Half Blocked 1KRFE engine

[grognon]

Hi guy's. The engine on my yaris 2010 is playing funny: strange loud noise at times with huge lack of power. Then everything is working fine. I gave it to my little repair shop. At first, he thought it was the chain and the tension spring so he opened the top and try to turn the engine by the wheel manually. it blocks after one or two turns ( forward and backwards). Chain don't seems loose. He and I don't understand what is happening.
No strange noise otherwise, wouldn't a damage valve produce a hell of a continuous racking ?
I would appreciate some insights.
Thanks Pals

[ex-x-fire]

Is it a diesel? Injection pump related? I don't know about the engines outside the US market.

[grognon]

A gasoline engine. 1KRFE has three cylinders, less than 1000 cm3.

[zoidberg444]

If by "blocked" you mean he can't turn it past a certain point of rotation and its not in gear it sounds to me like its slipped timing and smacked the valves or something. It should be fairly do-able to turn an engine over with a ratchet on the crank bolt - especially with the spark plugs out. Lack of power sounds like it has no compression on a cylinder. It would be consistent with slipped timing and having smacked the valves.

My advice mate - these 1KR engines are pretty cheap - certainly in the UK. They are the same engine in the Toyota Aygo, Citroen C1 and Peugeot 107. Get an engine from the scrapyard and have it put in. I'm not 100% if it applies to all of them but my Japanese made 2006 1KR Yaris has a different sump on it to the 1KR's on the Aygo-C1-107 so that might need swapping over from your dead engine to the replacement or it might not. Not sure.

Given its a 2010 it's probably just about worth doing. Have the clutch done while you're at it. You can probably get another 5 years driving out of it before it needs any serious repairs.