junkyard engine tips?
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Junior User
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junkyard engine tips?
I'm in the market for a used engine, while I rebuild the one that was in it. A friend said to compression check them before I buy it, but I thought you had to crank it over a few times before it reads properly. Can this be done with the engine out? Are there anything else I should look for? Will pulling plugs tell me anything on an engine that has been sitting for over a year? I tried searching, but found nothing so far. Thanks.
Senior User
Joined: Jan 2005
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From: Visalia, California
Originally Posted by Mike12pt
I'm in the market for a used engine, while I rebuild the one that was in it. A friend said to compression check them before I buy it, but I thought you had to crank it over a few times before it reads properly. Can this be done with the engine out? Are there anything else I should look for? Will pulling plugs tell me anything on an engine that has been sitting for over a year? I tried searching, but found nothing so far. Thanks.
Just a thought.
Senior User
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 467
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From: Regina,Saskatchewan
Usually about all you can do is pull the plugs to make sure they are all brown and not black or oily.If a cylinder is bad the plug will look different than the others and will stick out.You may want to pull a valve cover to see how much sludge build-up there is and also have a look at the vehicle to see if it appears to have been maintained, things like new plugs, clean oil,new oil filter are good signs but things like 20 empty oil containers in the trunk are bad.While the plugs are out turn the motor over to make sure there isn't any water or antifreeze in any cylinders.You may also want to check the glovebox for any receipts from recent repair work.Also have a look at the exhaust opening to see if it is oily.
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Too late... I was running low compression in a cylinder and was getting water in the oil and I had a week off work, so I thought I would fix it and it turned into a bigger job (of course), because I pulled it all apart and found the low cylinders' bore to be all messed up. For me to pull it and send the block out would take another week (at least) and I don't have the time right now.
(I have a nice & new, but low compression 357 s.b. ready to go for my stang, but will not put it in the truck.)
(I have a nice & new, but low compression 357 s.b. ready to go for my stang, but will not put it in the truck.)
Fleet Owner
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 28,609
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From: Lake Tahoe, Nevada
If the engine is free of sludge and corrosion and the porcelin of the plugs is a nice light tan color, you probably have a good runner.
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Joined: Jul 2005
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I have found that most junkyards give you a 7 to 14 day grace period on engines.Check what you can at the yard, if it looks good take it home , pullthe pan and check the rods and mains. If they look good,throw on a new oil pump and button it back up.
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Joined: Jan 2004
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From: Pittsburgh, PA
The plugs may be as old as you...lol. Could be valve seals were letting the oil intot he cylinders...and oil does'nt burn off clean like gas does. Could be rings were bad letting the crank-case presurize and oil was getting blown past the rings. I like to call taking an engine apart an atopsy (spelling?) .....you take it apart and try to decide what part failed first, and what the cause of that failure was. If its a running engine, and you taking it apart to refresh it, consider all criticle dimensions. Inspect for obvious signs of wear. Maybe send a sample of the oil into Blackstone laboratories and see if they are reading high lead and/or iron as well as glycerine content in the oil. Its a good indication of how the engine was when it was out running around town.
Logistics Pro
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 4,907
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From: suburban atlanta
Deposits from the fuel additive package can form brown/tan crusty chunks on the plugs. Used to was that you'd get lead deposits, but not in US since '75, iirc. As long as the center electrode is clean, and the side electrode is not covered with a LOT of crud, you're probably ok. If there is enough deposit to close the gap, or building up on the side or center electrodes beyond a few thousandths, you might want to check further. But, if they are all the same, I would just use it.
The cost of doing the oil analysis to determine how the autopsy went is beyond my desired level of knowledge about a particular engine. If the rod inserts are copper colored... especially in the center of the arc, replace them, after mic-ing the journals and checking for oval. If the cylinder walls are scored, or have a sever ridge, do the bore thing, after checking with a mic, and replace a bunch of parts. I don't care why it failed if I put it back together right. I just figure the previous owner was tight with maintenance, or if there is a generic fault, I'll fix that fault, and it should work fine.
tom
The cost of doing the oil analysis to determine how the autopsy went is beyond my desired level of knowledge about a particular engine. If the rod inserts are copper colored... especially in the center of the arc, replace them, after mic-ing the journals and checking for oval. If the cylinder walls are scored, or have a sever ridge, do the bore thing, after checking with a mic, and replace a bunch of parts. I don't care why it failed if I put it back together right. I just figure the previous owner was tight with maintenance, or if there is a generic fault, I'll fix that fault, and it should work fine.
tom
Senior User
Joined: Sep 2003
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From: NJ
This was a running engine, just put on stand to change out gasket's ,check timing gear's ect. No junk on oil screen . I'll just replace gasket's ,seal's oil pump and pickup and let her go. Them old chevy six banger's ran good making lot's of chatter.
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