Hi Guys,

I have coolant streaming out the exhaust and cyl 1 misfire, and so the cleanest solution seems to be a direct engine swap. I'm going to pick up a vq30de from a local yard and rent a cherry picker. The local yard has 2 engines, they claim both ran well and were compression tested. They've probably been sitting for years now.

I've never bought a used engine before and I wanted some friendly advice: what should I check out on the new engine? I've been thinking:

• check timing chain (before buying if possible)
• replace valve cover gasket?--searching the org, people seem to have leaks here
• replace oil pan gasket?
• ???

I'd rather not get too far into the engine fixing things. I mean, there's a good chance mine just has a blown head gasket, so If I was going to be fixing everything I could probably just do that. That said, while I have an engine sitting in the open....


I'll try to post pics when I'm down. There's already vids of the engine removal from people doing 3.5 swaps, but more never hurt anyone.



Thanks for any advice guys.

 

Rear main seal

Water pump.

Timing chain is not an issue in these cars.

 

Also egr tube.

If you remove the uim to replace the rear valve cover gasket, consider sending the injectors out for a rebuild. Replace fuel line hoses as well.