to repair or replace

If it ends up needing an engine (certainly hope not) stick with the same one. Less work and fewer other parts need to be changed, going with another engine who knows what is compatible and not. If it is the main bearings for sure, that is a moderately labor intensive job. You might be able to find a good low mileage used engine, and the cost with labor will be more than doing the bearings in the old one, but you get a newer engine out of the deal. 200,000 is really getting up there to start dumping money in to. Who knows what would fail next . Or a crate engine, rebuilt if the rest of the car is worth it. But a 'knock' could be so many things. An OBD scan might help point you in the right direction

I hope he didn't pay a lot for the car- 200K mi.- we should never buy a car for transportation with that kind of mileage on it- David is right- a lot of other things are waiting to go wrong- the newer, computer controlled cars are certainly not collectible- they are like kleenex- use them, throw them away- sad for the world's environment- I wish we could all start buying the old cars if they are rust free, and just fix them up- the advantages are that we get to personalize them (color, accessories, etc.) and we get to cruise around with some style- a few people are doing this, and not just for car shows, for their daily drivers- next time you see a classic on the road, give the driver a thumbs-up

2.7L Dodge engines are nothing but bad news. Replacement engines are few and far between and very few mechanics know how to properly repair them. It is possible to replace it with a 3.2 or 3.5l engine, as long as it's from the 1998-2001 line.

Ha i have a friend and his car went out. The car will not start. But the lights still come on.. What should my friend do to crank his car back up..