P1349 Keeps Coming Back

You are our hero, at least for now! My husband followed your instructions and cleaned the oil control valve filter. He figures when the guy took everything apart to get to the head, he stirred things up. Husband then disconnected and reconnected the battery. I drove the car afterward, further than it took previously for the check engine light to come on and it never came on. Also, we had both noticed it being noisy after the head gasket change and it ran great this afternoon after the filter was cleaned. It will probably be a while before our paranoia subsides and we quit expecting the CEL to come on but we both really feel you gave us the solution. That seemed even worse than the oil leak to us. Too bad you can't work on that! default_smile

Thank you so much for the suggestion. I guess that makes your odds better than 9/10 now!

I forgot I was supposed to ask you something - my daughter only does what my husband calls "stop and go" driving. She has a disability and all of us are comfortable with her driving only in town. Occasionally, she drives 50 mph but for the most part, drives 35 to and from work 5 miles away. My husband wondered if you would recommend a certain oil that would keep the engine clean or if there is such a thing that would improve her car's performance. The car has 100,000 miles on it but she bought it about 3 years ago and it would have had highway miles before she bought it. Just thought we would ask since we're so impressed with you.

I looked at your photos and honestly was expecting fishing photos!

You are our hero, at least for now! My husband followed your instructions and cleaned the oil control valve filter. He figures when the guy took everything apart to get to the head, he stirred things up. Husband then disconnected and reconnected the battery. I drove the car afterward, further than it took previously for the check engine light to come on and it never came on. Also, we had both noticed it being noisy after the head gasket change and it ran great this afternoon after the filter was cleaned. It will probably be a while before our paranoia subsides and we quit expecting the CEL to come on but we both really feel you gave us the solution. That seemed even worse than the oil leak to us. Too bad you can't work on that!
Thank you so much for the suggestion. I guess that makes your odds better than 9/10 now!

Great to hear that - that little filter is almost always overlooked, unless the mechanic had experience with this particular engine family. Hopefully that permanently solves the noise issue. Thanks for posting back on that it worked, really helps others in a similar situation find a possible solution.

I forgot I was supposed to ask you something - my daughter only does what my husband calls "stop and go" driving. She has a disability and all of us are comfortable with her driving only in town. Occasionally, she drives 50 mph but for the most part, drives 35 to and from work 5 miles away. My husband wondered if you would recommend a certain oil that would keep the engine clean or if there is such a thing that would improve her car's performance. The car has 100,000 miles on it but she bought it about 3 years ago and it would have had highway miles before she bought it. Just thought we would ask since we're so impressed with you.

Any quality motor oil will work well in this case - the key is more frequent oil change interval and keeping an eye on oil levels in the mean time. Might also be a good idea to take the car on longer weekend trip to help burn off accumulated combustion chamber contaminants and burn off any moisture in the crankcase. A 5 mile trip is barely enough time to get the car up to operating temps. In any case, I wouldn't leave the oil in the any longer than 6 months - even if she put a several hundred miles on the oil in that time - I'd change the oil atleast twice a year.

Running a good synthetic motor oil will help with solvency issues (helps keep the motor clean), semi-synthetics (blends) - especially the high mileage variants have good reviews, diesel motor oils - especially the newer API rated ones (CJ-4 now?). Those are much less harmful than older variants, as they don't poison the catalytic converter as quickly as before. Diesel oils generally have lots of dispersancy qualities, compared to conventional motor oils - just keep the viscosity range close to the engine's recommended viscosity, i.e. - don't run a 15W-40 if the engine calls for 5w-30. It won't "hurt" the engine - but you will note a significant reduction in fuel economy. But don't be discouraged with conventional oils - current formulations are quite good, some are even better than previous formulations of synthetic motor oils. Again, frequent oil change intervals is the key - since the engine will stay hot enough to burn off normal contaminants - you can help by draining those out frequently.

Maintanence on other items should also be kept up as well. Cleaning the throttle body on a regular basis will help keep idle quality in check. Remove and read plugs often - take note of anything unusual. Especially the PCV valve - make sure it is clear. If there are signs of excessive moisture contamination - oil starting to gel, sludge on the bottom of the oil fill cap, PCV is heavily clogged, lots of varnish/carbon buildup in the throttle body - catching it early and addressing the issue will make sure the engine has a long life.

I looked at your photos and honestly was expecting fishing photos!

I get that once and a while too. Though, I'm an avid fisherman, haven't had much free time to enjoy it. Plus, most people don't have nearly as many questions about fishing as they do with cars. default_biggrin

Here's the update from a couple of weeks ago. The check engine light DID soon reappear. We got it into a shop we've heard good things about but you can't get into them quickly (should have been a clue). The continuing oil drip was indeed from the head gasket and he said they ALWAYS have the head resurfaced at the machine shop because you can't just put a level on the head and the gasket is very unforgiving regarding any warpage whatsoever. The check engine light was coming on because apparently the first guy had dropped and broken something regarding valve timing. It is a brass tubular looking thing and about an inch was broken off - replacement was $95. I can clarify this if anyone really wants to know. default_smile Anyway, after my being without a car for almost a month because we had to loan our daughter one, we are picking up the car this morning. Yay!

Good to hear that you are up and running. Too bad for the string of bad luck that you have been hit with, hopefully this time the problems will stay away for good.

Ouch, sloppy repair work from the first guy is a bummer - luckily, it sounds like the other shop was on the ball and got that straighten out. Kind of weird that you would get an oil leak from the head, but as long as it got resolved - no problems.

Millier please tell me the shop paid for that $95 part since theyre the ones who dropped it.

01loadedLE,

It wasn't this shop that had dropped the part but a guy working out of his garage because of being unemployed - go figure. We're chalking it up to experience. Tried to save money by using the first guy and learned a lot. I called him to tell him the car was in the shop and after getting defensive and hanging up on me, he called back and said he would send us $200. Better than nothing, I guess.

fishexpo101,

I don't understand cars enough to think it's weird that oil was leaking from the head!

Millie

Good to hear that you are up and running. Too bad for the string of bad luck that you have been hit with, hopefully this time the problems will stay away for good.
Ouch, sloppy repair work from the first guy is a bummer - luckily, it sounds like the other shop was on the ball and got that straighten out. Kind of weird that you would get an oil leak from the head, but as long as it got resolved - no problems.

actually ive been seeing alot of oil leaks from the head area on 1zz's that roll through, never been the head gasket as far as i can tell though, always this little plate on the back of the head just above the head gasket, i assume that it has something to do with the timing chain or getting at it to check timing? i don't know. i've seen that leak on about...4 of the 5 regular customers. never a severe leak but its wet back there ever 3-5k miles when they come back for the next change after cleaning. not enough to run down and drip, but enough to be wet and attract dirt.

Just wanted to tell you guys a funny story about our ongoing problematic Corolla. My daughter came over yesterday in the car. She and I were playing a game and my husband came in in a tizzy, saying he thought the heater core was bad. He just can't relax and quit checking for drips and leaks after the bad head gasket ordeal. He said he was sure it was leaking antifreeze because he tasted it. default_sad I was persistent in checking the drip's color, which was clear. After a little more checking, I discovered my daughter had had the full defrost on, which kicks in the AC. So it was nothing and I was sure glad my husband hadn't torn the car apart yet! The check engine light did come on shortly after we picked the car up from the shop. They reset it and it's been several days without coming on again. I'm pretty sure our paranoia will continue for a long time.

Yeah, given what all of you have gone through so far - I would probably have reacted the same way. Nothing to worry about the A/C condensate dripping like that on the outside of the car - only a problem if ti drips INSIDE the car.

Keep us updated on the CEL - usually with that particular error, if there is a problem, it will immediately come back on.

As for the oil leak - like Bitter, I've also seen many leak right around the (OCV) oil control valve (front of engine), chain tensioner (back of engine), or close to the valvecover, near the timing chain cover. Headgasket issues is not really common on this engine - but anything can happen. I'm just surprised to see oil leaking from a headgasket repair - since the oil stays inside (cylinder walls) and outside (timing chain cover) - the headgasket is deisgned to provide a good seal on the mating surfaces for the water jacket in the block and water passages in the head.

But I guess you could have a leak, if the timing chain cover wasn't fully seated (warped) or had a knick on the mating surface. Same with the valvecover gasket - it is basically a large o-ring - there are two small spots that you have to put RTV or similar on (right where the cylinder head meets the timing chain cover) before installing the valve cover - or oil will leak out.

Pic here (on my valvecover - when I pulled it off - sealant is right below the vavlecover o-ring - you can see where the gasket is pushed into the sealant.

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v620/fis..._Valvecover.jpg

CHAIN TENSIONER! thankyou! i could not think of what was behind that plate. now i can tell them wtf is leaking lol.

Guest georgepds

...

Running a good synthetic motor oil will help with solvency issues (helps keep the motor clean), semi-synthetics (blends) - especially the high mileage variants have good reviews, diesel motor oils - especially the newer API rated ones (CJ-4 now?). ..

I've had the P1349 problem for about a year now (2002 Prizm, 130K miles). Last November I paid a mechanic to check into it, and he got halfway through the diagnostic procedures before he gave up. I bought an OBD2 scan gage, reset the code, and resigned myself to resetting it every 500 miles or so. There was no loss of power or fuel efficiency. I change the oil ever 5K, so did not suspect oil problem That and the mechanic told the oil valve that is checked as part of the P1349 diagnostic proceedure was squeeky clean. The problem went away in the winter ( cold new england) , and came back in the spring.

Well, after reading your post I decided to use in 5-w-30 Synthetic Mobil 1 at the last oil change, since then I have not diagnostic codes. We'll see if the problem comes back. That said.. if you have the problem try the synthetic oil, it might work.

--G

Guest garyb

I have a 2004 matrix 1zzfe engine. The valves started rattling like the engine is out of time. I borrowed an OBDII and check for an error code. Yep P1349. Downloaded a shop mannual and started through the list of checks. All sensors have been confirmed ok except the crankshaft position sensor. I have cleaned the OCV and the filter below it. Removed the valve cover and checked the timing chain and visually there does not appear to be any damage to the chain or the sprockettes. I do not want to take it to the local dealer and get ripped off. Is there a fix for this problem?

For a P1349 CEL, if the OCV components (valve and filter) check OK, and the sensor seem fine - and you were able to verify that VVT-i operation is non-functional. Then accorded to the P1349 VVT-i Fault Isolation Procedure, you have to disassemble the VVT-i actuator (that large drum on the end of the intake camshaft, when you took the valve cover off) and verify that the oil feed holes are clean, that there isn't excessive wear on the VVTi actuator palte, and that clearance between the end of the camshaft and the actuator is within spec. If that checks out - then you have either a bad ECM or some electrical gremlin in the works.

Not the easiest job to do - but the only part that hasn't been checked out - according your diagnostic/troubleshooting so far. Only thing left is to command the VVT-i system to turn on at idle and see if it then engine stalls (indicates that VVT-i IS functional). If there is no change, then VVT-i is not working correctly. Some have tried to replicate that by disconnecting the OCV valve - but that really isn't the right way to do it. The Toyota handheld can switch it on and off, commanding the ECM. So you're technically testing two components - the VVT-i system and the ECM.

This is the same procedure for all VVT-i equipped Toyota/Lexus - Camry, RAV4, MR2, Matrix, Corolla, Highlander, Solara, etc. Sometimes, there is some debris that gets trapped in the oil passages in the VVT-i actuator - may get lucky and be able to blow that out with an air compressor. Some have been able to flush it out, internally, with higher solvency motor oils - but it varies from car to car. Good luck.

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