Things to look for and ask before buying a used engine

[pejohnson]

I found an 3.2 engine and transmission for sale. They are asking $300. Seems like a steal. I need to find out more about it. What I know is that has been sitting inside for about 10 years. Car was used as a parts car several years ago and nothing done withe engine. Supposed to have around 4x,000 miles on the pair. I thought if nothing else I could port the intakes and tear the engine down and see if I got lucky. Also I've been having visions of doing a 3.0 to 3.2 swap some day. This could be that first step. It give great satisfaction to keep these SHO's a live.

Any thoughts , important questions to ask before buying, or suggestions?

 

[Phoenix]

I would do a full tear down on it , replace all gaskets and inspect the rod bearings on the enigne.

Its definitely not a swap in - turn key thing.

For the ATX , well theres not that much to do with it , its not that valuable , plus you dont know if its slips.

 

[93rev2sev]

A used engine and trans for 300 is a good price. It'll need gaskets and whatnot but if the plugs are still in it, it should be a pretty solid buy.

 

[rubydist]

$300 for the engine is a good price. the trans should be virtually free, since its been sitting that long, imho.

here is what I would do:
1. turn over the engine via the crank pulley, clockwise, and make sure you feel 3 distinct compression strokes per revolution (2 revs to get all 6 cyl)
2. pull each spark plug boot and look for oil.
3. clean out oil from plug wells, if needed, and pull spark plugs and see if they look corroded. (you are looking for evidence of moisture and/or rust in the cylinder)

if it has decent compression and no signs of corrosion, $300 is a deal. if it has poor compression and/or corrosion, $300 is on the high side, but not bad, imho. if it looks like lots of corrosion, I'd pass at any price.

 

[sperold]

Make sure it rolls over and get every last thing on it included... like the coil pack, starter, altenator, whatever bolts onto it. Try to get anything electrical that is available as well, maybe even the whole engine harness. It might come in handy, depending on what year you are swapping into.
Look it over to make sure it has never froze.

 

[pejohnson]

Good point about the accessories. Unfortunately all the accessories, wiring harness, etc. have been stripped many years ago. Basically is just the engine and transmission.

 

[Lorenr]

Probably a Good Deal

Seams Like a good deal. Tons of these cars with the automatic transmissions had lots of problems from the get go. They basically never got driven. The first year 93's were the worst. I bought one that was supposed to have a 130,000 miles on it but after tearing it down to the long block and installing it in my MTX, I swear it acted as though it was a new motor. You never know.

Pull the plugs and if the plug wells are full of oil, buy it. It's probably never been worked on. Take it down to the long block and follow the directions on installing it in your 3.0. Do it right and you'll be surprised at the power. As these Yamaha motors go those 3.2's are probably the last best deal out there.

:thankyou: