[MXSlotkin]

Hey hey...

Name's Sam. Been a not very active user for a while now. Owned many toyotas. bout to sell the camry and just picked myself up a nice clean '99 corolla with 150k on the dash. by far the best maintained car i have ever owned and the motor is nice and clean. the car is gonna need a motor mount and some front end work, but thats nothing my light mechanical abilities can't solve. in fact im kinda looking forward to it cause it will be the first car i do that kinda work on thats not covered in oil and grime everywhere! haha anyway they thing that somewhat worries me tho is this knock sensor issue. The guy i bought it from only put maybe 7k miles on it, and he never worried about the check engine light because the shop that checked it out said "its just some sensor that didn't do anything that was gonna cost me 600 bucks to replace". and then he said something about it having been on for 75k FREAKING MILES??!! i dunno... i think thats what he said... yeah ok buddy. why would they put a sensor that didn't do anything? so i ran the check and the knock sensor comes up. ok no biggie, i've already ordered it and will put it on this weekend. but im worried that the car has been running around pinging in the summertime. since ive had it for the last 3 weeks it hasnt been knocking, but its also been "cold" here in my beautiful hometown of charleston, south carolina. my real question is, does the computer automatically retard the timing if the sensor is bad as a fail safe? should i be worried about any excessive motor wear having been done? and the final question is, does anybody know if i can pull the thing without pulling the intake manifold? just from my first quick look the answer would be no, and the manual says its gotta be pulled. but has anyone done this without doing so?

sorry for the long post for the 2 short questions. its late and im trying to type myself to sleep.

Thanks!

 

[huangxin]

as far as i know, i don't think the knock sensor can be replaced with the manifold on. there might be a way to get to it and change it, but it'll probably end up taking longer than actually removing the manifold.

and i don't think that it would cause damage, as far as i know, when there's an error code the computer automatically goes into limp mode (factory setting) and does not advance the timing or change mixtures anymore.

pull the plugs out, if the engine's been exposed to heavy detonation for a long time, there will be cracks or chips on the insulators; however, do watch your oil level closely for a while though. many 8th gen rollas are known to burn some oil.

if you want to know for sure the condition of the cylinders, a compression test can tell you a lot.

 

[MXSlotkin]

Thanks pal. i feel better. and i did pull the manifold and replace the sensor. problem was not fixed. turns out some hack had been in there and started splicing wires. geeez thats always fun.
took a while to find that. ill get it fixed up. worse come to worse the computer itself has some fried internal connections but i can get one of those one ebay all day for 100 bucks.

i haven't even had time to do a full tune up, workin too much. ill check out the plugs. when you say they are known for burning oil, are you referring to poorly maintained ones burning oil, or all of them?

 

[huangxin]

i meant 8th gen in general

don't get me wrong, there are corollas that never burns a single drop, but it's not uncommon to see a 8th gen to burn oil

just check your oil daily (if you drive a lot) or weekly (if you don't) for the first couple of days or weeks to get an idea on whether it burns oil or not

hope yours doesn't burn a drop, but even if it does, just keep the level up. it'll be a reliable little car

 

[MXSlotkin]

yeah it burns it. and does anybody know what happens if you use the single electrode spark plugs as opposed to the dual?

 

[Downhillzze110]

your car knocks badly... trust me, my dad cheaped out on plugs once... my corolla ran HORRBILY. as for your knock sensor issue. a good wiring diagram and maybe some help from a toyota tech (some of them are actually pretty friendly and helpful as long as your not rude, pretentious, or a know-it-all) back trace the wires, splice them back together and shrink wrap them (this may sound stupid but put the shrink wrap on the wires BEFORE you splice then shrink it down. worked at an auto parts store for a year, youd be surprised how many people dont quite get that concept).

 

[chuck*47*]

My '98 has a P0325 knock sensor code now. Twice now in 2 weeks as I scanned it and erased it last time. No pinging in the Florida heat on 87 octane and is running like nothing is wrong.
I'll havent had the time to look into it yet but will soon.