02 Engine sounds terrible.

[dessler]

My wife's 02 corolla is one of the 8th gen engines that burns up oil. I try and monitor it as much as as I can but I sometimes neglect it. We where headed on a road trip for the holidays so I checked the oil level. It was just barely showing up on the tip. So I put in about a quart and started to drive back to the house to get more oil. I drove about 30 ft before the engine began so shake and began to lope. Then the car died. I started it up again and I had to keep the rpms high but I made it home. I change the pcv valve and pulled the spark plugs (they had a fine coating of a yellowish powder, like powdered mustard, looked fine.) Before I start the engine the dip stick shows only oil on the very tip. After I run in for a bit it shows up way past the full mark. I appreciate any thoughts.

Youtube video of the engine running. Sorry about the erratic camera movements.
http://youtu.be/8DJ7H0cP02Y

It runs smoother as I increase the rpm but stuggles when it idles. As far as I can tell there are no vacuum leaks. OBD reads a misfire in all four cylinders. There is some blow by as well although I'm not sure if it is a lot or normal.

[jdmccright]

The video isn't very telling...sounds just about like what that engine should sound like...I have an '03 Vibe with the same engine. If it was missing or idling bad, it isn't noticeable in the video. It has that racket because they use timing chains now versus the belts in the previous generations and all that clicking is the fuel injectors on the front side.

That said, first make sure that the car is sitting level when checking the oil level. Any significant hill can change the dipstick reading by alot. Then, before you start the car pull the plugs and check for fouling or wetness. Fouled/wet plugs can cause the random misfire CEL code. If oil fouled, then you have a valve stem seal leak. If wet, sniff it to see if it is fuel or coolant. If fuel, you have a leaking injector. If coolant, you have a head gasket leak (my guess since you mention yellowish residue).

I'm not sure, but I think that the reason the PCV gets fouled so easily is that when you add oil thinking it is low, you're actually overfilling it. It then gets splashed up into a froth by the crankshaft and pushed up and out of the crankcase through the PCV valve. I just don't know why your dipstick would read low then way high except for the parking angle.

You don't mention the mileage, but it would be good to check the IAC and EGR valves, and the ECT sensor. Any one of these malfunctioning can case a rough start and idle.