There's a Daytona for sale here. '90 Base, V6, automatic. Body and int/ext are nice. But he says it's making a knocking sound, he thinks it's coming from an engine valve. According to him it doesn't sound too bad and doesn't affect how the car runs. His wife is apparently been using it as a daily driver. I don't really know ****e about cars and I was wondering if this is a common problem with Daytonas at all. And what the best and worst case scenarios could be. Other than that he says it runs well. He's asking $500obo.

Thanks for any help

If it's "knocking", odds are it's not a valve, it's a rod or rod bearing, or something associated with the crank (bottom end). Valves and valve parts like lifters make more of a "ticking" sound when the are worn out.

If it's a tapping/ticking sound, it's a typical Dodge sound from the lifters. I thought my engine(2.5 L) was shot at one time, but my dad in law(ex Dodge mechanic) assured me that it was normal. Now then, if the car is blowing any smoke, particularly blue or black-grey, and/or there's a bit of a lag in the car when you accelerate(esp. in a V6), then I would say the engine is either shot or going. Also, check the oil for any water in it. I cracked the head on mine at about 118K and I was able to drive her for another year before I had engine work done. The car showed no signs of it, which I thought was weird and I was commuting an hour one way at the time. The crack was so small, they couldn't diagnose it, so I had them rip down the engine and redo it. Top half rebuild here(NJ) cost me about $1200. These engines are strong and the cars are well worth it!

Me and my friend both have Daytona Irocs. Mine is a 91[5 speed] and his is a 93[Auto], and they are both constantly having problems. I love the cars they look great run great and you don't see many around, in fact mine and my friend's are the only Irocs I've even seen in person. But they have so many problems. Mine only had 2 previous owners[a father and son, and a girl] and its in bad shape, great body and interior shape. Engine though. I bought it for $2700 and I've put over $2500 in FIXING the engine, not upgrading, fixing. I'm just a delivery boy I can't afford this thing and it's still got more problems that just pop out of no where. I don't know if all the V6 Daytona's are like this but the 2 I know certainly are unfortunately, great car, but make sure it's checked out well before you buy it.

__________________

Well Tranquility just put some scaring in me...

I talked to the guy again and he thinks the noise is coming from aging valve rockers. What kind of $$$ would I be looking at spending to get this fixed?

Check the oil level, if the oil is low the lifters tend to knock. Running a different viscosity can sometimes fix the lifter knock. If you have to replace lifters new ones can get expensive, but there are places that can rebuild them for less than the cost of new ones.

I would stick my head under the car to make sure its not a rod knock (if its louder under the car than on top in the engine bay its more likely a rod bearing going).

If you want a project car this might be it. You can get used parts from junkyards fairly cheap, you might have to pull them yourself though if you want to save cash.

If you are in an area where cars rust you should look under the car where the drivers and front passengets feet go up to the fire wall and at the firewall around the strut towers. My '90 and '89 Daytonas both have rust there, somebody used fiberglass to try to fix the '90 and I am welding new metal in the '89 to get it back up and running.

keep looking daytona are fun but that might be a little too much work time and money