i found this 300m around where i live. and the guy says it starting
ticking when he was driving down the road. i am wondering what the
problem is. he said he went to a dealer and they told him it was a
betl tensioner pulley.
is it worth it to buy it and fix it? he would sell it to me for 1500.
car has 144k on it. nice interior.
is there anything in the internal ruined? he hasnt drove it since.

Jerry Wang wrote:
Depends on what the ticking is. Is it a valve lash adjuster tick? If
so - there's a TSB on replacing the rocker pivots. Does it tick until
it warms up or even after that? Not unusual for the 3.5 (and its 3.2
twin) to have valve ticking on initial startup - it is mentioned
frequently on the LH car forums, and people know that it is nothing to
worry about - almost an undocumented feature.

You don't say what year it is, but I agree with the general - offer
considerably less, and stick to that.

This is very important:
Has the timing belt been changed? If not, the owner is lucky it is
still running at all. If the t-belt breaks, time for a new engine or
the junk yard. If you get it, factor in between $500 and $1000 for the
t-belt, water pump, and t-belt tensioner pulley. If he can document
that those things have already been done*prior* *to* the purchase (due
at 105k miles), then that would add some value. But if that cannot be
proven, the value just dropped to a couple hundred above zero because
you now face that expense *plus* it is indication that he is a moron
when it comes to car maintenance and has neglected other important
things (like maybe oil changes which may or may not explain the ticking).

Other common sources for obvious noises: Accessory belt pulley bearings.
There are two. They cam make quite a racket, and it is amazing how
much quieter it will be when they are replaced.

--
Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with the letter 'x')