A couple of questions about the 9th generation 'rollas

[2009CorollaS]

I'm looking to buy a used 9th gen for the wife. She was in a wreck the other day and her old vehicle is no more. She wasn't hurt thankfully, but now she needs a different vehicle.

So the 9th gen Corollas are falling within her budget and I've found 3 for her to look at, all of them manual trannys.

Is there a factory service manual available for download anywhere? We've had a couple of Hondas over the years and I managed to find the actual Honda service manual (about 2500 pages) available for download. I'd prefer this instead of Haynes/Chilton.

One of the Corollas (an LE) I'm having her look at appears to have been neglected on maintenance, specifically oil change intervals. Of course the dealer put in fresh oil, but I could easily tell the previous owners didn't keep up with because of the black gunk found around the drain plug, and then of course I noticed inside the fill port that inside there was some sludge buildup. I'd love to get my hands on that thing for about a hour to take the valve cover and really see it what it looks like in there, but I just don't know. I suppose if I went with this one, I would drown it in Seafoam then fill it with synthetic to try and clean it out more. The point is I'm just not sure how much torture this engine can take. To the best of my knowledge, there's nothing specifically wrong with the engine building up sludge or anything similar...can anyone confirm this?

The other 2 Corollas (both CE) did not exhibit the poor oil maintenance the first one did, however one took a bit to start. That could be either bad battery, maybe the fuel pump, clogged injectors...who knows. Both vehicles exhibited a slight, yet noticeable vibration when I idled the engine to around 2500...is this normal?

All vehicles seem to need their clutch replaced within about 30k miles or so.

So to summarize...

2005 LE, 87k miles, asking $7700. Has the sludge problem
2006 CE, 112k miles, asking $7900. The normal wear and tear best I can tell...had the vibration I mentioned above.

2006 CE, 74k miles, asking $7900. Took a bit to start, vibration.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

[zythr]

I'd keep looking, barring that it is interesting that the car with the most miles is ties for being the most expensive of the ones you're looking at.


The one with the sludge, PASS. Obviously the previous owner did not keep up on oil changes, so the engine may have been neglected like this for a while. To the dealers credit, (or cheapness), he did not even try to change and put in fresh oil.


CE's maybe the engine mount needs replaced? Usually vibrations in gear are confined to auto equipped four cylinders. There probably should not be any or at least noticeable vibrations in a manual tranny,


Again, if you still persist in looking at the CEs, see how much it would cost for a clutch replacement, (if you can't do it yourself), and ask the owner about the vibrations if you have not done so already and go from there. Good luck

[hardtopte72]

Why do you feel the clutch needs to be replaced in 30K. I have seen many 9th gens with 150k and more on the original clutch. Just recenetly saw an 05 with 198K Original clutch. If the pedal is high it is that way from the factory. I adjusted mine and bled it and it is significantly better.

As for the extended crank like you said it could be the battery but I find this to be normal. There was a TSB for the fuel pump but only if it loses fuel pressure over time. Mine does this and so did 100's of others at the dealership. It is only slightly extended IMO.

As for the sludge pass on that one. It is rare to sludge a 1ZZ but when its sludged its done. It becomes a ticking time bomb for your money.

Personally I prefer CE and S to the LE (I hate the wood grain but love the seats and Opitron gauges) if the CE has the bigger 195/65/15 tires. Consider that 3rd one a good deal. As far as the slight vibration it seems to be pretty normal and these engines do not win an NVH (noise, vibration, harshness) awards.

Couple of things to watch for on a 9th Gen

1.Timing Chain Tensioner (common for these to leak. Some worse than others, Requires the o-ring to be replaced)
2. Intake Manifold Gasket (can cause a lean condition and subsequent check engine light in cold temperatures. There is a new part and is the easiest part ridiculously easy 20 minute job on drive by wire 1ZZFE engines)
3. Rear brake adjustment (often neglected)
4. Manual Trans Fluid (if buying a M/T this is rarely changed on such a low price car. Consider a change to synthetic fluid)
5. Auto Trans Fluid (if buying A/T it gets dark fast. Drain and fills are recommended every 30k)
6. Drive Belt (squealing is common on even barely worn belts. Mostly annoying)

These are some of the best cars on the road. So easy to work on, so reliable, and so cheap.

Buy a CE and get rid of the 185/65/15 and stock steel wheels. Add some fog lights and a factory fog switch and enjoy.