the IAC would not give so I couldn't remove it from the rest of the throttle body to check it.

Moved igniter 4 to to cylinder 1, but still getting cyclinder 4 misfire codes. I'll try the tank of premium gas next to see if that helps.



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