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Old 09-28-2018, 04:54 AM   #2
JFP in PA
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Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: It's a kind of magic.....
Posts: 6,261
Quote:
Originally Posted by robdelorenzo View Post
Looking for some sage advice on what to do.

I bought an 02 base 2 years ago as a daily driver with 130K miles on it.

In 2 years, I have put on 30K miles, so it's now over 160K on an unknown engine and a salvage title body.

I haven't had any major problems (yet) and have done the usual maintenance, AOS, Water pump, low temp thermostat, coolant tank (2x - don't ask) brakes, tires, spark plug tube, etc. LN IMS was installed right before I bought it and has 30k on it.

RMS and one bank of used lifters were done at the same time.
New clutch, as well.
That's all I knew about the car when I bought it.

I had just survived cancer and yes, it was an impulsive purchase, with no PPI. In one sense, I have already been lucky.

Fast forward to now with a little over 160k miles on it.

It's making a "knocking" sound on start up, the lifters on one side are ticking quite loudly and today I noticed an oil leak that is dripping onto the front cat on the passenger side and smoking once the engine gets hot.

I have had an indie here in LA who I trust do the coolant tank and a right rear wheel bearing recently.

He doesn't know exactly what the "knocking" sound is, but he says it's from "deep in the engine" and is in addition to the lifter tick

This concerns me greatly that my days are numbered.

Since it is a daily driver, is it time to abandon ship before it grenades?

It runs fine, but I don't feel that it's going to be reliable for very much longer.

As it turns out, the mechanic told me about a pristine 03 base that he completely rebuilt and is on sale at a nearby lot.

They are asking 11,995 for it.

The mechanic told me that he knows for a fact that the car has less than 20 miles on the rebuild.

It's also a Tiptronic and not a stick.

How reliable are those, as the car had 70k on it before he rebuilt the motor?

It's probably not as much fun to drive as a stick, is it?

He also told me that he will give me his personal 1 year warranty on anything mechanical.

The guy has been wrenching on P cars for 30 + years and I trust him.

He has told me there's no way to know for certain what's going to happen with the one I have.

He said that he's seen motors with worse knocking noises than mine last 200k or more and others that have grenaded.

That's an M96 for you, I guess.

Should I spend the $$ on the oil leak (maybe it's a spark plug tube, because it is oil dripping down onto the cat) and then "live" with the "knocking" sound and bank some more $$, or trade it in and get a cleaner, more reliable car?

I pulled the sump on the last oil change and it was clean.

There has not been any debris in the oil filter the entire last two years.

There is also chain tensioner (or ramps) that make noise until the oil pressure comes up when I start it.

Mechanic said 2k to change all of the ramps and it's not something I am competent enough to attempt.

I don't know if the ramps were ever changed, but I doubt it.

The body on my current car needs work, it needs a new top, and well, you know...it's a moebius strip of repairs.

The question is am I throwing good money after bad on something that's not going to last much longer?

Should I heed the warning sounds or am I being paranoid from reading too much on here?

With these symptoms and the repairs needed, am I nearing the end of the line?

Thanks and I always appreciate the advice from you guys, as someone always throws out a perspective on things that I would never have considered.

JFP, if you are out there and reading this, I would love to hear your thoughts!
Knocking is never a good thing, particularly when you do not know the source. What intrigues me is that there is nothing in the sump; I would expect some indications in the sump if it were a rod knock. Have you had the oil pressure checked with a gauge?

As for the Tip in the second car, they are reliable providing they are serviced properly, meaning oil and filter every 40-50K, not at 90K per the factory.
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