Junkyard Engine Tips

[billyjp2]

Junkyard Motor...What to look for?

i'm planning on buying a junkyard motor for a friend's truck. Although its not a jeep 4.0 but a 1.6 Zuk motor i figured this would be a good place to find out what things to look for when buying a junkyard engine. the truck has "motor runs good" written on the hood and the junkyard owner told me it ran fine when it came in. Is there anything visual that can tell me that the motor is in good shape?

 

[89Daytona]

Re: Junkyard Motor...What to look for?

You could drop the oil pan and valve cover and take a look into the engine.

 

[darjevon]

Re: Junkyard Motor...What to look for?

Let's see, spark plugs normal light brown with no evidence of corrosion, any obvious things that would make it run lean (shot intake/exhaust gaskets, vac leaks. Then check that the motor is free (not siezed) using a ratchet on the crank bolt. Also look for stripped or recently moved fasteners (valve cover bolts especially - this indicates the head has likely been off recently. this is usually not wanted - if it's in the junkyard, the PO probably put it there because they didn't machine the head and consequently they can't seal it, or they damaged the block thread holes. Ask the owner of the junkyard why its in there. If he didn't drain the oil, run your finger up the dry part of the dipstick to check make sure its free of metal shavings (don't clean it with a tissue first) then look for antifreeze sludge, in yellow white milkshake or opaque brown they mean the same thing.

Joe

 

[maybe2fast]

Re: Junkyard Motor...What to look for?

take a breaker bar and turn it over a few times and make sure its not seized. I had a tracker with a 1.6. Slow as hell but that little truck went through so mud!

 

[alex22]

Best way to see if it runs is to have the junkyard guy start it up before you buy it. If he cannot then find out if he will take it back for a full return if it turns out to be a dead duck. I would also check a main and a rod bearing if you did buy it. make sure its not a big ugly mess or about to spin.

~Alex

 

[Hawk]

I had a buddy that bought a mitsu VR4 engine off ebay with the turbos still on it, guy said 'ran great when pulled'
Installed the motor, turned out to be a complete turd (forget exactly what was wrong with it, but both turbos were locked up)
Called the seller, and he said 'yea, it ran great when it was pulled....3 years ago'
food for thought.

 

[Matthew Currie]

Most reputable junkyards will have a "no smokes no knocks" policy on a used engine and a short warrantee long enough at least to make sure the thing runs right.

 

[snufalufagus]

if it's all in one piece and still in the truck take a battery and comp guage and make sure it's with in specs. Just because they can get it to run does not mean a thing if it's not got compression. Since it's a no guts 1.6 you need all you can get. Something else to think about I've seen/heard of folk swapping in a VW turbo diesel engines. I think they go up to 2.3 litter. could be interesting.

 

[ehall]

Some good info in this old thread

If the car wasn't wrecked, it was probably brought in with a dead engine or tranny. You don't want either of them since they were probably maintained about the same.

Check the spark plugs. Obviously they should not look like disaster zones, but it's also a good rule that they should all look the same. If one of the plugs is significantly different from the others, investigate why.

Varnish on the rockers and springs is normal, but too much varnish is a warning sign. If the rockers are black but the engine only has 100k, it indicates breakdown and separation of petroleum products.

Look down the PCV tube for excess oil residue. Stick your finger in the exhaust and look for particulates.

Single-owner vehicles are treated better than used cars. If you can get the VIN do a carfax search.

Generally speaking if the engine is clean then the PO may have owned a garage or they may have been fastidious, both indicate that the PO probably did regular maintenance. Not true in many cases, but as a rule look at the clean engines first.

 

[pajeepman]

In general, the best JY engines to buy are ones that are in clean looking vehicles that had rear end wrecks, engine damage will hopefully be minimal if at all being hit in the rear and chances are it ran when it was wrecked(duh).

 

[TLowery04]

buy a parts rig with a bad tranny, rear damage or light (like radiator only) front end damage. I've never pulled an engine from a yard because there have been too many variables and I'm cheap. I can pick up a parts rig for between 2 and 400$ hear it run, take what i want and most of the time sell off the parts for enough to cover my initial investment. just my two cents