Very sick 1994 Toyota Collora 1.8L.

[Mark]

I backed my 1994 Toyota Corolla SE (1.8L, automatic trans) out to the driveway, went about 75 feet down the street, and the still running engine began making horrible, metal-on-metal sounds and pretty much lost power, although the engine never quit. My mechanic suggested a bad timing chain, which doesn’t make any sense, since that engine uses a timing belt and wouldn’t run at all if it broke. I suspect that time timing belt tensioner gave way. What’s the likelihood that it damaged the engine?

Topic

[Jason White]

First I would check to see if a component driven by the drive belt(s) hasn’t locked up.

[EricTheCarGuy]

Funny, I have a video coming out about breaking a timing belt coming out in the not too distant future. Replace the belt and bad tensioner and give it a try. If there’s no damage, you’re in luck. If there is, at least you’ve already done the timing belt.

[Mark]

Thanks, Eric. I just hope it hasn’t damaged any internal parts. If it did, I guess I’ll need to start shopping for a new, old car. I have neither the skill nor the tools to repair any internal damage.

[Mark]

Good idea, but they haven’t.

[Jake F]

If Toyota made Corollas anything like the 3rd gen Camrys, a timing belt snap will be just that. Replacement with no damage anywhere. Have a toyota dealership diagnose it for free by telling them your timing belt broke and you need a replacement. If the diagnosis is different, opt to take it somewhere else and thank them for their service. Auto Groups make a lot of money and are customer support driven.

[Mark]

Thanks, but the timing belt did NOT come off. The car will still start, but it sounds terrible under the timing belt cover. I’m reasonably certain that the the tensioner broke, or at least spilled its BBs inside the cover, resulting in a lose belt, and a lot of noise. No warning lights. My hands can’t take the cold, and my wallet can’t handle a regular repair shop. I have a mechanic friend who I’m forced to rely on in such matters, but he has to clear his shop (garage) in order to get it in, so it may continue to sit outside the house for awhile Fortunately, my trusty old Dakota with 251,000 miles on it still runs. Sucks on gas, though. 🙂 Thanks, again, for the advice.

[Delwyn Ching]

According to this list, you have a timing belt.

http://toyota.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/7690/~/does-my-vehicle-have-a-timing-belt-or-timing-chain%3F

BTW Eric did a video where the tensioner was improperly installed and it was grinding the timing belt.

[Erin]

This might sound silly but are you sure there is plenty of oil in the engine?
Corollas of a lot of years are horrible about burning oil. I know this, I have a 95 corolla. Don’t rely on the oil light alone.
One quart per 1,000 miles is not unheard of. Has something to do with the oil drain holes in the pistons being too small and clogging or something.

From my research, the 1.6 and 1.8 with belts are both non-interference engines.
So basically, if the timing belt or tensioner is the problem, replacing those should be all that is really necessary.

Corollas did switch over to timing chains at some point but 94 has a belt so that is all that matters here.

[Delwyn Ching]

[quote=”Summer_Night” post=160019]This might sound silly but are you sure there is plenty of oil in the engine?
Corollas of a lot of years are horrible about burning oil. I know this, I have a 95 corolla. Don’t rely on the oil light alone.
One quart per 1,000 miles is not unheard of. Has something to do with the oil drain holes in the pistons being too small and clogging or something.

From my research, the 1.6 and 1.8 with belts are both non-interference engines.
So basically, if the timing belt or tensioner is the problem, replacing those should be all that is really necessary.

Corollas did switch over to timing chains at some point but 94 has a belt so that is all that matters here.[/quote]

Thanks, that’s nice to know about the oil burning and oil drain holes if I ever come across one.

[Mark]

The car uses very little oil, so little that I don’t need to add oil between oil changes. Thanks for sharing your information, especially the part about this engine being a non-interference engine. That was what I was most concerned about. This old Toyota has been an excellent car, and I’d hate to lose it.

[Sue Anne Reyes]

Being a biased consumer of toyota. I feel very sad when seeing a fine car like this sick, If you have the resources you can always revive it but it may not be that cost effective. If you should sell it. I hope you find a new owner who can take care of it.

Regards
xoxo

[Mark]

I got the car back yesterday. The problem was that the timing belt tensioner broke off from its mount, which is part of the oil pump. The only to repair the the problem is to replace the oil pump. Boo, hiss. I had my mechanic replace the oil pump, install a new tenioner and timing belt, and replace the water pump, too. I figured that would save me money in the long run. Parts and labor: About $550. Left me with $7 in the bank for the rest of the month. Ouch. Now if I can just figure out how to repair the AC.

[Author]

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