Loud knocking noise,01 Toyota celica vvti

Paul Vario

Anybody help me here,when i start up my celica from cold there is a very loud knocking noise from engine,stops after a couple of min driving, checked oil on it and was empty,so toped it up with more and still knocking,only bought car last week,anybody have any ideas on whats wrong and how much i would be looking at to fix?Thanks for your help!!

Tipsy Mac

Was all oil gone when you checked it? Did u check the level before this when you bought it? Is is the standard 140hp or the 189 t sport engine?

Farls

I'd be landing that back to the man I bought it off if at all possible. If the oil was gone the engine would of seized, is there oil under where the car is parked? Check the radiator for oil mixed in as its escaping somewhere. Sounds like an expensive problem though.

I'm fairly sure thats its a problem with the vvti most likely caused by the low level of oil. It is essential to keep the oil level correct in VVTi and VVTLi engines as they are quite delicate even more so than other engines.

The engine may be ok though as this rattle is not uncommon in cars with variable valve timing when cold.

Darragh29

Paul Vario wrote: »

Anybody help me here,when i start up my celica from cold there is a very loud knocking noise from engine,stops after a couple of min driving, checked oil on it and was empty,so toped it up with more and still knocking,only bought car last week,anybody have any ideas on whats wrong and how much i would be looking at to fix?Thanks for your help!!

Hate to give you the bad news but that is most likely your crankshaft main bearings/whole engine f*cked. I've done a few engine changes on this car all for the same reason, they just are known for this problem. Your looking at somewhere in the region of 2.5K to have this resolved, if the problem is what I think it is...

Just read that you were empty on oil. This is most certainly what the problem is with your car, if they run low on oil at all, they are gone. Even getting an engine for this car is a nightmare, I paid Traynors in NI, around £1.5K for one. I hope you have a warranty with it...

Paul Vario

its the standard 140hp model,bought it on fri 23rd of jan,no noise when starting from cold,started making noise last tuesday,checked oil level and it was empty, never checked it when i bought it!!so topped it up and still making noise.

mickdw

If I had just bought a used car,specially something with a little performance, I would be keeping a good eye on all fluids/gauges for the first while to ensure that it had no issues.
You have done serious damage here id say and to be honest you will find it hard to blame this on anyone else. You can hardly go back to where you bought it and say I ran it without oil and expect them to fix it for ya. If you bought at a dealer and you had noticed it was burning oil, they would have to fix it but by driving it low on oil until the engine goes knocking, well you are in trouble.

Get a diagnosis.

but43r

Has it lost any power?? Does the oil pressure light go on??? Is so the engine is gone. Its going to be very expensive to fix it. You can pick up reconditioned engines on ebay.ie for €1000-€1500 plus delivery...
Sorry for you but you should allways check the oil or even better, change the oil after buying a car..

Paul Vario

it's my fault,i know that,wont be trying to blame someone else,i should have checked oil,would it need a new engine even though the car still runs with the one in it,or could it be some parts need replacing?

Paul Vario

it has lost no power atall,and oil pressure light has not come on either,its driving fine,can hear a slight rattle at around 40-50 mph

Overature

you proberly have a cheap part of a Fiat or micra stuck on to your car. you cant trust them

but43r

Dont drive the car now but bring it to mechanic. It is possible that your crankshaft is not damaged yet and you will only need to replace bearings on it. It will still be expensive but not near as expensive as replaicing the whole engine...

Paul Vario

around how much would replacing the bareings cost?

but43r

I have no idea.

Darragh29

You're looking at a new engine here OP. It would be hard to find a mechanic who would get into an engine rebuild for you on this motor... I know only one lad I'd trust at an engine rebuild for this car, I wouldn't go at it myself, engine out and engine in, no problem, I priced this job before to take the engine out and get an engine rebuilding shop to do the deep engine work, and it ended up being cheaper to just change the engine. If you have valve train damage, you're into hundreds more Euro, on top of hundreds already to sort out the bottom end damage. The RAV4 and also the MR2 engine is the same as the Celica, depending on what model Celica you have, I think it's the 140BHP engine.

Darragh29

Paul Vario wrote: »

it's my fault,i know that,wont be trying to blame someone else,i should have checked oil,would it need a new engine even though the car still runs with the one in it,or could it be some parts need replacing?

It'll keep running but will start getting worse, as in the knocking noise. You could take the engine out, take it apart and replace main bearings or big end bearings but by the time you have this done, you'd be out of pocket less just changing the engine.

Paul Vario

yea its the 140hp model

Darragh29

Paul Vario wrote: »

yea its the 140hp model

That has the same engine as the MR2 and the Rav 4, just check your engine code when shopping around though...

Darragh29

Check out IVI engines on the Naas Rd, I imagine they would quote you over 2K for this job...

Paul Vario

Had the car checked out today,engine is perfect,turns out it was the timing chain,it needs to be replaced,i'm told it's a big enough job,anybody here ever had it done,if so where and how much,i've been told it's best to get it done from a Toyota garage.

knifey_spoonie

Paul Vario wrote: »

Had the car checked out today,engine is perfect,turns out it was the timing chain,it needs to be replaced,i'm told it's a big enough job,anybody here ever had it done,if so where and how much,i've been told it's best to get it done from a Toyota garage.

The Chain is noisy because you ran low on oil,

You are looking a i big enough bill

Timing Chain 75 (est)
VVTi Controller 275 (est)
Labour 325

Vat 91

Total 766

Thats what im guessing what you will be looking at, Cant think off the top of me head exact prices or times.

But you should replace the VVTi Controller, if you dont your asking for trouble

Paul Vario

Paul Vario wrote: »

Had the car checked out today,engine is perfect,turns out it was the timing chain,it needs to be replaced,i'm told it's a big enough job,anybody here ever had it done,if so where and how much,i've been told it's best to get it done from a Toyota garage.

Thats good to hear its not a engine gone. Just make sure you get it done by someone who has experience doing it as it wouldnt be to common. I wouldnt have blind faith in toyota garages either one of them made a mess out of my uncles celica back when they came out 1st as they werent used to working on the engine(they had to rebuild the engine at their expense after the mistake). I wouldnt think this would be an issue now though as the engine has been around for years.

Also keep a very very close eye on the oil from now on, as what I said before its vital for that engine to have enough oil.

Paul Vario

Thanks for all the reply's everyone,very helpful,car is booked into a main Toyota dealer for next week to get job done could be looking at around 800 euro in total i'm told,expensive job,but better off getting it done right, oil will be getting checked every week from now on!!! i'll put a post up of total price when job is done to let people know.

Darragh29

Paul Vario wrote: »

Thanks for all the reply's everyone,very helpful,car is booked into a main Toyota dealer for next week to get job done could be looking at around 800 euro in total i'm told,expensive job,but better off getting it done right, oil will be getting checked every week from now on!!! i'll put a post up of total price when job is done to let people know.

I hope I was wrong on this but I'd be surprised if the problem you described was a timing chain but I haven't seen the car so I can't say with any real degree of certainty...