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Project GTS | The 2zz Issues

1/10/2019

2 Comments

 
Picture
2ZZGE
A few days after removing the drivetrain from the Celica, I decided to get started on the engine tear down. The first step is to split the engine and transmission, this a pretty easy task with everything out of the car already. I was surprised however to see just how disgusting the transmission was, someone recently had this engine apart and decided to not fix the transmission leaks at that time. The saddest part is that it's just a bad axle seal, what kind of work ethic is that!  Anyway, let's move on...
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painted 2ZZ
In the image above you'll see the glued on seal proving this was a junkyard engine, although I knew this already just based on the infamous "silver paint job". Next, I put the engine on the stand, and anyone that has worked on a Toyota knows you need to source 5" bolts to mount the engine up. I started the disassembly by carefully removing the engine harness. The last person to touch this car had already broken most of the retention clips, so I tried to take extra caution not to break anything else. That didn't go as planned though, the connectors and wires in this harness were super brittle due to age, heat, and oil soaking. 
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damaged harness loom
Next, I decided to remove the manifolds. The exhaust came off pretty easy, and I did notice a lot of soot build-up in the ports(something to keep in mind as improper combustion could be the possible cause of failure). The intake manifold was pretty difficult to remove though, it had sealant applied to essentially every contact surface and had to be pried off. I removed most of the other parts of the engine, finding excessive sealant and stripped bolts everywhere along the way. I even had to pry the water pump off due to the excessive sealant, and of course I dropped it on the floor and broke it....YAY! On a positive note, at least the clutch looks new!
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clutch
I left the valve cover on to prevent more oil spillage, then turned the engine upside down. This is where I found the nastiest part of the whole project, for whatever reason the oil pan had been removed already. The amount of sealant on the pan was unbelievable, vast amounts of it squeezed inside and out of the flanges. Unacceptable, but somehow none of it was stuck in the oil pick-up. One good thing about this engine is that the rod bearing caps are accessible once the pan is off, so I removed them one at a time and took pictures:
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#1 rod bearing
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#2 & 3 rod bearings
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Whats left of #4 rod bearing
Well thats gone wrong. 

It's clear something went wrong and caused #4 rod bearing to fail, I'm still not sure of the cause at this point though. I would suspect oil contamination since all of the bearings have some damage, but that could be collateral damage too. Maybe the engine did have a serious performance issue and detonation caused this, let's keep going and see what else is damaged.
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seized oil pump
The oil pump was another failure point. I didn't have the correct impact driver to remove to cover, but its definitely damaged based on the sounds it makes and inability to free spin. I know the 2ZZ has issues with the oil pump so this wasn't a surprise to me. There was sealant applied to every single contact surface on this too, including the oil pickup and pump gaskets. Take a look at the below picture of the timing cover to get an idea of what I'm saying...
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timing cover
On a positive note however, the cams and cylinder bores look great! All of the filters and screens must have done their job thankfully, if the rest of the engine was damaged this project would be much more expensive. You can see that the pistons look new and the engine is relatively clean inside, the timing components and oil pump also look like they were recently replaced. My original analysis on this engine was poor workmanship, and I'm going to stand by that based on what I found here. The patterns on these bearings resemble those that fell victim to contamination and subsequent lack of lubrication. 
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piston
Picture
cams
Now I'll be taking the Crankshaft to a machine shop to inspect, I can measure it but I need to see if there are any cracks or distortion. Once I receive a response from them we can plan accordingly for reassembly. I'll also get a new oil pump, full bearing set, gaskets, water pump, lift bolts, lift screen, and fluids. Stay tuned for the next update!
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