Weird Engine Noise

[Kyle Hamelin]

I own the CE 2001 corolla and it has 217K on it. I recently started hearing a weird noise from the engine. I do not to know a lot about cars though. It almost sounds like an old diesel truck if you know what i mean. it doesn't sound like a little car. I popped the hood and kept the car running and I tried to find the source of the noise. There is a belt on the left side on the engine and to the right maybe a motor that runs the belt i think? it kind of sounded like it was coming from there. Any help would be great thanks.

[fishexpo101]

Need a bit more detail on the noise? What do you mean by "weird" noise - chirping, popping, grinding, etc. high pitched, low pitched, metallic, etc.

On that side of the engine - could be a number of things. Bad serpentine belt, bad belt tensioner, bad idler pulley, bad bearing in one of the pulleys, clogged oil control valve (part of the VVTi system), etc.

[Fergifruitchew]

how is the oil in the engine? if theres little to no oil, the engine will start sounding like a diesel due to knocking and unlubricated bearings and meaning the engine isnt going to last very long and will need to be replaced OR fixed.

[Kyle Hamelin]

yup def had no oil ha. i filled it up and the noise is gone. thanks for the answers guys.

[Kiwi-Corolla]

^ Good thing you decided to make a thread and got onto it promptly, engines tend to like oil . Glad to hear that it was something simple.

[heartdisease]

Originally Posted by Kyle Hamelin

yup def had no oil ha. i filled it up and the noise is gone. thanks for the answers guys.

WOW! you should buy a lottery ticket with luck like that.

[Kyle Hamelin]

I know! haha. That was my girlfriends car that had that problem. I own the same Gen corolla put LE model with 174k. What I found really werid though is that only 5000k has been put on hers since the oil change and filter change and it was bone dry. Obviously when it was making the noise we drove my car and just parked hers but I would never think a corolla would burn up 4.5L of oil that fast. Mine is on 3500K since its oil change and it hasn't dropped a 1/4" on the dip stick! how does that work? Hers is a manual and mines an automatic but why would hers burn so much fast? I have never noticed a leak on the driveway or anything like that. Is it just because its an older engine then mine by 40k?

[Kiwi-Corolla]

Originally Posted by Kyle Hamelin

I know! haha. That was my girlfriends car that had that problem. I own the same Gen corolla put LE model with 174k. What I found really werid though is that only 5000k has been put on hers since the oil change and filter change and it was bone dry. Obviously when it was making the noise we drove my car and just parked hers but I would never think a corolla would burn up 4.5L of oil that fast. Mine is on 3500K since its oil change and it hasn't dropped a 1/4" on the dip stick! how does that work? Hers is a manual and mines an automatic but why would hers burn so much fast? I have never noticed a leak on the driveway or anything like that. Is it just because its an older engine then mine by 40k?

Hmm, it's normal for high mileage engines to burn oil but that sounds a bit on the excessive side. Have you ever noticed a small puff of smoke on start-up or when driving? This could indicate that either the valve stem seals are worn or the piston rings are starting to go. The old engine in my 7th Gen used to have a faint puff of smoke every morning when I started it up due to the valve stem seals wearing out, which caused the oil level to drop quite quickly. Now that I have since replaced the engine with one that has done much less mileage, I haven't lost any oil at all and it's still the original colour that it was when it was put in 5,000km ago.

Typically the spark plugs will become fouled if the car is burning excessive amounts of oil. Keep an eye out for blue smoke exiting the exhaust pipe. It's hard to monitor while driving, but an easy way to do it would be to get your girlfriend to give the car a rev while you stand behind it and look out for anything suspicious. Do this when she first starts the car for the day too (except don't rev it). Good luck

[Bdub215]

Originally Posted by Kyle Hamelin

I know! haha. That was my girlfriends car that had that problem. I own the same Gen corolla put LE model with 174k. What I found really werid though is that only 5000k has been put on hers since the oil change and filter change and it was bone dry. Obviously when it was making the noise we drove my car and just parked hers but I would never think a corolla would burn up 4.5L of oil that fast. Mine is on 3500K since its oil change and it hasn't dropped a 1/4" on the dip stick! how does that work? Hers is a manual and mines an automatic but why would hers burn so much fast? I have never noticed a leak on the driveway or anything like that. Is it just because its an older engine then mine by 40k?

to the 8th gen corolla section where our engines burn oil for a living. some are worse then others and some dont do it at all. my name is brent how may i assist you today? lol but seriously go through the old threads, the FAQ and you'll see.

[Kyle Hamelin]

awesome thanks for the posts guys, and that's a funny last one haha. See I thought these VTTI engines is it? were suppose to be the ones that burned little to none oil no?

[Bdub215]

Originally Posted by Kyle Hamelin

awesome thanks for the posts guys, and that's a funny last one haha. See I thought these VTTI engines is it? were suppose to be the ones that burned little to none oil no?

Those with vvti tend to be the worse.

[Kyle Hamelin]

really eh? well then. is there anything I can do to help slow down the burning rate of the oil?