Engine Knock And Overheat

[padydm40]

Hi All,

Sorry this is my first post.

Kind of got a problem with my 02 celica vvti. I left work tonight and noticed that the air vents were only pushing through cold air, no matter how high I turned up the dial. Then noticed that the temp guage was maxed out and flashing. The Engine management light came on half way home and I noticed a knocking noise from the engine.

It kind of idles a bit rough now as well.

Checked the oil and it looks to be between the top and bottom marker on the dip stick. The coolant resevior is almost empty too. No sign of any oil mixing yet though.

Apart from the engine being knackered could it be anything else? (he says hanging onto the faintest glimmer of hope)

[Leeky]

Oh dear.... oh dear oh dear....

Search the forum for old posts..... that engine has gone the way of the dodo my friend. Which is pretty much the fate of every 1ZZ-FE eventually... :(

[padydm40]

Thanks for the reply. I'll have a search through the posts.

As an update, I can confirm it works fine when the engine is cold and there is no knock. It does whistle/whine a little though. When it gets up to temp and "overheats", the knocking starts. I honestly have no idea what its problem is.

[edwardio]

I'd say your rad has gone (check near the bottom), it's very common. Also the engine could be cooked.

You say the oil is in the middle on the stick. How often do you check the oil & have you been topping up a lot recently? If you have then you've had a double hit. Rad gone & the dreaded oil issue.

The pre 2003 1zz engine have a design flaw where by the oil drain holes around the pistons get bunged up and the engine starts burning oil until it causes damage. This is generally down to owners not servicing their cars regularly, not checking their oil regularly & using cheap oil. The 2003> engines had a design change to improve the drainage.

[padydm40]

Well the engine is definitely gone. Tried to get it to the local garage and had to turn back. Rattling away like a diesel now :(

Thanks for the replies though.

[Leeky]

Sorry to hear that dude. Just make sure you get a totally different unbroken engine and not a reconditioned one. As a lot of these dodgy garages that specialise in these engines (mostly in Birmingham) take your engine, stick new parts in it and then tell you it was a new recon engine. It'll only last a few months if you're lucky.

They've been pulling this scam for years and not just on this engine.