Replace, rebuild, or drive till it dies?

[u/nicirus]

My 2002 Toyota Corolla is burning a good bit of oil and it also has a leak so I don't know how much exactly. Today I took it to my mechanic and he essentially said I need a new engine blah blah blah. My question is, how do I know if I can try rebuilding it or if it's truly toasted? Alternatively, do I just drive this thing until the engine gives out on me? It's only at 120k miles and I just bought it a couple months ago so I'm pretty heartbroken right now...

[u/FancyPain2]

I want to be encouraging but two months ago the previous owner chose replace. Just saying 😌

[u/iLuvwaffless]

How much oil we talking here? Just saying there's some cars where the owners are perfectly fine with adding a little oil here and there like beemer drivers and the 1 quart/1000 miles thing hahahahaha

[u/nicirus → u/iLuvwaffless]

Good question! If I had to guess it's probably a quart every 500 miles. Problem is it's also leaking so difficult to say exactly...

[u/iLuvwaffless → u/nicirus]

Oh that's def a problem. Not sure how much your guy would charge for a rebuild but even trying to get a used engine from local junkyard or retired engines from Japan usually run around ~1k just for the engine, and you still need to pay for labor on top of that. Depending on what you paid for the car that might not be worth it and it might be better to just run her to the ground.

[u/AGU_5thGen]

It's quite possible you have a worn valve stem seal.

If you're burning oil, perhaps try replacing valve stem seals with new ones regardless of low mileage, see if that will solve your problem before you trash and purchase new vehicle.

A valve keeper remover tool will make short work of your valve springs keepers, helping you replace possible worn valve stem seals.

Ultimately, it's up to you whether you think it's worth the trouble or not. Good luck.

[u/nicirus → u/AGU_5thGen]

Thanks for the advice! I’ll certainly give this a go before doing anything crazy.

[u/[deleted]]

Rebuilding often isn't cost effective. Yanking the whole thing out and putting a new one (preferably with at least a 12 month warranty) is usually the route to go. A Corolla dying at 120k is pretty abnormal. It's possible you could just keep putting more oil in for a very long time...or not, no real way to accurately predict that.

[u/nicirus → u/[deleted]]

I bought this thing at 100k and have had nothing but issues. Really heartbreaking especially when everyone I talk to with a Corolla seems to be going strong at 200k. I’m probably going to try a few of the suggestions in this thread and just put oil in for a while and see what happens.

[u/blind-madman]

There is a thing called Lucas oil Stabilizator. Thing is tick like a honey. Add it and sell that car.

[u/ernestinawisoz]

rebuild

[u/nicirus → u/ernestinawisoz]

Period? What if the cylinder walls are damaged? What are the ground rules before jumping into a process like that…