oil burning 1ZZ-FE- now with pics of the piston problem

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dawesy
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oil burning 1ZZ-FE- now with pics of the piston problem

Post by dawesy »

I have just brought my dad a 2001 avensis 1.8, car itself if in excellent condition with full Toyota service history. only thing wrong with it is it has a thirst for oil. this we knew when we brought the car,we only paid £275 for the car so happy with that.
now i have stripped the engine down today, rings are not looking good but the bores are fine.
has anyone just replaced the rings and been OK with regular oil changes?
or is it a must to change the pistons, i have read conflicting articles as to the changes Toyota made, some say piston design others just the rings.
we'll obviously have the bores checked for ovalness but there wasn't that much movement on the piston.
big ends need replacing but mains look like new.
just want some info on what others have done with their engines.
my dad only does around 3-4k miles a year and he's not a boy racer. just want to make sure that when it goes back together it doesn't keep burning oil.
ill bin the pre cats (well the one remaining one as some one has removed one.)
any advice would be greatly received
Last edited by dawesy on 23/01/11 8:10, edited 1 time in total.


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d-peg
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Re: Any one who has rebuilt an oil burning 1ZZ-FE

Post by d-peg »

There doesn't need to much "ovalness" for the engine to be boned... We're talking 0.25mm to make a difference. To be honest i think 1zz's are cheap enough to just buy one and be done :)
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Re: Any one who has rebuilt an oil burning 1ZZ-FE

Post by vanilla.coffee »

There was a post 03 1ZZ engine on ebay for a buy it now of £600.
I suggested it to another member who said he was desperate but he was clearly not desperate enough to buy it so it's still available.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/TOYOTA-MR2-ROADST ... 45f77c7e0a
They'll take the internet off us if people keep doing this.
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Re: Any one who has rebuilt an oil burning 1ZZ-FE

Post by dawesy »

thanks for the link.
how likely is it the bored have gone oval?
ill be getting them measured and don't mind a re bore if necessary,
assuming the bores are still round though will a hone and set of rings be OK?
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Re: Any one who has rebuilt an oil burning 1ZZ-FE

Post by Wabbitkilla »

Honing yes ....
Actually the pistons and rings are very different after 03 and very much worth doing.
It is after all the reason why the oval bore thing happened ... the piston and ring design pre 03 just weren't up to the job properly. Some people have got away with it, but they have stuck rigidly to service schedules and decent quality oils and filters. Part of the problem is that even Toyota dealerships can't be ar$ed to use the proper oils and just stick semi synth in there.

And yes, I have a friend (with turbo-charged 1zz-fe) who did the honing and new piston thing and it has worked splendidly! Not burning any oil now and engine runs sweet as a shiny thing with lots of decent power. :th:
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Re: oil burning 1ZZ-FE- now with pics of the piston problem

Post by dawesy »

ok update time.
after having the bores measured they were found to be fine so only a hone needed.
all the parts arrived friday, including new pistons.
took some pics to show the difference between pre 2003 and post 2003 pistons, you can see why they burn oil!!

pre 2003
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only two holes each side to allow the oil back down to the sump

its hard to see in this pic but the oil has crusted around the back of the holes. this engine was pretty clean inside too and has full dealer service history, mileage is 91,000
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new pistons, the difference is clear

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4 holes each side and they extend down into the skirt area.
ill do and engine build thread separate to this one later on
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Re: oil burning 1ZZ-FE- now with pics of the piston problem

Post by vanilla.coffee »

Thanks for posting the pictures :th:
They'll take the internet off us if people keep doing this.
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Toplesscouple

Re: oil burning 1ZZ-FE- now with pics of the piston problem

Post by Toplesscouple »

I'm not an engineer so I may not fully understand, but is not having 4 new style pistons fitted to an early engine a possible engine saving procedure? Providing obviously that the bores are not already ovaled.

Interesting to see the differance. I do wonder if any problems are caused by a thicker oil than the 5/30 being used as I nearly put in 10/40.
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Re: oil burning 1ZZ-FE- now with pics of the piston problem

Post by dawesy »

yes putting the later type pistons in an early engine should eliminate any issues as should using the correct grade of quality fully synthetic oil. just using good oil though will only stop the condition from getting worse, if poor oil has been used previously or poor servicing then the problem may already have started.
you need to check the bores though, if they are oval then a rebore will be needed as long as they arnt too far gone, ours out of interest was smoking VERY badly especialy on after being on the overrun for a while,the smoke was very thick.
price for a full set of pistons and rings from toyota is about £317 (std size). you can get them cheaper from ebay etc but you would need to check they are made to the new standard.
remember to bin the precats as well, that said ours had a failing precat but no scoring on the bore walls
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iLogik

Re: oil burning 1ZZ-FE- now with pics of the piston problem

Post by iLogik »

if it was caused by cat failure i recommend replacing the main cat too.
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nimbus58

Re: oil burning 1ZZ-FE- now with pics of the piston problem

Post by nimbus58 »

Earlier contributor stated >>the piston and ring design pre 03 just weren't up to the job properly.<<

Can we confirm that the 6 speed gearbox (& 'facelift'?) corresponds with the implementation of the new design pistons etc? I read elsewhere (maybe honestjohn.co.uk) hinting 'better engine'. Anyone have a VIN to correspond with this development point?

Cheers,
nimbus58
new owner Feb '11, near Glasgow
Mk3 2003 45k

& pleased so far :)
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Re: oil burning 1ZZ-FE- now with pics of the piston problem

Post by d-peg »

Welcome to the club matey! :D
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raymondbacon

Re: oil burning 1ZZ-FE- now with pics of the piston problem

Post by raymondbacon »

Hi All, I have a 05 6 speed which had the usual thirst for oil (36k miles). It is now in my garage and the block has been rebored and a new set of pistons ready to go in (ebay USA £90). The pistons that came out only had the 4 small oil holes and not the larger holes of the later ones as on this post even though this is a late 6 speed car. Should I drill them out or just use decent oil?
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kentsmudger

Re: oil burning 1ZZ-FE- now with pics of the piston problem

Post by kentsmudger »

raymondbacon wrote:Hi All, I have a 05 6 speed which had the usual thirst for oil (36k miles). It is now in my garage and the block has been rebored and a new set of pistons ready to go in (ebay USA £90). The pistons that came out only had the 4 small oil holes and not the larger holes of the later ones as on this post even though this is a late 6 speed car. Should I drill them out or just use decent oil?
Which holes have the new pistons got?

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