Corolla Engine Vibrates and Sputters at Idle

[dwilliams141]

I've got a 1989 Toyota Corolla All-Trac (Rare 4wd model, I've never seen another one on the road) with only 66,000 miles.

Last summer the oil pressure light came on, I stopped driving the car because I went away to school. Brought it to Toyota in Jan, I told Toyota to take a look at it while they were replacing my timing belt. They replaced the sending unit, and the oil light is off now.

PROBLEM: over the past two weeks, the engine has started to vibrate and sputter when its in Idle. It also sounds like there is a slight knock in the engine. I checked the oil, it was overfilled. Toyota overfilled it, about 1/2 inch over the full line. Tranny Oil is good.

Could excess oil be causing a problem?
Could an improperly set timing belt cause the problem?

Toyota will charge me $35 to look at it if its not related to either of those things.

Any ideas would help. Thanks a lot.

[tenclub05]

i used to have a 1991 toyota corolla and it did the same thing. A mechanic told me that this happens if the engine isnt maintained properly. I never did anything about it and I never had a problem. The car had over 320,000 miles on the same engine and it ran perfectly. So If i were you, Id take it to another mechanic, dealership service is too pricey.

[kink]

I have a 95 Corolla with 242,000 miles on it. It has had a rough idle since 110,000. Not an ignition miss, but a rough idle. I did a compression test, checked the camshaft for wear and looked for vac leaks. Found nothing. And at times it will smooth out so I ruled out a mechanical problem, ie something out of balance. I'm thinking its fuel injectors. I have added cleaner to the fuel without any noticable improvment. And at the cost of replacing the injectors, its not going to happen. It passes my states emission tests and runs just fine. Its a well engineered car and except for the noise caused by the vibration, it gives a great massage. Cudos to the Japanese for their engineering.