I own a '92 ES 300. It has 85,000 mile on it. Yesterday, when I was driving on freeway, I heard some knocking sound coming from engine. So I took an immediate exit. When I stopped the car at an intersection, the engine was completely turned off. When I tried to start the car again, huge rattling noise was coming from engine and didn't start. I tried a couple of times. Finally it started but the noise was still there and the car could hardly run.
I had two mechanics check this out. Both came up with same findings. As the second mechanic told, the sound is not coming from topside of the engine. If it is, it could be some head problem. It can be fixed with minor effort (less expense). Since it's inside, he advised me to change the engine with new one or rebuilt.
The noise goes up when engine is accelerated and comes down when it's idling.
Is it really an engine problem or anything to do with oil pressure or oil pan? It has on qt. oil in it. It has run 2,500 miles since the last oil change.
What could have caused this problem? Is it worth of changing the engine? Did anybody ever change the engine? What will be the cost of having a rebuilt engine?
Please advice guys...
Thanks