I'm not a mechanic, but I love my car - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

cunada23 · 02-18-2003, 03:06 AM

I don't know a whole lot about fixing cars (my dad only taught the boys), but I've learned a lot by working on my Toyotas.

I've got an FX-16 that I love, and I've put a lot of work and energy and money into it, but now I've got a problem that is beyond my abilites and my budget.

There's a problem with the 3rd cylinder, and I'm not sure what to do about it. I've got another Toyota--a Tercel--that I'm driving right now, so it's not an emergency, but I do need to get the FX-16 back on the road or sell it to someone who can.

I'd like to fix the FX, but I don't want to replace the engine unless it is another 4A-GE 16-vavle DOHC engine. Am I being an engine snob?

wunderboy · 02-18-2003, 08:20 AM

Not at all, the only engines I would sub for the 4A-GE 16v, (like mine) is a 20v, or a GZE... sounds like you got a ring problem, you may be lucky enough to find a 4A-GE for under $800CDN so if you really want to keep your girl... or guy...

save for a swap... good luck with that... any pic's of your car?

Flashmn · 02-18-2003, 09:47 AM

Well no you're not being snobby at all. Infact now that you might have to do an engine swap, you could also consider a 4A-GZE or 4A-GE 20V swap for the FX16, that would certainly make it fly.

Deep · 02-18-2003, 10:18 AM

A few more details on the problem may help to figure out whats going on.

btw, welcome to TN.

ek-9 · 02-18-2003, 11:49 AM

Have you comrpession tested it? leak down test? It could be the gasket has blown around cylinder 3. And that, you could probably fix over a weekend. But as others have said, an engine swap might not be a bad idea. Used 16v 4AGEs are not too pricey.

Voodoo.Priest · 02-18-2003, 08:35 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Flashmn
Well no you're not being snobby at all. Infact now that you might have to do an engine swap, you could also consider a 4A-GZE or 4A-GE 20V swap for the FX16, that would certainly make it fly.

Dude! He said he is on a tight budget. There is no way in hell he is going to get a 20V. And if anything broke on that then he would really be ****ed seeing how they were not made over here and parts are not easily acceable. And what is the going rate for a GZE these days? He should just stick with reg 16V or repair his current engine no?

***EKam*** · 02-18-2003, 09:35 PM

I think it's 'she' not 'he'.

Flashmn · 02-18-2003, 11:20 PM

Where I live, a GZE goes for around 500bucks with all the bells and whistles ;P

cunada23 · 02-19-2003, 02:08 AM

Thanks to everyone who replied to my post. I've tried to get some input at other toyota sites on the internet, but I didn't get much response.

So here are the (vague) details:

When I bought the FX-16, I could see that there was some oil on the engine, but the leak seemed small and slow, and never leaked enough to drip onto the driveway.

In September of last year, the small oil leak turned into a large, but strange and sporadic oil leak. When I ran the engine hot or for long distances, I would lose significant amounts of oil; still, none of it made it to the ground. I bought myself a repair manual and started looking for the source of the leak.

I eliminated a lot of the possibilities, and realized that the leak was associated with the valve cover (I thought), so I bought a new v.c. gasket and removed the cover. While it was open, I checked my plugs and found oil in the third cylinder.

I took it to a real mechanic, who determined that the 3rd cylinder was, in fact, "bad," and was forcing oil out through my distributor. He said that he had no idea why the car was even running at all, so I drove the FX home and it's been parked in the driveway ever since. I don't have the money to pay a mechanic to find out exactly what is wrong in there, and it seems way out of my league.

If there are things that I CAN do to find the specific problem, I would love to know what and how to check. Remember, I am not a mechanic, just a FX-16 lover with a book and some tools and a lot of determination.

Flashmn · 02-19-2003, 05:09 AM

I took it to a real mechanic, who determined that the 3rd cylinder was, in fact, "bad," and was forcing oil out through my distributor. <- Hmm, doesnt sound that likely that you have a piston problem to me, because 1st of all, the distributor isnt directly linked with the pistons. Hmm, if I could give you my opinion, I'd say you have a damaged valve/valveguide/bushing that gives the possibility, that oil leaks into the cylinder and when the valve opens and the piston pushes out the exhaust, it also pushes out some oil through the valveguide which then due to excessive pressure, blows it through the seal on the distributor. Leaky valves would also lower the compression of the cylinder. BTW to get more clues what this could be, mind telling me when you drove/start the car, do you get blue smoke from the exhaust pipe?

Hemi3TC · 02-19-2003, 01:50 PM

Could be a clogged up PCV valve system. It there is a pressure build up in the engine, more oil is consumed and oil also could get forced out throught the distributor. PCV -Positive Crankcase Ventilation.

Check the PCV valve hoses for gunk clogging the hose and that
the PCV valve rattles when you shake it. If it has not been change in a long time it probably needs changing along with the
harden rubber PCV valve grommet.

If the engine is running smooth it would indicated that there is not any major problems.

If an engine power balance test indicated cylinder number 3 is
not contributing 100% of its share of the power then there is a problem. Thsi test is done by disconnecting the spark plug wire
and measuring the RPM drop for each cylinder. They all should drop about the same RPM from the normal idle RPM. If one
does not drop it is 100% bad.

Hemi 3TC

Quote:

Originally posted by cunada23

In September of last year, the small oil leak turned into a large, but strange and sporadic oil leak. When I ran the engine hot or for long distances, I would lose significant amounts of oil; still, none of it made it to the ground. I bought myself a repair manual and started looking for the source of the leak.

I eliminated a lot of the possibilities, and realized that the leak was associated with the valve cover (I thought), so I bought a new v.c. gasket and removed the cover. While it was open, I checked my plugs and found oil in the third cylinder.

I took it to a real mechanic, who determined that the 3rd cylinder was, in fact, "bad," and was forcing oil out through my distributor. He said that he had no idea why the car was even running at all, so I drove the FX home and it's been parked in the driveway ever since. I don't have the money to pay a mechanic to find out exactly what is wrong in there, and it seems way out of my league.

[/B]

cunada23 · 02-19-2003, 07:36 PM

Thanks to hemi3TC and flashmn for the input and suggestions.

Flashmn, I think there WAS blue smoke toward the end, and definitely on that last trip to and from the mechanic. I don't know anything much about the valves themselves; how would I check to see if any of those things are the problem?

hemi3TC, I did have to disconnect the PCV hose in order to remove the valve cover when I was going to replace the valve cover gasket, and I remember how much worse the engine sounded the next day on the way to the mech. I asked the guy if there was anything that I could have done while removing the cover that would have made it sound so much worse all of a sudden, and he said that it was only coincidence.

I'm not saying the guy is a liar (my dad seems to trust him), but maybe I did do something--knock something loose that's a blockage now--when I was removing and replacing the PCV valve. I'll check the PCV system tomorrow. I would be so very very happy if that was all that was wrong.

And I will also do the engine power balance test that you described.

Thanks to both of you for your help.

***REN69*** · 02-19-2003, 09:33 PM

I would just look for a couple of decent engine places in your area, and compare prices and stuff.. just get another 16V 4age.. a 20V and a 4AGZE would cost you too much anyways.

Flashmn · 02-20-2003, 04:45 AM

Why not just fix the current GE. I mean if you buy a used engine, you'll have to overhaul in ANYWAYS.

cunada23 · 02-25-2003, 02:36 AM

Yesterday after work, I checked the PCV valve hoses and found some junk in there, and the valve itself kind of rattled when I shook it.

-->Does this mean that it's bad or good?

Once I get this part dealt with, I'll test the cylinders. It would be nice if it was just the PCV valve issue.

-->But would that explain the oil on the plug in the 3rd cylinder?

I was thinking maybe I was wrong about what I saw, but the mechanic said that he found oil in there too.

One more question...

-->When I'm looking up parts on internet supply web sites and sometimes even in the auto parts store, the most specific I can get with the databases is to say that it's a 1987 Toyota Corolla. Isn't that going to give some of the wrong parts?