Well, to be honest, I am not familiar with this drivetrain either, but I did stay at a holiday-in-express last night.
So having said that, I think you should just have a mechanic take a look at it...Couldn't hurt...a good mechanic could probably tell you in a matter of minutes whether or not the engine would be worth repairing. They are good at recognizing sounds like that...I may have even been able to give you an idea of where to start if I knew more about the car and could see/hear it in person...