advice on 88 corolla

[gen_x]

hello guys......and i have a 88 corolla auto sedan calibrated 4a-f engine...and i need some help bad. im a college student and this car is my life line for everything...it gets me to pt a to pt b and i dont have a lot of money to spend on fixing it. it was running fine until this past summer and until now. this past thanksgiving i couldnt make it back home cuz of smoke coming from the gasket and it woudnt go past 40 mph (i drive on highway to get home) it just kept on reving so i stop driving it for a couple of weeks. i drive it now but i can still c smoke coming from it but its not as much anymore.

i took the car to a shop before all this happned and the mechanic noticed that i have too much oil in my car and the oil is over flowing. so he drained some oil and the oil smelled like gasoline. (im getting horrible as milage by the way..just filled up half way on 1st of feb and its on E on 3rd of feb...i dont drive it alot no more than 7 miles backand forth from school) he checked the air filter and saw 1/4 of the filter was covered with oil stain. he said there might be some oil in the engine..which is very bad for me..and the car..they said they could check but its gonna cost a lot of $$$$$..and since i didnt have the money...i decided not to let them check..

maintence on the car in past 3 months

changed the brake fluild, fuel filter, air filter, spark plugs, wires, cap, disturbtor, and oil (i also put in that one bottle that u put in when u fill up with gas and gets rid of debrie and other things from the gas tank).

problems i noticed

when i changed the oil...i only fulled it half way...i checked it couple weeks ago and its also back up to full. so, is gas somehow getting into the oi tank? As for the spark plugs and wires.......the plug in position 1 has its sunkshin cup (im not sure what u call it) come off..i dont know how...maybe the sparkplug is placed wrong?... so sometimes when i drive, the plug wigles out from position and i have to stop and put it back in place..so some time only 3 sparkplugs are working..

i can smell gasoline now whenever i start the engine now....bfore i smell it here and there but now its much more common. oil is dripping. my fan isnt working i dont now for how long..i just noticed it recently. the engine gets really hot and it feels like something isnt getting lubrcated.

anyways these r the problems soo far i have encounted..i have check out the chilton book on corollas of this year but it feels soo overwhelming...plus i dont no that much on cars(stilll learning the parts to the car) for yous that actually read this post..thankyou and sorry for such a long post..but i really need some advice on fixing the car...

[Raddman]

Originally Posted by gen_x

hello guys......and i have a 88 corolla auto sedan calibrated 4a-f engine...and i need some help bad. im a college student and this car is my life line for everything...it gets me to pt a to pt b and i dont have a lot of money to spend on fixing it. it was running fine until this past summer and until now. this past thanksgiving i couldnt make it back home cuz of smoke coming from the gasket and it woudnt go past 40 mph (i drive on highway to get home) it just kept on reving so i stop driving it for a couple of weeks. i drive it now but i can still c smoke coming from it but its not as much anymore.

i took the car to a shop before all this happned and the mechanic noticed that i have too much oil in my car and the oil is over flowing. so he drained some oil and the oil smelled like gasoline. (im getting horrible as milage by the way..just filled up half way on 1st of feb and its on E on 3rd of feb...i dont drive it alot no more than 7 miles backand forth from school) he checked the air filter and saw 1/4 of the filter was covered with oil stain. he said there might be some oil in the engine..which is very bad for me..and the car..they said they could check but its gonna cost a lot of $$$$$..and since i didnt have the money...i decided not to let them check..

maintence on the car in past 3 months

changed the brake fluild, fuel filter, air filter, spark plugs, wires, cap, disturbtor, and oil (i also put in that one bottle that u put in when u fill up with gas and gets rid of debrie and other things from the gas tank).

problems i noticed

when i changed the oil...i only fulled it half way...i checked it couple weeks ago and its also back up to full. so, is gas somehow getting into the oi tank? As for the spark plugs and wires.......the plug in position 1 has its sunkshin cup (im not sure what u call it) come off..i dont know how...maybe the sparkplug is placed wrong?... so sometimes when i drive, the plug wigles out from position and i have to stop and put it back in place..so some time only 3 sparkplugs are working..

i can smell gasoline now whenever i start the engine now....bfore i smell it here and there but now its much more common. oil is dripping. my fan isnt working i dont now for how long..i just noticed it recently. the engine gets really hot and it feels like something isnt getting lubrcated.

anyways these r the problems soo far i have encounted..i have check out the chilton book on corollas of this year but it feels soo overwhelming...plus i dont no that much on cars(stilll learning the parts to the car) for yous that actually read this post..thankyou and sorry for such a long post..but i really need some advice on fixing the car...

Wow are you joking with us If not the Auto Gods must really have it in for you...I fell sorry for you Bro ..If you only fill your crank case 1/2 full with oil and in a few weeks its full (meaning 1/2 with gas) and you have a bad gas smell then my suggestion to you is if you can't afford the repair cost then just leave your car sit and hitch a ride/bus or hop a bike to school.. better that way then you getting to school in pieces...this sounds like an accident waiting to happen Good luck and be careful.....Radd Guy..

__________________________________________________ ___________________
"HONK IF ANY PARTS FALL OFF"

[Foolish86]

sounds to me like your have a piston missing along with a number of other problems....really bro that would mean a new engine...and that cost $$$...i hate it for you...where are u located and i might be able to help u out on a car.

[gen_x]

u guys are scareing me...is there really nothing i can do?!?!?....i told my brother about these problems too and he said the same thing...leave it and buy a new car...i dont have the $2000 to buy a beat up used car...and im from wisconsin and theres snow and ice on the ground so a riding a bike isnt a good idea right now....there is must be something i can do to make sure that oil isnt in the engine...or check for other problems...besides taking it to the shop...o yea..plus i havent change coolant for a while now...but i dont think its got do with the problem..but there must b something i can do.....

[Flashmn]

I dont see how your gasoline can go into the oilpan.. have you checked the coolant level?
if the coolant is going to the oilpan, it would mean the headgasket is gone.

[Foolish86]

it could be the coolant leaking into the oil like flashman said...ya know b/c gas really can't leak into the oil....BUT anyway...there goes the old "ITS THE HEADGASKET POST"

but if your coolant is low, your headgasket is gone like flashman said.
HOWEVER, it sounds like the engine is pretty f'ed up and if it is the headgasket, you probalby need a new engine anyway.

[Flashmn]

ya know b/c gas really can't leak into the oil....BUT anyway...there goes the old "ITS THE HEADGASKET POST"

LOL! big LOL!

HOWEVER, it sounds like the engine is pretty f'ed up and if it is the headgasket, you probalby need a new engine anyway.

yeah it does sound like its in a bad shape, tho if the oils havent turned into milkshake, theres nothing a little shaving of the head cant fix

but all in all, I find it VERY strange that gasoline could leak into the oilpan, because the quantity it injects gasoline isnt that big, plus it only injects it when the engine is running.

[ecafkcid]

Gas can get into the oil. You are running way to rich. Your carb needs to be rebuilt or replaced. Was this way on my 89 i just bought. was why I was able to buy it for 500 bucks . Car was staright good paint great interior only problem was it ran a little rough. I figured it was carb and was correct.

Good luck

[davidcalero_55]

i am having a similar problem my cars acceleration is horible and it wont go past 110 i think it has to do somthing with my distributor and it drives realy choppy like if not enough fuel is going to my engine any help?