I came across a Third Gen with no rust at a good price. The engine and transmission have 18K on them. The follow quote is from him. Is there any truth to this? Should I pursue looking at it and consider the seal replacement an easy fix? Or should I walk away? Need advice!


"The car sat for about 3 years. And so I believe the seals and gaskets dried up cause I drove it to work and it started knocking. So you should only have to put a new seals and gasket kit on it which is only 150 $. But everything on the engine is new. Starter, carburetor, alternator, water pump fuel pump, ac condenser, radiator, everything. The transmission only has 18k miles as well and it's still in excellent condition. The only reason I'm selling it for so cheap is cause the knock. I have well over 8000 in it. I just have a baby on the way and no time to fix it."

 

Gaskets causing a knock??
Ask for the specs on the engine rebuild. That may help point you in a better direction. I'd also listen to the "knock" in person

 

Is the oil pressure good? If so, double check for loose bell housing bolts on the transmission, loose torque converter bolts or a cracked flexplate; all of which can sound just like a rod knock.

 

And in fact , to add to Brutal's "Gaskets causing a knock??" question , cause it's right on target since it's almost comical to blame a knock on gaskets , I'd add this ;

As to this supposed "rebuild" , in the statement I read , I read the usual laundry list of starter , alternator , bla bla bla , with NO mention of the actual engine itself ! All rebuilt engines , notwithstanding seller BS lies of the above list counting as "the whole thing was rebuilt" , come with paperwork listing all that was done and how much it cost . Same for rebuilt transmissions .

I know I'd be steadfast that untill I saw paperwork proving to my satisfaction that this engine and transmission were in fact rebuilt , the seller wouldn't be seeing ANY of my green colored paper .......

 

I know... gaskets causing knocking is an odd one. I'm going to pass on this machine, seeing as how I don't know much about pulling/rebuilding engines. I've been watching youtube how-to videos on how to do it. I'm still keeping my eyes out for a trusty 3rd Gen Thanks for the help, guys!