1.4 vvti siezed

[Aidan@EP-styling]

well ppl just a phone call there from my brother saying that he was driving up the motorway in his 2003 toyota corolla 1.4 vvti and it lost power and just stopped on the hard shoulder. he tried to start it and nothing was happening and he could only hear a clicking noise. he checked it for engine oil and it was ok.

as he was in a rush to get to dublin he phoned for a break-down lorry to take it away to a garage and he got a taxi on into dublin

then the garage phoned him to say that the engine is siezed and will cost 2000 euro to replace with another second hand engine.

question i have is there any common faults with these cars that has the same symptoms as i listed above?

i cant believe its seized as it got serviced regular and he has it from brand new. + its a toyota and it always was reliable

what might be wrong with it?

 

[Aidan@EP-styling]

and theres about 70k miles on it

 

[Mike@TD.co.uk]

some of the 1400 vvti's suffered from using oil, but if that was ok then i'm not aware of any other engine related issues with them.

 

[Aidan@EP-styling]

some of the 1400 vvti's suffered from using oil, but if that was ok then i'm not aware of any other engine related issues with them.

yeah theres oil in it and as i said it clicks when you try starting it - does this sound like an electrical problem? but what electric problem could make it stop while drivng and now alow it to even turn over?

 

[Mike@TD.co.uk]

has he tried to bump start the car? you'll know if its seized

could just be starter problem?

 

[Aidan@EP-styling]

has he tried to bump start the car? you'll know if its seized

could just be starter problem?

no it'll be tomorrow before the car is home then he'l try start it on the run. but if its a starter problem it shouldnt have stopped itself drivin in the 1st place i dont think

maybe its faulty ecu or something

 

[Mike@TD.co.uk]

no it'll be tomorrow before the car is home then he'l try start it on the run. but if its a starter problem it shouldnt have stopped itself drivin in the 1st place i dont think

maybe its faulty ecu or something

suppose yeah, can he get it to Toyota to plug the computer into it?

 

[Aidan@EP-styling]

suppose yeah, can he get it to Toyota to plug the computer into it?

good idea.. ill get him to do that tommorow

 

[Guye]

Broken timing belt + freak starter failure perhaps? I don't trust what mechanics & garages have to say unless you know them personally. My company has been ripped off before by a "reputable" garage. Get a second opinion. Good luck.

 

[sx_turbo]

i agree with new guy, i reckon the timing belt snapped, or a pulley on the timing belt broke,

seeing as you say it had oil in it.

 

[Aidan@EP-styling]

i agree with new guy, i reckon the timing belt snapped, or a pulley on the timing belt broke,

seeing as you say it had oil in it.

im nearly sure its a timing chain..

 

[sx_turbo]

im nearly sure its a timing chain..

hmmm its possible i dont know 100%

 

[Guye]

im nearly sure its a timing chain..

Belt or chain, once it's made by man anything is possible. Unlikely but still worth a check.

 

[Aidan@EP-styling]

Belt or chain, once it's made by man anything is possible. Unlikely but still worth a check.

yeah i know..

altho toyota said it doesnt need replaced until it starts to rattle!

 

[Adam_Glanza]

yeah chains dont normally need to be changed ever..

or about 150,000 miles.

it does sound very weird?

it wont be any of those tho, if it was timing chain it would still turn over just wouldnt be any compression. aka would turn over very fast sounding.

sounds to me like maybe a sensors died like crankshaft position sensor or camshaft sensor.

best to do a diagnostic test and have a look

 

[streetracer_starlet]

vvti's are prone to using oil alot. Seen many a seized one before. Avensis were very common for ignition switches going.Would mean it would just click when trying to start. Try starting it,Turn the key till it clicks,hold the key in that position and wiggle it about,see what happens.

 

[GTti]

Easy way to tell is:

Take the handbrake off, get a socket wrench on the crank pully bolt and try and manually crank the engine over / turn the crank. If it won't budge then they're probably right.

 

[Gilly2006]

yeh but if the timing belt has snapped why would the piston not smash the valve?

 

[streetracer_starlet]

vvti's are chain,very unlikley to snap,as Gtti said, need to try and manually turn the engine over to see if its actualy seized....or start striping it down
It doesn't matter if there was oil in it or not, when was it last serviced?

 

[Aidan@EP-styling]

its always serviced when its needed - toyota write in the book when to come back everytime (x amount of miles)