gtscorolla86hatch Posted March 28, 2008 Share Posted March 28, 2008 From the the first time I bought the matrix for my wife in 2004 I seem to have problems with the engine. the first 50 thousand miles she put on the car it spun a bearing Toyota replaced at no charge . I always use full synthetic oil at 3000 to 3200 hundred miles even though you don't have to change every 5000 thousand with synthetic. now this Wednesday with no warning it threw the piston rod through the oil pan at 100 thousand miles. I did some research and found out there has been some problems with this engine 1ZZFE also found out that this is an American made engine WHICH I DID NOT KNOW but, i also found out that the matrix XRS comes with a 2ZZ-GE engine and is straight from Japan. This is what i would like to do, now that being said i know that the 2ZZ-GE engine fits but, is there any mods that i have to do to it besides change ECU and transmission. greatly appreciate any help thank you, Sincerely, Jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XR2003 Posted April 2, 2008 Share Posted April 2, 2008 From the the first time I bought the matrix for my wife in 2004 I seem to have problems with the engine. the first 50 thousand miles she put on the car it spun a bearing Toyota replaced at no charge . I always use full synthetic oil at 3000 to 3200 hundred miles even though you don't have to change every 5000 thousand with synthetic. now this Wednesday with no warning it threw the piston rod through the oil pan at 100 thousand miles. I did some research and found out there has been some problems with this engine 1ZZFE also found out that this is an American made engine WHICH I DID NOT KNOW but, i also found out that the matrix XRS comes with a 2ZZ-GE engine and is straight from Japan. This is what i would like to do, now that being said i know that the 2ZZ-GE engine fits but, is there any mods that i have to do to it besides change ECU and transmission. greatly appreciate any help thank you,Sincerely, Jon Sorry to hear that you got a lemon 1zz motor in your Matrix. I hope you were under warranty to have the issues taken care of. I have never heard that the same car can have a spun bearing & a thrown rod, unless it was boosted with some Forced Induction power addder and even then not many have had the issues that you had. Correction to your post though. The 1zz motor is Toyota's own which I believe is made in Canada (IIRC the Vibe & 9thgen Corolla are made in California) & the 2zz motor is Yamaha made. To convert your 1zz Matrix to a 2zz powered one would require: different motor, different tranny, different ECU, different shifter assembly, and a different gauge cluster. It would be very difficult & very expensive, but it can be done I suppose if you throw enough money on it. It would be more cost effective to get a new 1zz-fe motor, and if you want more power - get a TRD S/C or perhaps go turbo. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leighcm Posted April 3, 2008 Share Posted April 3, 2008 It would be more cost effective to just buy an completely different 2004 Matrix in XRS trim. The prices are well under $10K for higher mileage 2004 Matrixes (Matrices?), and by the time you get a few bucks out of your old one, you'd probably come out ahead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leighcm Posted April 3, 2008 Share Posted April 3, 2008 Of course, if you enjoy that sort of thing (engine replacements, modifications, etc.), it might be a fun project.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gtscorolla86hatch Posted April 9, 2008 Author Share Posted April 9, 2008 Sorry to hear that you got a lemon 1zz motor in your Matrix. I hope you were under warranty to have the issues taken care of. I have never heard that the same car can have a spun bearing & a thrown rod, unless it was boosted with some Forced Induction power addder and even then not many have had the issues that you had. Correction to your post though. The 1zz motor is Toyota's own which I believe is made in Canada (IIRC the Vibe & 9thgen Corolla are made in California) & the 2zz motor is Yamaha made. To convert your 1zz Matrix to a 2zz powered one would require: different motor, different tranny, different ECU, different shifter assembly, and a different gauge cluster. It would be very difficult & very expensive, but it can be done I suppose if you throw enough money on it. It would be more cost effective to get a new 1zz-fe motor, and if you want more power - get a TRD S/C or perhaps go turbo. thank you for all the replies just upset at the time and pissed that i have to replace this motor. never had problems with toyota until i bought this matrix just figured it was a bad design on the motor or just a bad motor. just wanted to put the 2zz not just because of the power just because i have never heard any problems with the 2zz engine. well i am waiting to see how much a short block is for now what the hell else can i do right lol. thanks angain Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XR2003 Posted April 9, 2008 Share Posted April 9, 2008 thank you for all the replies just upset at the time and pissed that i have to replace this motor. never had problems with toyota until i bought this matrix just figured it was a bad design on the motor or just a bad motor. just wanted to put the 2zz not just because of the power just because i have never heard any problems with the 2zz engine. well i am waiting to see how much a short block is for now what the hell else can i do right lol. thanks angain actually the 2zz motor has a little more issues, due to it's high performance nature. as such, 2zz owners tend to "enjoy" LIFT (powerband from 6200 - to redline) a bit too much. The LIFT bolts do need to be properly cared for as well. Other than the power advantage, 1zz motors do have better fuel mileage and a slight torque advantage over the 2zzs - of course until LIFT kicks in. In your case, it may just a bad motor which is not a common issue. Did you get your car used or new? If used, the prior owner may not have cared for it properly. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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