GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

Today was a very sad day for both me and my 2004 Vibe...

This morning I was driving to a meeting a bit behind schedule and was stuck behind a slow rolling school bus. Had to put the pedal to the metal to pass it and while passing, I was alarmed to feel the RPM keep rising but my acceleration didn't match. A mile later I came to a stop light. As I was slowing the engine started sputtering then making an ugly noise. The oil light came on...and then it died.

I was 100 feet from a corner store so I managed to get it started and into the parking lot and out of traffic and immediately shut it off. I had my wife come get me and I had it towed to a local repair shop.

Unfortunately, my worst fears were confirmed when I got the call that the noise I heard was a rod knock. I'm not sure what to do. I can't afford a new car or even a decent used car really. I'm going to create a new post here asking for advice but I wanted to mention it here too. My 2004 has roughly 115,000 miles and it's in OK condition but by no means prime. I remember reading about reasonable engine swaps early in my reading here when I bought my Vibe.

So...I'm in a bit of a bind. I'm in Michigan maybe 40 miles north of Detroit and I'm hoping to find a very reasonably priced replacement engine locally. I don't have long to make a decision. It is running again for now with fresh oil a new oil pressure sending unit and a Lucas additive in the hopes of buying me a little time. The oil pressure sending unit appears to have been the weak point that blew all the oil out of my engine though it must have been leaking a bit before this. I saw it up on the hoist and you could see fresh oil streaked in a two foot wide swath from the engine right to the back of the vehicle. I live in "the country" and have a gravel drive so leaks don't announce themselves the way they would on pavement and I must admit I'm not as consistent in checking my oil as I should be. I always run full synthetic in all my vehicles in the hope of avoiding situations like this but it's just a bit of extra protection and not a cure-all.

It now starts and idles fine and I gently drove it the 2 miles home without issue but if I don't take it easy on the throttle I hear the rod knock so I know I'm on borrowed time. I may have to try to drive it to work tomorrow but I don't even know if I will make it there and back. I may have a bit of time driving gently but not much I fear. I need to find an affordable engine quickly and hope the swap will be affordable.

Any assistance or advice is greatly appreciated.

Try this website to see if there are any engines in your area. Remember: you need to search 3 car types: Corolla, Matrix, Vibe, not just the Vibe:

http://www.car-part.com/

I forgot about that site! A friend introduced me to it a few years ago but I hadn't thought of it today and though I knew to look for the Matrix motor I didn't realize the Corolla also used it. Thank you. I'll check out the site and see what I can find.

Edit:
Additional question. I seem to remember the Vibe was essentially the same from 2003 to 2007 as far as most parts. Is that correct and would that same year range apply if looking for a 1.8L engine for all three (Vibe, Matrix, Corolla) vehicles?

You can also try here: http://www.partshotlines.com/

While I am by no means a mechanic, the VVT - VVTi Corolla engine has remained virtually the same for decades. Your first generation Corolla-Vibe is the "same" for 2003-2008. However, I would bet that a grey haired Toyota mechanic will tell you that you can get a "Corolla" engine for years before AND after your model year range. I believe the designers have only slightly tinkered with this magical engine to get some additional horsepower out of it, with all the main engineering remaining the same. Whether it is an expert who chimes in here or whether you can find a non-pimply faced teenager at the desk of the websites we provided for you who actually knows a thing or two about the best selling car in the history of cars, I believe your search may very well include years outside the 03-08 range. You at least have 3 car models to search for in the 03-08 range while you await a definitive answer.

It may be worth having someone removing the oil pan and determining if it is one rod or several that are causing the noise. If only one, one may be able to replace the rod bearing (and polish the crank a bit if needed without removal). That could get you back on the road again with this same engine.

Most shops charge by the hour to install big stuff like this, and it's easy enough to find a 03-05 Vibe/Matrix/Corolla engine in "Tested Good" or "Nice runner" condition with around 100-140k miles on them for between $500 to $800 using car-part.com. There is no reason to buy an older engine to save a little money on that only to pay the mechanic the time to swap over the different components.

There were minor changes in the 06+ engines, like a different throttle body.

Even with the engine now in running condition, do not rely on that engine, and plan to replace it soon. Shop around to see if you can get that spun bearing fixed, but if the engine has to come out of the car it's going to be cheaper to put a known good engine in the car.

Pulling and installing the engine is 6 about hours of labor.

For some reason I wasn't getting any notifications about new posts here but I just wanted to pop back in here and say thanks for all your help and suggestions. This is a nice helpful forum. Sadly I'm leaving the Vibe club. I knew I was on borrowed time at best but it didn't even get me to work before it completely self destructed. I did find a used motor for $800 but with about the same price to have it installed I've decided to cut my losses and walk away. With my luck I'd have spent $1800 putting it back together and blew my trans a few months from now.

The local mechanic is going to give me $500 for it.

One of my neighbors has a clean, low-miles 2008 Pontiac Torrent GXP that he is going to sell me for a good price. Kinda looks like the Vibes big brother. I'll take a bit of a hit on mileage but hopefully it will be better than the Vibe was in the snow. That's one thing I will not miss. Every time a snowflake fell I regretted not buying the AWD Vibe I looked at before buying my FWD. Never gotten stuck in the snow so much in any vehicle I've ever driven. I could just say the word snow and my tires would start spinning...

Anyway, thanks again to all here. Wish you guys had a Torrent forum.

Cheers!

Thanks for updating us. Cheers!