Toyota 1ZZ-FE 1.8L Engine Specs, Problems & Reliability

The 1ZZ-FE was a 1.8-liter inline four-cylinder gasoline engine out of Toyota's ZZ engine family. Replacing the old 1.8L 7A-FE engines, it was first introduced in 1998, and in December 2007, its production already was discontinued. This engine was offered mostly for the front-wheel drive vehicles such as the Toyota Corolla or Toyota Celica GT, but also for the rear-wheel-drive Toyota MR2 Spyder and Lotus Elise.

Instead of a cast iron block used in Toyota's 7A-FE, the 1ZZ engine has a die-cast aluminum cylinder block with thin (2.0 mm thick), chill-fitted cast iron cylinder liners. The engine block is equipped with a forged crankshaft with five journals and eight balance weights, lightweight connecting rods, and aluminum pistons with full floating-type piston pins. On top of the block, there is a twin cam aluminum cylinder head with four valves per cylinder (16 valves total). The 1ZZ cylinder head features laser-clad valve seats. The intake valve diameter is 32.0 mm diameter and its valve lift is 9.3 mm. The exhaust valves have a 27.5 mm diameter and 8.4 mm lift.

The overhead intake and exhaust camshafts are chain driven. There is an 8 mm pitch roller chain which goes with an auto tensioner. From 2000, the engine was produced with Toyota's Variable Valve Timing with intelligence' (VVT-i). That system provided variable intake valve timing only. The intake manifold was made from plastic and had long and straight intake ports. The TRD version of the 1ZZ-FE engine had its own cast aluminum intake manifold. The 1ZZ-FE engine got sequential electronic fuel injection (EFI) with twelve-hole injector nozzles and a distributorless, coil-on-plug ignition system (Toyota Direct Ignition). The exhaust side has a stainless steel exhaust manifold and three-way catalytic converters.

The 1ZZ engine did not earn big respect among buyers, and in 2007, Toyota replaced it by the new, for that period, 1.8-liter 2ZR-FE engine.

Engine Specs

1ZZ-FE Engine Problems and Reliability

The common problem for the 1ZZ engines, produced before 2005, is high oil consumption. The reason was in the bad design of oil piston rings, which was revised and improved in 2005. Cast iron liners are thin and non-rebuildable. Just like laser-clad valve seats, this is not something that can be repaired in a conventional machine shop. The 1ZZ-FE engine is known as a one-time product. The engine features a long stroke (91.5 mm) in a relatively small displacement. This combination produces large vibration loads. This combination in the 1ZZ engine creates large vibration loads, which the rear engine mount isn't able to handle too long.

An approximate mileage which you can get out of a 1.8L 1ZZ-FE is 125,000 miles (200,000 km).

Modifications

1ZZ-FED - 148 hp (110 kW) at 6,400 rpm, 136 lb-ft (184 Nm) at 4,000 rpm. This engine was produced in Japan at the Shimoyama plant. It features multi-point fuel injection, VVT-I and light weight connecting rods.
1ZZ-FBE. This engine version is an adaptation for the Brazilian Market. It can run on E100 Ethanol.