Greetings,
I am interested in buying a 90 Corolla with a knocking engine. The seller says it knocks at all RPM range. What are the possble culprits?
by texasrolla, April 21, 2008
Greetings,
I am interested in buying a 90 Corolla with a knocking engine. The seller says it knocks at all RPM range. What are the possble culprits?
Number one culprit - rod bearings are shot. Definitely will have to pull the engine apart and rebuild. Could have been from ppor maintenance, coolant leak (blown head gasket, cracked head, etc.), overheated at some point (warped head, warped journals, etc.), and just plain got beat on.
Might be cheaper to just get another engine to swap into it. Depends on what else is wrong with the car. Unless the car is less than a couple of hundred bucks, not worth the time or energy to fix, IMO. But that is me - I've bought some really rough cars in the past, fixed them up and drove, them - but I always got more out of the car if they were pretty sound and clean to begin with, not half-dead.
Bikeman982
A car with a knocking engine better be cheap, since it may not last long.
I don't recommend a 1990 (I prefer the 7th generation - 1993-1997), because they are hard to pass emission testing in CA.
Texas may be different and the car may have a great body (an engine change would be imminent).
I had a 1991 and a 1992 and (today) I would not hesitate to change an engine on one.
I sold both due to smog testing difficulty.
Now I have a 1994, 1995, and a 1997.
How much does he want for the 1990??
