240 engine sound?
 

Hello everyone. I'm looking to purchase a 240 as a 3rd car. Posting this video of a 240 that I'm looking at to possibly purchase. Its a 1991 with an odometer says it has under 200k miles. Like to get some feedback on what you hear on this engine. The knocking is loudest at slow speed 5 to 30 mph but I couldn't really make it out at freeway speeds. The car itself drove well without any performance issues. Oil on the stick looked fine.

Please tell me what you think. Is this engine sound or needs major work?


Thank you!

its impossible to tell from a video whether thats just normal engine sounds or something wrong.

I'd check compression in all 4 cylinders and verify it has good oil. a smog diagnostic, if they are done in your area, would tell you the engine is burning evenly and correctly in all 4 cylinders.

verify the odometer is working, they often break around 150-300k miles, and stick at whatever, while the speedo still works.

these engines can develop 'piston slap' when they are high mile, which makes them noisy, but they can go another 200K miles like that... but it also could be a bad valve, this would probably show up on an engine analyzer.

What you should be worried about is Rod Knock which is hard to distinguish from Piston Slap which happens due to overheating, not high miles. The noise could be from a valve needing adjustment--these motors rarely need valve adjustment but sometimes it is necessary: it is cheap, around $100 in most markets...
After I listened to the sound, it seems deeper than a valve, sounds more like Rod Knock... Definitely not "normal"--I'd investigate further. What kind of oil change history does the car have?