jamienoel

I bought a TBI engine today for for $75. He originally wanted $100.

The guy says it is a crate engine from 93 and was recently swapped out because it was steaming out the exhaust on the passenger side and since he had another engine, they just swapped it out for a newer one. I hope the head isn't cracked.

Where they usually stamp "5.7" or "5.0" on the little flat part on the block behind the head actually has a string of numbers instead.

The numbers are: CP118(or 3, hard to tell)658 and I can't find out anything about it.

I'll see about getting additional numbers tomorrow in the daylight. We just unloaded it in front of my uncle's garage and was trying to get the numbers with flashlights. We got lost trying to find the guy's place, (way out in the boonies of WV) so we didn't get back until after dark. lol

jamienoel

Today I cleaned some of the crud off the block and found the casting numbers.

I don't know what all that CP junk is on the flat part where the 5.7 usually is, but I'm going to assume the C means it was made in Canada though. Are Canadian blocks ok?

The casting numbers are: 10054727 which I guess is a pretty common block.

The head gasket and head on the passenger side where he said it was steaming looks fine, but when we took the intake manifold off, there was coolant laying in the top. We know the intake manifold was drained, so we are thinking (like someone mentioned) that it was simply an intake problem.

There are scratch marks on the manifold where they changed it before, but the gaskets had been on for awhile, so maybe the guy was telling the truth about buying it from GM in 93 and putting it in. He says the engine only has 50,000 miles on it, but there is such a carbon build up in the cylinders (head and pistons) that fell off and crumbled, it was weird. There was also crud on the heads.

The spark plugs are also very black with like a carbon build up.

The cylinders look good and there is hardly any ridge at all, so I don't know if that means it doesn't actually have many miles on it or what the deal is.

I'm kind of wondering if I should put rings and bearings in it while the heads are off.

Apeiron

"5.7" and "5.0" only appear on 1 piece RMS blocks. Earlier blocks only had the casting number. Aside from the displacement, a block is a block is a block. The condition is more important than anything else.

jamienoel

This is a 1 piece and doesn't have the 5.7 stamp on it. Is starts out with CP, but that doesn't appear to be casting numbers because there is no information available anywhere I can find.

When I found the actual casting numbers on the back of the block, (after cleaning it enough to read) it shows online as an 86 and up with one piece main that was most likely made in Canada, which makes me wonder if he was telling the truth about it being a crate replacement.

I don't know one way or another, I just know that my original 89 engine had a 5.0 stamp and my 89/90 has a 5.7, but this thing has other stuff that can't be found on the net.

Firebirda7x

If you don't know the condition of the engine, an assumption about it could waste your time when you get it in a vehicle and something fails.

While you have it out it might be worth your time in the long run to rebuild it and have the block magnafluxed.

Check for a number that is on a flat ridge of metal right behind the alternator, that might have an engine serial # if the casting number is not visible.

Apeiron

You've already got the casting number. Don't worry about anything else you might find on the block, because none of it makes a lick of difference. 10054727 is a 1 piece RMS block with a 4" bore. That's the only relevant information you need from the outside.

jamienoel

I just wanted to find out if the guy was lying or not.

He said it is a crate engine and it doesn't appear to be.

I found the suffix codes "UKA" which show it as being a 1993 engine with 210 horsepower and TBI. It is made in Canada, so I hope they used good metal up there...

Next problem. The guy DID lie to me. He said the engine was never overheated and today we took off the driver's side head and the head gasket was blown AND the head was cracked.

That concerns me. I know these blocks are hard to crack, but with the head being cracked, it's kind of scary.

Apeiron

"Crate engine" isn't magical, it just means that it was built to some "spec" that you could order from a catalog, and was put in a crate or on a pallet at some point in its life for shipping. There is nothing you can see on the inside or outside the engine that will tell you if an engine was a "crate" engine, or if it was rebuilt by the guy around the block.

Nothing about the history of an engine matters, only its current condition.

jamienoel

Well the guy lied to me.

Two pistons are damaged and one head is cracked from overheating, but the cylinders are ok, which we don't understand. The cylinders should be all scratched up because of the condition of the two pistons, but they're not, which we can't understand. How can this be?

The bearings are pristine, but where the head gasket blew into the two cylinders, the pistons are gone.

After just telling the guy of the damage, he still tried to deny it being overheated and told me all it needed was dropped in the car and it would run good with no knocking or smoking. Well okay, it would not have knocked because of how good the bearings are, but it probably would have smoked like hell or something. Below is a pic of one of the damaged pistons. After sending the guy a picture and outright calling him a liar for saying it was never overheated, he never responded.



My uncle wants to take it back and shove it up his ****.

I checked the codes on the front of the engines and it came back to one year only; 1993, so at least he wasn't lying about that. The block was made in Canada, but with the cylinders still being good, they must have used some dang good metal! lol

I found the raised 5.7 stamp on the back after clearing some oil buildup.

So if the block is okay, my 305 heads are going on. I can't afford new pistons right now, but I need an engine. Had I known this one was so screwed up, I would have simply rebuilt mine. We were trying to save time by preparing this one so we could just swap them, but when we saw the cracked head, we had to tear it down. And I'm glad we did.

Apeiron

The block is cast iron, but those pistons are cast aluminum with low silicon content. It's the rings that cause wear on the cylinder bores.

juanillox8

iTrader: (7)

dude u paid 75 for the engine does it really matter if the guy lied or not??? is not like u paid hundreds or thousands for it,he basically just sold u a core block... I personally wouldnt make a big deal about it if i buy an engine for 75 buck im not gonna expect it to be in flawless condition nor the guy to be honest about it but thats just my point of view... anyway Good Luck.

Firebirda7x

Needed to put a new window switch in a Z24 Cavalier at school today, the switch was $100. Your engine costed less....haha.

jamienoel

When you are on disability, have a daughter to raise and don't make much each month, $75 can be like $7500.

Being only $75 is not my point. He seemed sincere and knew I didn't have much money and assured me it was only a gasket, plus he said it was never overheated and only changed the engine because a buddy wrecked his truck and had a like new engine, so they just swapped it instead of changing the head gasket.

Whatever... It's going to be rebuilt now, but I may have to turn the furnace down this winter. They won't let me take the upper gasket kit back because it was opened. I'm just going get a couple pistons and put rings and bearings in. The bearings are excellent as is the crankshaft, but the bearings will not be reused.

The old engine is going to be sold by weight at the scrapyard. Should be worth $20-$40 at current local rates. The crank is messed up in the old one and has a rod knocking. My uncle told me I should have just put a reconditioned crank in and been done with it and now I wish I would have listened to him, but I was stupid and let someone talk me into buying their engine who assured me was fine. (other than a gasket) I told my uncle I should just put this crank in now...

I may not be the smartest woman in the world, but I'm also not the brightest. The guy took advantage of me, which seems to be the story of my life. Think used car salesman.

I just want my car to run!!! Dang it.

jamienoel

Yes, but what I have to put into it will cost more than two of your switches.

juanillox8

iTrader: (7)

wow my apologies first because i didn't know u where a girl (not to put you down or anything like that) but yes the guy did took advantage of you, and yes that is a hard situation havin ur girl and being in disability im really really sorry...

by the way did u took into consideration that you also need the computer and prom since you are going from a 305 to 350 emgine??

anyways hope everything works out for ya

jamienoel

No problem, I'm used to it. I'm easy going and sometimes gullible, but from now on I'm listening to my uncle!!!

I really screwed up, but it's another one of life's lessons!

It has a 350 block in it now with the original 305 heads. It has a 350 knock sensor and there's a guy on eBay that sells sensor kits and other car items that were stripped off junked vehicles who will sell me the ESC module cheap. The computer that's in it right now came from an 89 Caprice Classic that had a 350 in it.