oamhmad

iTrader: (1)

Should I buy this engine?

GM Goodwrench crate engine, cast #10066036

From the casting number it's a basic GM budget crate engine 260HP/320 TQ with 4 bolt main. The guy claims it has 70,000 and was pulled out for an LS upgrade. It's a complete and assembled engine, with manifold and carb. Asking $600.

I saw the engine today. The guy had it on a stand. He claims the engine ran fine, with no smoke, noise or oil issues. There was a little road sludge on it which I guess is normal for 70K miles. Other then that it looked ok to me, but how can you really be sure?

How do you buy an engine like this, with no warranty and basically a gentleman's handshake? Is there anything externally on the block I should look for. Or should i just put a wrench to the crank and if it turns it's probably ok.

It's in my price range but I don't want to pay for someone to install it only to find out it's a dud with like no oil pressure, blown gasket, rod knock, spun bearings or bad compression. Would you guys buy this engine? I'm not sure what to do as I don't want a $600 paper weight and I also don't want to pass up what could be a solid running 350 that still has plenty of miles in it at a good price.

Any advice would be appreciated.

vetteoz

iTrader: (13)

Has a carb ;
no reason why the guy can't fire it up on the engine stand so you can see if it actually runs as he says and if it knocks , blows smoke , rattles etc.
Put a garden hose in the water pump inlet so it has coolant

oamhmad

iTrader: (1)

Is it really that simple to run it up on the stand?

It didn't have a fuel pump, flex plate/flywheel, starter, headers, plugs or plug wires. The guy had a lot of other "toys" in his shop/garage and it seemed like he might have that kind of stuff just laying just around. I don't know, I didn't ask him.

If I can convince him to start it up, i would imagine it would be loud as heck, with just open headers, and I might not even be able to hear any knocks, or am I wrong? What should i look for if he does start it up?

torque_is_good

I'm sorry, but based upon your questions, and please don't be offended, you need to walk away quickly.

If you can't hear the engine run, and even if you do, that won't prove anything because he could have poured liquid sludge in it to make it quiet, then it's a crap shoot.

That is the risk you take when looking for junker engines. If you are looking for assurances that an engine is good, that is called a warranty. You won't find many, if any private parties who will give you a warranty. I know that I wouldn't because I'd then have to trust your mechanical skills and that you didn't screw up anything installing the engine and getting it fired up.

So, if you need peace of mind, that comes with a price tag (much more than $600) and you need to be prepared to pay the price. If you are a risk taker, then keep looking for junkers. Sure there are many junker swaps that happened and are running. But I can assure you, those who have run into issues tend not to be forthcoming about the total cost to get the junker running or problems they had.

chevyv8guy

i bought my engine for $600 with 5000KM on it(canadian lol) and it runs fine with tons of power just ask to take the pan and heads off to inspect it to look for any noticeable damage that way u no if he put sludge in it and you dont have to listen for anything you can see the lifters, the crank, pistons, rods, etc.

Dyno Don

iTrader: (7)

It's still a crap shoot.
Gambler are we?

chevyv8guy

lol a little bit but some times you meet great people im still friends with the guy who sold me the engine since then he gave me a holley 850 double pumper ended up selling his third gen for a 2nd gen that we are gettin ready for pinks and help me buy my brothers trans am for his grad gift (he bought a whole interior and some other stuff) but BACK TO THE TOPIC lol you are taking a gamble but you do meet some nice people who are truthful and wont screw you over

///DAN///

iTrader: (1)

I've been told that when you buy a motor you assume it needs atleast freshened up unless it's well documented or you have first hand knowledge of the condition of the motor , never take a strangers word for it there are alot of tricks that can be done to make a motor start and run good enough to sell and blow to pieces a month after you buy it . The only way to know for sure is to inspect the internals .

AlkyIROC

I fired up an engine for a buyer. I had 2 jack stands under the motor mounts and the pan sat on the floor. Didn't even have exhaust manifold.Put a fuel line from the pump on the side of the block into a gas can, installed a starter and flexplate and fired it up. It doesn't need any coolant to run it for a couple of minutes.

oamhmad

iTrader: (1)

Some very informative comments. I do realize this is somewhat of a gamble. I'm trying to minimize the risk element involved as much as possible. Here's is what I have in mind,

1) Get the guy to start the engine with an oil pressure gauge hooked up. Listen for rod knock and valve train tap. Look for smoke, and see how quick oil pressure build up.

2) While the engine is running watch the harmonic balancer spinning. Look for any signs of a bent crank. The balancer is obviously new and was recently replaced.

3) Check for oil seeping out of front seal, valve covers.

4) Hook up vacuum gauge and look for good steady vacuum.

2) Remove valve covers and look for sludge or cracks in the heads.

3) Remove oil pan and inspect rods/pistons and whatever I can see of the cylinder walls. Look real close for cracks. Maybe use one of those little dentist mirrors to look into tight spots.

Anything else you guys can think of?

torque_is_good

I would run my engine for maybe 30 seconds without any coolant in it. If I'm trying to sell an engine, I won't risk damaging it (further) for someone who is uncomfortable making a $600 decision. You aren't going to perform the tests that you want in that period of time.

And, liquid sludge won't reveal itself in 1 or 2 minutes, heck, not even in 5 minutes or a 10 minute test drive so your inspection for smoke etc would be moot.

What you are describing is that you want assurances aka a warranty. It is a crap shoot. Either accept that or move on. You aren't going to find a $2000 reman'd engine or long block for $600.

Will you be financially and emotionally injured if you discover that for $600 you got an engine that needs to be rebuilt? At the end of the day, it's not a lot of money (really it isn't) so at worst, you'd be overpaying by $300- $400 vs a known bad engine.

There will be a point where you will offend the seller. Again, the seller isn't asking $2,000. Are you willing to gamble? Only you can honestly answer that question. Anonymous posters on a forum can try and sway you one way or the other with stories of $400 junkers that they dropped in, ran flat 13's in the quarter and got a million miles from the engine.

Those stories will of course make you want to believe but there's a reason there are machine shops, rebuild kits and junk yards.

Good luck, you have some soul searching to do.

vetteoz

iTrader: (13)

At the bottom end of the market ,you will pay a premium because a engine physically runs
Does not mean the parts in it are good ; just that at this point in time they are hanging together well enough
for the engine to operate

Have pulled down many hi mileage SBC that although a little smoky still did a half decent burnout
When stripped down ,there is nothing usable inside except a crank that needs grinding and a set of rods.
Everything else was worn out and needed replacement.

Like the Duracell rabbit;
SBC's just keep on going , and going and .......

Convoy25

iTrader: (3)

well we did buy 3rd gens

but really it can go for anything you buy from someone, it can be good, or it can suck. when i'm going to buy an engine, i have it set in my mind that i'm going to rebuild/freshen it up regardless.

travis401

iTrader: (1)

It is a crap shoot. I purchased an engine from somone on this very site. Supposidly ran perfect even had a few track passes on it. Guy just "wanted to swap in an ls1 instead" Paid $1700 for the complete engine and had it shipped to me. Got it home looked at it in the garage for a week before I decided I was going to crack it open and inspect the internals. Thats when I found out it had 2 cracked pistons and wasnt a stroked motor as advertised (just bored). Sometimes you just get people who know the engine is bad and are just looking to get rid of it and make some money off an unsuspecting buyer. I learned from that and now refuse to buy any engine without popping off the oil pan and heads first. If its all fine, it just takes $20 worth of gaskets to get it back together. And I would always go through and freshen it up regardless. Just because someone says it only has 50k miles in it, doesnt mean its true.

torque_is_good

Sage advice

oamhmad

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for your advice everyone. A warranty is important to me and it seems like the risks outweigh the savings of a used motor at a cheap price.

I've decided to buy a new Goodwrench crate from Summit. it's the 260HP/320 TQ longblock for $1500. Although it's more than twice what I was originally looking at, at least the General will stand behind it if something happens.

chevyv8guy

go to your local machine shop see how much they can build a motor for you i know the one i go to builds me a brand new motor for $1500 that easily pushes 300+hp obviously the more horse the more cash but they also give warranty just my

torque_is_good

If a motor change is in order, I also like the goodwrench long blocks.

But, before taking out the credit card and placing the order, go to your local adv auto or autozone and see if they can get you the same long block to their store at the same price. The difference is that you won't pay shipping which can be as high as $300

You can then also ask them if they want to extend to you a discount for the items you'll need to button up everyhting such as 3 gallons of straight antifreeze, tranny fluid, new u joints, maybe even headers and y pipe. They can order all that stiuff and you don't pay shipping.

You'll be surpirsed at how flexible the store manager will be when talking to a $2,000 or more customer. You then also ask for some type of code for a period of time so you continue to receive a discount for the project.

I haven't paid retail prices at adv auto for 3 years. I have project vehicles as well as maintain my family fleet of 5 vehicles.