Hi i have a few questions for those who have swapped a low mileage engine.
I found on car-part.com a Engine in my area very close.
1. 95Maxima w/14K on the Engine.
2. 95Maxima w/34K on the Engine.
Both Engines are still in the cars and complete so he says..
Both cars have been sitting since 97' and the engine's have not been started since.
Q: Is it smart to purchase an engine that has sat for 8 years?

I know many have done this. but with a engine that hasnt been started in 8years.... i question this.
-and we know this car wasnt stored in a climate control place either...

Opinions, Complements, Complaints welcome.....?

 

well i have a transmission thats been sitting for 8 year befor i bought it... as for the engine.. what i would do is ask them if they have oil i them or not.. and if they are inside or outside...if you decide to get one i would take the valve covers off and pur oil alll ove the springs and the entire valve train... and let it sit for about 2 days... then i would put it all back togeter and start and see what happens... aka check the compression and see what color smoke comes out of the tail pipe...

 

I wondered the same thing last year and I was told that there are some risks involved. I think your concerns are legitimate ones. I ultimately decided to have a local shop swap my motor with one taken out from the same year (1996) I30 in 1997 with less than 20K miles. I did what I did because:

1. Buying a rebuilt motor seems to be more expensive. I didn't search much but one shop quoted me $4,500.
2. I never found one example here on the .org in which a motor bought from a junkyard and swapped went wrong.

Being not so mechanically inclined I did try (at least I did in my mind for own satisfaction) one thing to minimize the risk associated with swapping motor with one bought from a junkyard. I sourced the engine myself (Lucky for me I got a lot of help in sourcing one from a fellow orger here, thanks Dan) and declined the motor the shop sourced itself (Less expensive one but with more mileage). It wasn't local and I had to pay for shipping of course, but judging by the web site of the junkyard I chose, it seemed pretty good.

 

I would personally look for a DEK motor from a 00'-01', since youll know its been ran fairly recently and youll get a bit more performance out of it and a better cooling system

-matt

 

I recently purchased a 96 from a lady that I work with that the engine had siezed up. I got a 96 Infinity engine from a local salvage that had 58K miles on it. The engine had been in a storage building in a shelf. I looked at the engine and it was very clean, but it had not been cleaned. Got it for $400 and installed in my car. After I got every thing together, it would not start. I checked the fire/gas/air/timing and everything looked good. I finally took the front three injector out of my old engine put in the new and it started, but was obviously running off 3 to 4 cylinders. The next morning I took off both intakes and swapped the back injectors and it started and ran as smooth as a new engine. I have put about 3,000 miles on since the swap and it is running great.
I suspect there was just enough fuel in the lines to cause the injectors to stick. But, the plus is it gave the engine enough revolutions to get the oil in the right place and I had oil pressure very quickly when it started.
This is just one of the downsides in an engine that sat for a long time. As others have asked, are these engines stored out of the weather? Also, what kind of price is on these engines?

 

Thanks guys, those are all very good factors to think about.

First off, Its very hard for me to buy an engine without TRUELY knowing its mileage. A few ~yards ive looked at, They have no documentation that it only has 34K or whatever miles on it. (there like, yeah we know it has that many miles, take it or leave it)~with that remark i usually flash a wad of cash and say.. "i can leave it for that type of service."

1. The 34K engine i am considering is still in the 95 maxima's engine bay with the odometer and the whole front of the car in tach. so id be purchasing the the transmission as well with this one.

2. That is a very good point about them being on the shelf inside. I saw one like that before but he had NO-Documentation of the mileage and i didnt know how to trust him.(thanks for the injector tip -venturous, ill keep that in mind)

3. -matty, Ive thought of swapping a 01 engine but ive heard somethings are not plug n play so to speak. Have you seen ppl do this with easy sucess.... I wonder where the Infamous-Thread is about this b/c i think it would be a ~sticky at the top of our 4th gen forum by now. Im not doubting you b/c ive read the thread myself but i thought some Issues we involved.. hmmm.

 

i personally bought a engine from car-parts.com that had 40k it was a 96 engine. It was kept inside still had oil in the engine, however it was a little bit dirty. But the engine worked perfectly.

 

well just get the vin number from the block... ask them they have to give it to you.... and check the carfax.. its only 25$... I had a choice between 3 transmissions when i got mine.. the other too didnt have the same amount of miles that they told me and one was from a rental car....

 

DcMaN- thats where i found this 37k engine. Im lucky its so close to my house too..
f550maranello2-Thanks. That's an Excellent point made. I would hate to buy an engine from a previous rental car dealer. that 25 car fax will be something i definatley do now.~thanks again.

Do you think i should stay clear of an engine thats been outside though>?

the 2 ive found so far are both still in the front of the car and havent been removed so i imagine there still outside... thoughts on this.?

 

well if the motor is still inside the car with the hood on i wouldnt worry too much about it... if they have been chillin outside in the mud (which i doubt) i wouldnt get them... how far are they away from you?

 

There is no VIN number on the block, but the yard can give you the VIN number of the vehicle it was pulled from. They have to keep track of all that info.
When i purchased my motor last year, the yard told me it had 35k on it. They also gave me the vin of the auto it came from.
I did the carfax thing and it showed the car being totaled out at 35k which confirmed what they told me.
They also sold me a 2yr warranty for an extra 100 bux.
In all I bought the motor, with the warranty and shipping for 460.00

 

I always thought engine purchases were expensive, but here I see a lot going for under $500. Makes you wonder why folks don’t swap em out more often. Would cost about the same as a 100k checkup at the stealership.

 

Is the transmission an anto or 5-spd? How much did you end up paying for it?

 

Cause most folks don't know any better.

 

f550maranello2- The yard is only 5miles from my home.
He said $650 for the engine there are 2, one has 14K & 34K on the other.

He also stated that he could deliver the engine after they pull it from the car.
I believe he said for free for that price.

I was told many of times and under the impression that all engines have the VIN # Marked on them Hense: reason why some ppl scrape a supra's vin # b/c some are hot engines...

what did you pay for the transmission? i will dbl check on carfax the vechile to make sure im not buying a old rental car lol ~thanks again.