I’d also have to question the compression gauge or test, at (60-70 psi) in all cylinders with no misfire the engine would be hard to start and lack any power.
The only person giving someone a hard time is you. All I did was ask a question.
I suspect this was done before he paid for a diagnosis.
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You didn’t ask the OP any questions, you just made this comment with an obvious overtone:
It wasn’t until I explained why I thought the OP swapped coils that you asked a question, at which point, you had already given the OP a hard time. But I’m sure you’re right as always.
Local yard has motors for $500. Cheap because no one needs them. Up to a point. I thought they would cost more. I know a 2013 equinox motor is a lot more then 500.
It certainly makes the engine-replacement route a good deal more attractive.
$3500 won’t buy a new engine, that is the price for a used engine installed. There will be a cost mark-up on a used engine, 15 hours of labor and probably $500 in additional parts and fluids. For example: coolant is $30/gallon.
I’m not entirely satisfied with the way misfires are “counted”
I’ve encountered numerous examples where there was only a code for a specific cylinder
Yet live data and mode 6 data showed that, in fact, ALL cylinders were misfiring
I wouldn’t at all be surprised if all op’s engine is also misfiring on all 4 cylinders
None of us are there with him
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So, let’s be real - and I’m not thinking that I’m telling people they don’t already know - all engines, even if “healthy” misfire some of the time for all sorts of reasons. It’s normal. But, of course, that’s why there are misfire counts. The hard codes have to come from surpassing some threshold over X amount of time or drive cycles or time or whatever is programmed in (“if-then”).
So it’s totally possible to have high misfire counts on all cylinders, but only a couple hit the magic programmed threshold to set the hard code. I trust the programming to a point, but I’ve often been hanging around a problem tapping my foot waiting for the damned computer to “decide” to set the code. So I’d go beyond not being satisfied with misfire counting. (So, to be clear, I’m not arguing - but agreeing that in this case the lack of the 1/3 codes may very well be irrelevant).
In any case, if the compression is really 60-70 I’m surprised the darned thing is running at all. So I’m still wondering about who did the testing. And even wondering if the OP meant 160-170. In that case, fussing around with plugs and coils makes a lot of sense.
But then there’s the story about running low on oil. So who knows. Maybe we’ll get further info at some point?
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Normal compression on that engine is ~120, 60-70 was what was quoted to me. I don’t have time to fuss around with it. The car for all intents and purposes is totaled. Maybe I’ll keep it as a project car to fool around with in the future, but for now you’re not going to get any new info because I’m just putting the money that would go into a new engine as a down payment on a new car lol.
My hypothesis that when the walmart guy cracked my oil filter it seeded some scarring when the oil ran very low. Those seeds of scarring, combined with a couple times where the coil packs went bad after a bad rain (Info I didn’t disclose earlier but I’m still very curious about the cause of that) causing some more misfiring led to increasingly decreased compression which finally hit a tipping point last week. Frustrating but it makes sense in my head that has very minimal knowledge of cars if I’m honest
No offense intended . . .
But I think you received bad information
I suspect normal compression on your engine is somewhere around 180 - 190 psi
Just who performed the compression test?
Dry AND wet compression tests?
Was fuel injection disabled during the test?
Have you considered incorrect valve timing . . . as Keith alluded to, with his jumped timing chain . . . before you give up on this Corolla
The mileage you have isn’t particularly high, so I seriously doubt the low compression is due to normal age and wear
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I note that the OP said nothing about the current oil consumption. I would expect a higher consumption if the cylinders are scarred. Do others agree?
I too suspect the scaring has something to do with the low oil, but it’s all irrelevant now. When you are in med school the pressure and time involved is immense. You just can’t spend a lot of time and energy dealing with a car. So dumping it nine months early is a practical decision given the current circumstances.
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The scarring could have been caused by fuel washing down the cylinders due to a misfire situation. Did you ever have a flashing check engine light and a heavy fuel smell?
I would start putting money back but try some of the methods mentioned. The band-aid in a can that was mentioned is meant to buy time in situations like yours. You might have to do it every couple months. Also, going up a weight in oil is also not a bad idea. If your car calls for 5W30, maybe go to 5W40 or 10W40 and see if that helps. If you live in a cold climate, don’t mess with the lower number. For example, if it calls for 5W30, go to 5W40. If a 0W(anything), I probably wouldn’t mind going up to 5W(something) either.
At this point you are trying to buy time on the cheap. Any time bought is less interest paid on a loan and you might get more life out of it than you expect. Your situation is why I don’t like chain places like Wal-Mart, especially for basic stuff like oil changes. That job is easy but there have been too many cases of them messing up. Oil changes are easy enough to do on most cars. I cannot imagine it being complicated on a Corolla.
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Glad to see that you got back to us and hope you are still following. I understand that you aren’t much f a mechanic, but then none of us are much of a doctor (medical) either. I also understand that time is a valuable commodity to you.
Vehicle maintenance and repair is a business transaction. You don’t need to have mechanical skills, you need business skills. Treat this as a business transaction, get a second opinion, get quotes. Later when you settle in a semi-permanent situation, find a good mechanic and develop a good business relationship with him (or her). This will save you a lot of money in the long run.
It appears you went to a dealer and got the information that you have shared. If they did the diagnostics, you would have had to pay well over a hundred dollars for that. Mechanics time is not free, they have to eat too. If you didn’t pay, then they did not do any diagnostics.
The person you deal with in the maintenance department of a dealership is a service writer, NOT a mechanic. Now some of them do have some mechanical knowledge, but that is not a job requirement. If you didn’t pay, then all the stuff you reported is suspect and I would not go out and buy a new engine or a new (to you) vehicle based on that.
When you had low oil, just because it didn’t register on the dipstick does not mean that the engine ran out of oil. Your engine holds 4 quarts but the dipstick only measures the top two. It can be dry and there can still be two quarts in the pan and you can still have normal oil pressure. But when the oil is that low, it runs hotter as it doesn’t get as much time to cool down in the pan before the pump sucks it up and sends it through the engine again.
When the oil starts running that hot, it gets thinner and that could be the reason you detected some unusual sounds coming from the engine. If you only added two quarts or less to get a reading in the good range on the dipstick, then you didn’t do any damage.
When coils start misfiring during the rain, it because the rubber seals are dry. You can go to an autoparts store and get a small tube of dielectric grease, pull the coils and coat all the rubber with the grease and reinstall them. Do not worry about getting a little grease on the conductor parts of the coil, say where it connects to the plug as the grease will conduct through the thin film. It will not reduce the spark. In thick film, like anyplace the two metal conductors are not touching, it will prevent the current from jumping to ground. Much cheaper than new coils.
BTW, if you aren’t laying down a smoke screen behind you as you drive, then I doubt that your cylinder walls are scored. But it takes a borescope inspection to really determine this. Again, that costs money. A borescope inspection is like a colonoscopy for your engine,
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But no flushing of the engine required🤪
Sorry, couldn’t help myself.
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I wish we could skip the flushing for a colonoscopy. That’s the only real bad part of the procedure.
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Yes, it’s not particularly pleasant but certainly tolerable. Though I would rather flush my engine, less time involved!
Personally the flushing isn’t the worst part for me. I have notoriously difficult veins to find, and last colonoscopy it took 4 people 7 tries before an IV was successfully inserted. My arms were bruised pretty bad.
Come on guys, the OP is a medical student. I was just trying to use a term he would understand, not start a new discussion on an unpleasant subject.
Hope I don’t get flagged for this but the last time I had a colonoscopy, the Doctor told me that I was a perfect @$$hole. 
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And this leads us back to TP… 
