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2002 Corolla Engine Rumble And Ting

by rocksaltt, September 18, 2012



My 1ZZ-FE with 145k miles on it has sounded progressively worse over the past few months, but I'm loathe to pay the $80 "engine diagnostic" fee that my mechanic wants to figure out what's wrong.

I think the problem is with the oil system. It burns oil excessively like many of its brethren, but I keep up with the losses and still get oil changes every ~3,000 miles. When accelerating from stop the engine will "rumble" as if the oil is really low (when I know it definitely isn't), and I can feel it in the gas pedal, but the rumble goes away once the RPMs get up and I'm past about 10 mph. It returns every time I start from a stop. It also will occasionally appear when I start the engine cold and lasts for a maybe a second and a half.

Further, when accelerating either from stop or at speed there is a sporadic tinging that I can hear. It's a very tinny sound (more like a loud ticking) that seems random and non-rhythmic and I'm hoping isn't spark knock.

Neither the oil indicator light nor the check engine light are lit.

Could this be an oil pump problem? Any steps that I can take on my own? Or am I doomed to make an expensive mechanic's visit?

Thanks in advance for any insight.

At this point - unless you take it in, you are basically guessing at the problem. Off-idle hesitation and/or excessive engine noise can come from a number of things. Some could be indicative of a grave issue looming in your future.

Need a bit more information:

- Oil consumption - about what rate is it going through oil, i.e., 1 quart every 1000 miles or worse?

- How are you treating the oil consumption - just add oil as needed or are you trying additives as well?

- Maintenance of engine, aside from oil consumption, up to date - what have you done so far?

- How does the car run otherwise - fuel economy and performance still OK?

- Ever had a leakdown test of the engine, checked engine compression lately?

Fortunately, for you - that 1ZZ-FE engine with VVTi and others, tend to have only a couple of areas of concern. Heavy oil consumption seems to be concentrated heaviest around the earlier 1ZZ-FE (non-VVTi) and with the 3-speed autos. The later 1ZZ-FE w/VVTi have modified their design slightly, but a few owners still see oil consumption. Of the latter 1ZZ-FE, here are the two most common/most missed things to look at.

Timing chain tensioner o-ring can start leaking around your mileage - once it starts, it can lead to excessive valvetrain noise. Easy fix - just clean the area up, replace the entire tensioner + o-ring. About a $30 part.

OCV valve and associated filter - those are critical for VVTi operation and can get easily starved for oil and oil pressure. These can get gummed up and clogged with debris. Especially the OCV filter - if that gets clogged, you can have the wrong valve overlap that will result in excessive amount of noise and funny performance off-idle. Even in cases where people run larger filters and synthetic oils - there could still be some gunk around those components.

Thanks for the helpful info.

It burns at or slightly above a quart every 1,000 miles, and I add oil. I've considered trying additives but there's too much confusion involved with what to try.

I bought the car at ~120k so I haven't personally had to do anything to the engine. It runs fine otherwise. Good fuel economy and peppy performance.

Suppose I will just take it in and see what they say, but good to know that the VVTi engines at least have fewer overall major issues.

Good that you've stayed away from additives - in many cases, they do nothing for the oil consumption that affects the 1ZZ-FE engine, at worst, can actually cause more harm that good.

Might try a high mileage motor oil next oil change - many owners with moderate amount of oil consumption have reported good results with Valvoline MaxLife High Mileage motor oil. Don't be tempted to run a heavier viscosity to stem oil consumption - as even though it might slow the rate, it will raise the likelihood of increasing consumption down the road. Some owners are advocating a thinner motor oil to help clean deposits around the stuck piston rings (most common culprit in the 8th gen Corolla oil consumption). Some cases, the consumption rate will be markedly high for a couple of changes than slowly get better. Some have found that oil consumption actually stopped when they switched to a thinner oil. Extreme cases, oil will literally run through the engine.

Like they say - YMMV (Your Mileage May Vary). Some engines like the OEM recommended 5W-30, some like heavier oil, some like thinner oil. At the rate you are consuming oil - you haven't crossed over to the "engine rebuild" point, might be able to control oil consumption to a semi-manageable level.



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