Engine ticking in a 2004 Pathfinder.. Should I buy? Advice Pls!

[HankyD]

Hi guys,

I am looking at a 2004 Pathfinder at the moment that is in incredible shape. Body is a 9 or a 10 out of 10, same rules apply with the interior. And the color is my color so I want to buy it. About 200,000 km or 120,000 miles. They are asking $4000.00

The used car lot said that there is a ticking sound in the engine.....great!

As such, they told me that they would be willing to take like $250.00 - $500.00 off of the asking price. To that, I simply say: "Your going to have to take a whole lot more than that if you want me to take this vehicle off your hands as it's been on your lot for the entire year and hasn't moved!"

Anyway, I am obviously going to have to get it looked at by mechanic so that I know what I am talking about.

But before that, I could use some input and advice.

At what point, based on what the mechanic says should I drop or proceed with this pursuit?

For example... if the valve train is out of spec, the cost could be comparable to an engine replacement in which case, I shouldn't bother.

If it's something less, then the possibility reopens itself.

Any input or advice you could provide would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

-h

[MisterH]

A good mechanic will be able to tell you what you need to know. I assume you'll have him perform a compression leak-down test. That will tell you the overall health of the engine. A good mechanic using a stethoscope will also be able to identify the ticking noise. It would be premature to start estimating a minimal cost for having the cylinder heads rebuilt or replaced because that would be pointless if you have weak compression on multiple cylinders and at that point, it's engine swap time. If you want to be extra cautious, get the VIN and run a history report at autocheck.com or carfax.

[Buzzman]

Worst case scenario is that the ticking is as a result of some power valve screws coming loose and getting ingested into the engine.
This is a known problem, and would require a replacement new/used engine, or a rebuild of the existing engine.
You can search this site under power valve screws for more information.
Personally, I would not risk buying this Pathfinder with a ticking engine.

[fleurys]

Same here... a ticking 3.5 is not a good thing... don't touch it..