New 3.5L from Salvage Yard - Where to Start?

nwoods

Expedition Leader
Okay - Advice Needed

I bought a "new" 3.5L engine from a 2002 Montero that had been rolled. There was a ton of mud underneath it, so it looks like someone had a good time up until they didn't. I am hoping that means this motor is running well. Not being very bright, or very experienced, I spent $90 on a warranty from the salvage yard. I have 90 days to exchange this motor or return it if I need it. What I didn't know is they mark every piece of the engine, and assume that I will just drop this motor into my rig without servicing it.

Well, that was not my plan. My plan was to pull the top off and run a compression test (can you do that just by turning the crank by hand?), and pull the front end off and replace all the timing gear and sensors. And of course, replace seals and gaskets throughout.

Is it worth installing as is and hoping for the best, or should I just write off the warranty as more money lost on this project, and do a proper rebuild? I also want to clean this thing, but before I do, I shot a lot of photos of the existing condition to see where all it might be leaking. Based on the photos below, what do you guys think needs replacing, servicing, etc?

Right rear (Drivers side)
IMG_8755-X3.jpg


Left rear (passenger side)
IMG_8756-X3.jpg


Rear cooling pipes
IMG_8757-X3.jpg


Throttle Body and IAC (intake hose cut off)
IMG_8759-X3.jpg


Left - Passenger side
IMG_8760-X3.jpg


Left - Passenger side - Lower
IMG_8762-X3.jpg


Left Rear lower (passenger side)
IMG_8761-X3.jpg


Right Front (power steering pump seems to be leaking)
IMG_8767-X3.jpg


Right front - PCV looks like its got blowback leaking out
IMG_8766-X3.jpg


Right side lower
IMG_8768-X3.jpg


Right side upper
IMG_8769-X3.jpg


Right front again
IMG_8772-X3.jpg
 

offthepath

Adventurer
Call the yard and ask if the warranty will be voided if you pull the front cover and fix leaking gaskets. I'd hope not......

Either way, I'd put a belt on it, valve cover gaskets, plugs, wires, general maintance stuff, etc. You need to get it to a baseline and it will be much much easier on a stand vs in the car.

You can't really do a compression test, but you can do a leak down test which would be a good idea. Do the leak down test before you put much time/money into the engine so you can return it if the results are bad.
 
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mudraider

Adventurer
2nd the leak down test. Besides testing rings, it will tell you how the valves are sealing, leaking head gasket, etc.

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Salonika

Monterror Pilot
I would never go through the work of installing a motor I had any doubts about. It’s just not worth the risk to me. But I guess it depends on your situation. I knew I planned to keep my truck for 10-15 more years. So with that in mind, I took the time, spent the money, and never looked back.
 
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nwoods

Expedition Leader
I guess it depends on your situation. I knew I planned to keep my truck for 10-15 more years. So with that in mind, I took the time, spent the money, and never looked back.

Yeah, there are a few mitigating factors at play.
1. This is a two year lifespan vehicle. That's all it has to last
2. I've already exceeded my budget, and I have yet to baseline the rest of the vehicle (brakes, tires, bearings, shocks, etc...)
3. The City has determined that the Monty is "derelict" and wants to tow it away because its parked in the dirt next to my driveway, and not on the paving. So getting it running soon is in my best interest.

Having said that, I just can't put it in without inspecting it and doing the timing belt, gaskets, etc... I just can't! Budgets are made to be broken. It's only groceries.
 

chadzeilenga

Active member
I’ve had fairly good success with JY motors. Have probably done 15-20 in small FWD imports like Sentras and Corollas. For me it was always verifying the mileage on the donor vehicle. They all started up and ran, no smoke etc. the biggest issue was usually the damage caused by yard removing them.

The yards mark them up like that so they can find any reason to void warranty.


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coffeegoat

Adventurer
With it out of the rig, it's probably only an afternoon to do a full timing belt/water pump/seals job if you're inclined. The majority of the time is associated with pulling the whole thing apart to get at stuff, so since it's on a stand already with nothing hooked up, it should go pretty quick. For example, I think it took me nearly 2 hours to get my exhaust manifolds reattached while it was in the rig....

It looks really clean overall, I see leaking valve cover gaskets, and the PCV looks a little leaky, but other than that, pretty nice. Is the crank bolt updated?
 

brad2274

Adventurer
Yeah, there are a few mitigating factors at play.
1. This is a two year lifespan vehicle. That's all it has to last
2. I've already exceeded my budget, and I have yet to baseline the rest of the vehicle (brakes, tires, bearings, shocks, etc...)
3. The City has determined that the Monty is "derelict" and wants to tow it away because its parked in the dirt next to my driveway, and not on the paving. So getting it running soon is in my best interest.

Having said that, I just can't put it in without inspecting it and doing the timing belt, gaskets, etc... I just can't! Budgets are made to be broken. It's only groceries.

I would go ahead and swap it in now if i were you, because you can swap it in and test it without all the accessories, even just drop it on the motor mounts and not hook up to trans. That way the whole front of the motor is still open for you to do the timing belt on if you determine the motor seems fine. Plus you can change that one leaking cam seal in the back before swapping in since it has no paint. You also don't need the cooling system hooked up if you just want to do a compression test (also wont need fuel either, but youd probably like to confirm it fires up lol)
 

nwoods

Expedition Leader
Argh, I have the worst luck. The new junkyard engine has ZERO compression on cylinder 2 and low compression on cylinder 3. Now I have to do a leak down test or just tear the heads off. Sigh, either way, it's looking to starting eating more money and fast.
 

offthepath

Adventurer
Bummer. Take it back under the warranty. By the way, any decent junk yard that is selling an engine should always have a compression test done prior to selling it and provide the results with the engine.

At this point i think you really need to decide what to do. Get a quality reman engine, or scrape the vehicle. If you want to keep the montero it's always easier to just cry once, pay for quality and move on.
 

nwoods

Expedition Leader
Yeah, well, cry thrice is twice too much. Remember that I got ripped off by trying to buy engines (plural) twice before. I’ve lost thousands in scams in trying to buy a quality engine. That road is now closed and the funds evaporated
 

BOPOH

Explorer
what if you pour some oil through spark plugs, hook up power to starter and test compression again?
 

nwoods

Expedition Leader
what if you pour some oil through spark plugs, hook up power to starter and test compression again?
That is my next step. Though rigging the battery wiring up might be a bit sketchy. I suppose I could use jumper cables!
 

Swift_45a

Observer
Yeah, well, cry thrice is twice too much. Remember that I got ripped off by trying to buy engines (plural) twice before. I’ve lost thousands in scams in trying to buy a quality engine. That road is now closed and the funds evaporated

:cautious:

I'd try what BOPOH said, at this point there is nothing left to lose; this is why I'd rather buy a running chassis that I know has known issues and work as I go than to buy a mystery engine from a junk yard.

My SR was close to the 200k mark but ran well, and strong, but I knew it was just a matter of time before I'd have to break her down for a rebuild as my 93 LS was trying to commit suicide any chance it got at ~160k.

I recently had to pass on a Nissan V8 with 80k (stated) on it when I saw how mangled they left it for the very same reasons.

Sorry about your loss, dude.
 

nwoods

Expedition Leader
That is my next step. Though rigging the battery wiring up might be a bit sketchy. I suppose I could use jumper cables!
That idea turned out to be a non-starter, pun intended. Turns out that the starter mounts to the transmission, so no way to to mount it to the engine block to turn the flywheel. So after running the compression test, and getting no compression on cylinders #2 and #3, I reversed it and blew air through the hose fitting in a poor mans approach to a leak down test (None of the auto shops near me had a leak down tester available for rent!). I could hear air coming out the intake manifold from both cylinder 2 and 3, and nothing from the exhaust or crankcase, which suggests just bent valves or poorly seated valves. Only way to really tell is to pull the heads off.

Prior to that, I pulled off the front plate and checked the timing. Looked okay to me.
IMG_8929-X3.jpg


IMG_8930-X3.jpg


Pulled off the right bank (drivers side) and the valves and pistons looks fried but generally sound. No evidence of bad timing contact, no obviously miss-seated valves. But the internals of this engine are just disgustingly dirty, including the intake manifold.

IMG_8936-X3.jpg


IMG_8939-X3.jpg


Same story for the left bank, though there was large puddle of oil on top of piston #3......hmmm bad rings?

IMG_8949-X3.jpg


IMG_8950-X3.jpg



So now I am looking for machine shop recommendations here in SoCal for redoing the heads. Also, while those are shipped out, what is the best way to clean up the piston heads and clean out the intake from all the carbon junk?
 

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