All 2006+ Corolla with 1ZZ-FE and 2ZR-FE engines are interference, and have 16 valves (not 24)... They have a timing chain, and are highly reliable with sufficient oil in the engine and regular maintenance. Such concern is completely unjustified, unless you downshift in a gear that is low enough at speed, to deliberately spin the engine beyond 8,000 rpm.

 

I'm kind of annoyed by these "covers" that I'm seeing on Toyota engines, too. Granted, the last car was a Ford that didn't have it. Are these standard with Toyota?

I guess I don't really see the purpose in them and they look tacky.


So is it safe to presume that this particular car that I'm looking at has a timing chain because it is beyond 2006?

 

- ALL cars have had those stupid vanity-covers since around 2000.

- Since about 2000 most cars switched to chains and interference engines

- Cars prior to that had belts and were non-interference engines or interference engines

- 2 valves per cylinder has been the norm since the late 1980's

 

The covers are fine. They protect from dirt, and also insulate engine and injector noise. The nice new ones as seen on 10th gen 2010 Corolla are easy to remove and reinstall.

1ZZ-FE VVT-I engine with timing chain and 16 valves (4 per cylinder) was used in Corolla from 1998-2008... 2ZR-FE Dual VVT-I in 2010 (2009-2018) Corolla has a timing chain and 4 valves per cylinder as well.

4 valves (not 2) per cylinder 1.6 7A-FE was manufactured between 1987-2001 for the Corolla.

 

Are those covers easy to remove for someone who does stuff like change their plugs/plug wires, etc., on their own while getting major services done at a garage? Just some sort of snap connectors or bolts holding them on? I would think that the covers would actually cause the engine to retain heat.

Have you had any experience with 4 valves per cylinder having any major issues vs 2 valves per cylinder? I'm quite relieved that it is a timing chain at least, as all previous cars (which were Ford and it is time to change up) have had issues with timing belts breaking. The most recent Ford had a couple of breaks of the timing belt within a year and it came off once, but it didn't bend the valves the first couple of times. The third time, it trashed them and the repair would cost far more than the car is worth, which is why I'm so picky about finding one with an actual chain. So, that car is being scrapped.

Is it necessary for this timing chain to be replaced at a certain interval? I have found some sources that say that it isn't listed in the manual for maintenance and is a "whenever needed" thing...but is it realistic to assume that the valves would be destroyed if there was an issue with the chain? Others say that it should be good for the life of the car or up to 300K miles.

Thanks for the help, everyone. Never had Toyota before and this is all new to me, but I have been reading that these are some good, solid engines in general.

 

Engine cover simply pops off on 2009+ Corolla. No concern at all for 4 valves or 5 valves per cylinder versus 2 or 3. Timing chain is good for the life of the engine (300,000+ miles) with maintained oil level and regular oil changes.

Problems with early 10th gen 2009+ Corolla 2ZR-FE engines have pretty much disappeared in 11th gen 2014+ Corolla, still with 2ZR-FE engine.

 

Problems with early 10th gen 2009+ Corolla 2ZR-FE engines have pretty much disappeared in 11th gen 2014+ Corolla, still with 2ZR-FE engine.

Were any of those problems major issues or just minor flaws?

 

In case you may not know the PCV valve is behind the intake manifold.

 

PCV valve? :surprise: It's on driver's side of engine valve cover.

 

So I got curious today and pulled the CarFax since the car lot has the VIN# listed.

3 previous owners per the CarFax. The car was manufactured and sent to New Jersey. Owner 1 leased in 2010 and had it for 3 years and 1 month in New Jersey and New York. Owner 2 had it for 2 years, 7 months in New York and Florida. Owner 3 had it for 1 year and 2 months in Florida. It got sold at auction in Florida and is now in Georgia.

How do Corollas hold up underneath when it comes to cold environments and rust? Should I expect a lot of rust underneath this car due to its time in New York and New Jersey?

Oil changes, tire rotations and maintenance checks are everywhere on the CarFax report. They seem to have really taken care of it. The only interesting repairs are a mirror was replaced for some reason at about 27,000 miles. At 61,855 miles in 7/2016, it looks like a dealer had the oil and filter changed, air filter replaced, valve cover gaskets replaced and drive belt (serpentine) replaced all together. At the end of 7/2017, a dealer noted "Four tires mounted" (I presume new) at 67,412 miles. So it looks like the tires, serpentine belt and valve cover should at least be good for a while.

 

So I got curious today and pulled the CarFax since the car lot has the VIN# listed.

3 previous owners per the CarFax. The car was manufactured and sent to New Jersey. Owner 1 leased in 2010 and had it for 3 years and 1 month in New Jersey and New York. Owner 2 had it for 2 years, 7 months in New York and Florida. Owner 3 had it for 1 year and 2 months in Florida. It got sold at auction in Florida and is now in Georgia.

How do Corollas hold up underneath when it comes to cold environments and rust? Should I expect a lot of rust underneath this car due to its time in New York and New Jersey?

Oil changes, tire rotations and maintenance checks are everywhere on the CarFax report. They seem to have really taken care of it. The only interesting repairs are a mirror was replaced for some reason at about 27,000 miles. At 61,855 miles in 7/2016, it looks like a dealer had the oil and filter changed, air filter replaced, valve cover gaskets replaced and drive belt (serpentine) replaced all together. At the end of 7/2017, a dealer noted "Four tires mounted" (I presume new) at 67,412 miles. So it looks like the tires, serpentine belt and valve cover should at least be good for a while.[/QUOTE


Answer your rust questions, maybe. It has had 2 owners who owned it for less than 5 years each. They may have been less than fastidious in keeping it squeaky clean.

Rust will attack Corollas just like any car:smile: Again. it is how well the owner washed and waxed, if they did at all.

 

Last Corollas I remember with Non-Interference motors were powered by 4AGE's in the early 90s... not sure after that if the 4A/7A powered Corollas were or not.

 

Ya, in general, at least for Toyota, with some exceptions, like the Lexus 4.7 in the Tundra/Sequoia, if it has a belt, it's non-interference, and if it has a chain, it's interference.
Honda used to be really bad about using belt in interference engines.
Found out personally that the 1.8 DOHC used in the Geo Storm GSI is not an interference engine when my wife lost a belt, nor was the 1.9 in the Ford Escort (broke two belts on my POS '91)