Question for Toyota 1.8L 1ZZFE owners (or anyone else who wants to chime in) :)

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My engine has never seen the same oil twice in a row...roughly it has seen OEM fill, M1, Pennz Plat, M1, GC, Chevron, Pennz Plat and now Havoline(in sump now) All have been 5W30 and SM except for the GC(0W30) and the Chevron which was SL. No additives were ever added to the oils except for the last time I had Pennz Plat in there...I also added 4 oz of VSOT and 4oz of initial dose of LC and 3 more oz of LC roughly over 3k miles.

If you have ever had a car with this engine I guess you not be opposed to me calling it a bit of a chatterbox no? Well it has never been that quiet of a engine no matter what oil I have put in there...to be honest it seems like it chatters more with synth in there...why is that?
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I thought it was sort of loud and what I mean by noise is imagine this...when just driving slowly around a parking lot and you give it a little gas it sounds like someone taking a tiny hammer and banging it on the engine about a 1000 times a minute...not like the engine is going to explode..just an annoying sound...or another analogy could be the sound that a baseball card makes when it is a bike tire just more metallic(geeeez remember putting those cards in there? Who cared then if it was a rookie Reggie Jackson then)
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It seemed like the Chevron quieted it down a bit but now with Havoline in there it sounds a lot louder even though they are corporate twins almost in their makeup? Could it be that there is that big of a difference between SL and SM types? It also was pretty noisey at the beginning of my OIC with PP in there but quieted down about 1k after I added the VSOT...started to get louder right before I did my most recent OIC...VSOT wearing out? I'm sort of a little gun shy of adding any VSOT to Havoline due to the large amount of moly in there

Ok it's late and I'm rambling..bet you wish you had that 2 minutes of you life back eh?

So in closing...1.8L 1ZZFE owners...do your engines sound similar to this? Pretty buzzy and makes the clicking clacking noise while accelerating or driving around slowly? I think the Corolla is more insulated than the Matrix so that could play a part in it...is this the valvetrain, injectors, timing chain?

Goose
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PS any ideas on possibly quieting it down also? I thought Havoline would do it but no go....oh just to drag this out a bit further...coming back from NJ last week I filled up in CT with my first tank ever of 10% ethanol in the gas....could this contribute to the noises? I swear the car hasn't been running as good since I had the tank of gas in it 2 fillups ago...hey ok I'm reaching I guess
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Mines been pretty quiet for the 38k that I've owned it.

No wierd noises and gets down the road just fine.

I do get a squeak from the belt tensioner for a sec or 3 on the first startup of the day.

Other than that, lifes been good with the car!
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(other than the hundreds of rock chips and broken windsheild)
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Take care, bill

PS:
quote:

any ideas on possibly quieting it down also?

You need to run 20-50 Full Syn in it! (just kidding...)
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I've got 3 Vibes with the 1ZZFE and they all make that ticking noise to varying degrees, especially when cold. I found using a thicker oil seemed to help but it's not a complete cure. I use XD3 0w30 wich is a borderline 40wt. My 03 has 167,000 miles and it makes a pretty good racket when I start it up on a cold winter day but the noise goes away once it's warmed up.

Aluminum expands mnore than cast iron so these engines are built with more clearance so the parts have room to expand. Plus OHC engines tend to have more valtrain noise than OHV engines due to the gap between the cam and valve shim.
 
Blue_Goose,

I've been using Mobil 1 since new, so I can't compare my situation with yours (ie, I don't know if my Vibe is being noisier than normal or not). The only "odd" noise I've noticed is when the engine gets up to operating temp (while at idle) and a fast, repetitive "ticking" noise emits from the air filter box (hood has to be open to hear it). Reminds me of what a bad starter solenoid sounds like (but obviously not this case).

Maybe I'll switch to Platinum or Kendall GT-1 Blend (I've got a big stash of both oils) on my next oil change, just to see if I can hear a difference.

BTW Bill: I finally did switch to the larger filter (F1 and PureOne L14477) and I have to say it is really nice to be able to pour a full four quarts in and toss all the bottles!
 
I have heard a lot of reports of ticking with this engine, but personally (03 Corolla), I have not had it. Buzzy on acceleration, yes.

I, too, have changed oil brands around like crazy. All dinos. Havoline, Valvoline, Castrol, Supertech are those that I recall offhand.
 
Thanks for the replys..I guess the reason I am asking is because the engine has always been a ticker it is just really a lot louder now no matter if engine is cold or after a 50 mile highyway commute...this has only probably been over the last week or so...

I don't want to call it a knock but it sounds like a slight rap..If I'm parked and rev the engine slightly you can hear it pretty good...almost like a rattle or slight gnashing
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Car seems fine though...! weird thing though...right after I changed the oil and was letting it run for leaks etc I revved it a couple of times...after each time I let off the gas the car almost stalled for a split second....doesn't do it now...just thought was a bit odd..as that never happened before...I'm picking brains here so I don't have to dealer it..I hate going there....idle tad rougher also

After a warmish winter we have had a bit of a cold snap...wondering if that is contributing to it.


I dunno..I may dump this SM Havoline out and put SL in and see if that makes a diff


Goose
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If it is coming from the airbox area you are hearing the VSV (Vacuum Switching Valve) perfectly normal to make this noise. If you had a short ram intake it would be very noticeable.
AS for the other noises, I'd say yes this engine is a bit buzzy, but not that bad. I find filter choice makes more of a diff here. My NAPA Gold filter makes the car run quiet than the original Toyo filter. Maybe better flow characterictics?
 
Mostly if I'm at a stop light and then give it gas it makes clacking noise that go faster with speed up...dunno..this all seemed to begin about a week and a 1/2 ago..like a tiny hammer hitting
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Doesn't seem to affect power or anything and can't hear it unless starting off from a stop(that loudly at least...gnashing sounds like a good word here also)..maybe it will go away...I seem to remember this sound with M1 in there and it eventually went away(I think lol)


I put 1 oz of LC in today to see if that does anything

Goose
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I bought a used 2002 Corolla with this engine and 42K miles. Noisiest little rattle-box I've had. I'm running some Auto-Rx through it, and it probably will see some 5W40 to see if I can quiet it down. But it does run strong in that little car!!
 
These engines have a compression ratio of 10:1 which is pretty high for regular unleaded. So there's the possiblility we're hearing a small amount of spark knock. High comp engines tend to be noisier too.
 
Mine is quiet with M1 5-30. Very smooth also. Its a 5 spd manual. Just turn up the stereo if it bothers you ! LOL
 
The noisiest I've heard mine was with Valvoline dino. But it barely whispered with Valvoline Maxlife synthetic 10W30. Currently has GTX for an Auto-Rx rinse, which is quieter than the Valvoline, but still buzzy. Switching to Redline 10W30 next. We'll see what happens. Mine is probably older, a '93, so perhaps more prone to oddball buzzes anyway.

In reference to what Olympic said, you might try running high test gas, if you don't already.
 
Sounds like a VSV noise to me. I have a 2ZZ with TRD intake, was very loud ticking after converting to TRD intake. Tick is RPM dependent, increasing frequency as RPM increases. TRD actually issued a rubber insulator kit to reduce the noise. (VSV insulated from metal intake tube)
 
The IZZ_FE in 04 Corrolla is a little buzzy when the engine is cold and when accelerating from stop. I guess it does get annoying at time but its seems like thats the way the engine is. I switched from Syntec Blend to Syntec 0-30 and it still is the same. Once the engine warms up it becomes smoother. I guess this the way the engine is designed. May be next generation will get a smoother engine. Is you corrolla made in Japan or USA. I don't know if there is any difference in the smoothness between Japan built and uSA built.
 
Although I have a bigger engine (not by much) 2.2L Ecotec 4cyl Dohc - 2004 Pontiac Sunfire. I also noticed pinging or knocking on acceleration - especially upon startup for the first 10-15 seconds.

Switching from Mobil (very light) to German Castrol (heavier oil) helped that a lot - and because my engine also has 10:1 compression - I've been using 91 octane. Really seems to quiet the thing down especially on startup. (Only pings for a few seconds).

On my 220 mile daily work drive I get about +3-4MPG with 91 octane in comparison to 87. My drive does have a lot of mountains. If you have a knock sensor I would definitely use higher than 87 octane...
 
Most recent engines run with what used to be considered gosh-awful compression ratios that required 100 octane gasoline. The difference now is that they have knock sensors to allow the engine management computer to tailor ignition advance to varying load conditions to keep the engines healthy on 87 pump octane gasoline. Do these Toy 1ZZFE motors have solid lifters? What about normal fuel injector "popping" (which, if Toyota uses more than one supplier, might account for the loudness variation noted by different posters in this thread)?
 
I think there are certain Honda and Toyota engines that are just noisy. There is nothing inherent about all-aluminum engines that makes them noisy. The Lexus V8 is a paradigm of silence when it comes to engines. The only sound you hear out of my Chrysler when it's running is the noise the v-belts make and the a/c compressor cycling.
 
All I've run as far as gas in my Corolla has been whats the cheapest unleaded regular from a gas station that does business alot.

Never heard a ping, gotten up to 46 mpg and average 42 mpg overall.

The lowest ALT I've been to with the car so far is 2000 feet and a little over 10k.

Never heard a single ping in it.

My Taurus was pinging most of the time and my Truck pings then the knock sensor kicks in and its gone.

The 1ZZFE can and needs to run on Regular. I've had input from Terry about this durning a UOA run.

I think the engine is pretty quiet. It's quieter than the 2.4 that was in my 1998 Accord or my Jetta motor.

My Dads 1.7 Civic was a little quieter.

Take care, Bill
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