2001 Corolla Engine Sudden Death - Help Me Solve the Mystery

[Malloroc]

This is my first post here

so, i have this Corolla 1.8L Automatic LE that i bought new in 2001. Meticulous maintenance, no abuse, no accidents. The vehicle functioned just fine until last summer.

At 270,000miles, the engine stopped running while i was driving. The local mechanic says zero compression, but all the rest is normal! Oil smells and looks fine, coolant the same, chain & overhead cams rotate normally when cranked... the thing just does not start any more. It is a mystery.

How in the world can an engine loose compression all of a sudden like that? It does not make any sense to me.

I intended to keep this vehicle a lot longer, and hate scrapping it since it is in otherwise good condition.

Unfortunately we live far from any mechanic, and far from a Toyota dealer, and now the car is now in my garage.

I really wonder what went wrong, and if there could be a simple fix?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions on how to solve this mystery.

 

[Scott O'Kashan]

Welcome to the Toyota Corolla forum! :thumbup:

If there is spark, compression and fuel, an engine should start.

If the auto tech is being honest and there is no compression, (or they just didn't know how to perform a compression test), then something is not allowing the valves to open and close normally. I seem to recall that this engine doesn't have a timing belt, so possibly the timing chain is broken, but if the camshafts are turning, the chain isn't broken.

A step-by-step diagnosis process will need to be undertaken to pinpoint what is wrong.

Does the engine try to fire up and run at all? Do you know if the fuel pump is working?

 

[CurtIV]

Get car to a reliable mechanic ASAP. You have major issues sounds like..

 

[jollykreiger]

0 compression but the cam is turning.... Something fishy there... Did he also offer to buy it for dirt cheap too?
If the motor is cranking and the cams are turning then there should be compression somewhere.

Do the cams turn when you crank the motor with the starter. Maybe just maybe the crank snapped. Since the T-chain is on the front and the starter is on the back then if the crank broke anywhere the motor would cease to run once it is shut off.

But above all more specifics so we can steer you in the right direction.

Did it make any funny nosies when it shut off.. Will it try to start? Grinding noises. thumping. anything helps

 

[Scott O'Kashan]

It has been seven months since you made your original post and you have not returned. Do you have any updates for us?

 

[Scott O'Kashan]

So...?

 

[Scott O'Kashan]

Earth to Corolla Forum member Malloroc; "Are you alive? Helloooooo?"

 

[Scott O'Kashan]

So it's been eight months since your post. What's the status of your car?

 

[Malloroc]

Scott,

my apologies for not replying to your interest in solving this mystery. I was abroad and wasn't using this email.

The vehicle has been scrapped in my absence, to my great regret because it was one of the best maintained Corollas of that age, and was mechanically and otherwise in top condition. To get only 270,000 miles was a great disappointment. And the unsolved mystery is even more upsetting.

Apparently the mechanic who did the compression check knew what he was doing, and did not propose to purchase the vehicle. No strange noises when rotating, fuel pump was working, chain not broken, camshaft was turning, etc etc... everything seemed to turn normally, according to friends who inspected the vehicle in my absence.

Unfortunately my wife needed a car right away, and could not wait for a lengthy repair process, possibly expensive repairs on a 270,000 miles car.

She purchased a used Corolla (same year same model) with only 66,000 miles, from an online (e-bay) vendor in Pompano, FL. She grossly overpaid, because of the alleged low mileage and her need of a vehicle right away, and the trust in Corollas' reliability.

When i returned home, i found that this vehicle was by far the worst piece of garbage we ever owned. Not one part of this car had not been messed with, it is incredible. For example the car drips oil. Could not figure out myself from where, and Toyota's 3 attempts to fix it, were unsuccessful also. I am about to give up on this car, especially since the sound coming from the engine (mainly in hot temperatures) are such that i doubt this engine will live much longer. It has now 101,800 miles on the odometer, most likely far more in reality.

This guy in Pompano,FL is a major, major crook, and is still doing his crappy deeds as we speak online, on e-bay.

The sad thing is that our trust in Toyota and its overall repair/cost situation, has sunken so low due to these experiences, that we will probably not buy a Toyota again, and switch to another manufacturer.

Now we must chose between pouring money for endless and overpriced repairs on this POS Corolla sold by this POS crook in Pompano,FL, or to try to get a good price on a new car by getting a nominal amount of trade-in $$$ for this POS. I cannot decently sell this POS to someone who would hope getting economical and reliable transportation from it. In any event, the only place we'd get anything for it, would be Toyota i suppose.

No matter how you slice it, we're screwed on this one. I would rather drive the POS until it dies, which would be soon anyway, but having an unreliable vehicle, which is dripping oil, is something i personally can't stand. In Europe cars that leak oil are not passing Technical Tests, and are removed from the road unless repaired.

 

[Scott O'Kashan]

The 1998 - 2002 Corolla's are noted for high oil consumption due to a design defect in the piston design.

I hear you on used car dealers. It seems like they all are lying, cheating, manipulating, low-life, scoundrels. I've been looking for a decent used car now for three months and dealing with used car dealers has been the most unpleasant experience of my life.

I agree with you that Toyota's aren't what they used to be, but honestly, I think that can be said of any vehicle manufacturer. More and more companies and how they are managed, (or not), are being dictated by corporate accountants who only care about cost. When quality is cut in order to lower costs, then the final product is not anything to write home about. Managers and leaders with drive and vision to provide the best possible customer service possible are what should dictate the course and conduct of any company, not accountants!

Also, how well a car holds up is hugely dependent on how well or not the car was maintained by its owner. These days, I am seeing most people totally neglect their cars, drive them until they breakdown, repair them to absolute minimum standards and then keep driving them until they breakdown again, eventually just trading in the hunk of junk on a new car and then the process starts all over again.

I take care of my cars, so for me to need a car is not usual, as they last a very long time for me, especially using AMSOIL products. Over the past three months with the 100+ cars I have evaluated for purchase, I am absolutely appalled with how the average car is now neglected and allowed to deteriorate to a rolling piece of junk. What in blue blazes is wrong with people? For most people, a vehicle is the second most expensive investment they will make in all their lives, (next to a house), and to sit back and allow such an expensive investment to deteriorate to a pile of junk, I just don't get it! :thumbdown:

 

[up&down]

Scott,

You mentioned that the 1998-2001 Corollas are known for high oil consumption.

What about the 2002? Those have the highest number of complaints for oil consumption in the Complaint sections for this forum category.

What is the piston design defect? Is it fixable? Do the rings go bad early?

I'm nervous. My wife's car uses no oil but is getting to the 100K mark.

 

[Scott O'Kashan]

Yes, the 2002's are noted for high oil consumption too. I edited the post to correct that.

For the details of this well documented problem, Google -> 2002 Corolla, high oil consumption. There is a lot of information on the Internet about this.

To help ward off the problem, the use of a high quality synthetic oil like AMSOIL can help, as it is very resistant to the degrading effects of the high temperatures found in the piston area, i.e. building up petroleum oil sludge, carbon, gum and varnish, which can cause the piston rings to lose their seal and allow oil up into the combustion chamber, burning it and sending it out with the exhaust. The problem is caused by too few oil holes in the piston, allowing piston and piston ring temperatures to get much higher than planned. This allows the aforementioned petroleum oil sludge, etc., to occur, plugging up the oil holes in the piston, which causes higher temperatures and etc. It's a vicious circle.

To see if your Corolla is doing this, in Park, rev up the engine to 3-4,000 rpm or so very quickly and then back and forth a few times and watch the tailpipe for telltale blue exhaust, which is oil burning.

Private message me for more information.