Belisarius
Registered User
Here's the story. I took my bird in to the mechanic to have a whole boatload of parts installed that I've been acquiring over the past year. Aluminum radiator, Lincoln LCAs and pumpkin, engine mounts, double intercooler, front suspension pieces, short shifter; in the process there was a leak in the front seal so I had a BHJ balancer in stalled. This was over a month ago.
The owner and the manager both test drove the car and both failed to notice there was no oil pressure. After some diagnostic work, they found out the oil pump had seized. This ruined the motor. The car is a '95 five speed with 77,000 on the ticker. My Dad bought the car new and had it dealer maintained with the same dealer until he gave it to me last year. Figuring I had a good car with quite a bit of life left in it I spent some money on a major tune, dual mandrel bent exhaust, cold air intake, , kooks mid length headers, TB and MAF. The car is clean and has been in no accidents. Because I was having the suspension rebuilt, and having Bullit style wheels in the garage, I did the hub conversion and added the larger rotors etc. etc..
My mechanic called last week, told me about the motor and that he was going to get me a new motor on his dime. I went by the shop today to check in, see the new motor and check on progress and found that instead of a new motor, the shop was prepping a used pick-a-part motor of unknown mileage. Apparently the new engine has been "tested", runs and has an unlimited mileage three year warranty, but it is definitely not new.
I'd like opinions about what you think I should do. Oddly, even though I live in Southern California, the community I live in is very tightly knit, the shop has otherwise been very cool about all the repairs I've taken there, and they are the best game in town. Finding another trustworthy shop would be a major pain in this part of LA.
Knowing something about cars I know that the mileage of a motor doesn't tell the whole story by a long shot. Was this motor maintained as well as the one they cooked? Where did it come from? At 77,000 my '95 is one of the lowest mileage birds around. How many miles were on this motor? (They are going to check the mileage and get back to me tomorrow.) Over the last year of reading around here I know that these motors are prone to head gasket failure even in a non modded car. Can a used boosted motor be trusted? Even if they come back with a mileage number, who's to say that the previous owner took care of his motor at all?
The warranty is not a selling point for me in any way. As a school teacher with a short commute I put about 8,500 miles on the odometer every year. Three years can go by, I'll have an even more used motor with 27,000 more miles on it, no warranty and be looking at possible issues down the road. I keep cars. I've had my BMW 535i for 8 years and have no plans to sell it. Before that I had two successive Volvo 240 turbos on which I racked up the miles. My plan was to keep this car for quite a while and, knowing it was a relatively low mile car, I was planning on it being my daily driver for the foreseeable future.
Here's what I'd like to know:
If you have owned, or currently work at a repair shop, what's your shop's policy in a situation like this?
Should I expect a new motor or be satisfied with a junkyard engine?
Were there any differences between the '94 and '95 power plants?
Were there any differences between the manual and auto power plants?
What 3.8 specific issues should I look for in this used motor?
What's your general opinion of the matter?
The owner and the manager both test drove the car and both failed to notice there was no oil pressure. After some diagnostic work, they found out the oil pump had seized. This ruined the motor. The car is a '95 five speed with 77,000 on the ticker. My Dad bought the car new and had it dealer maintained with the same dealer until he gave it to me last year. Figuring I had a good car with quite a bit of life left in it I spent some money on a major tune, dual mandrel bent exhaust, cold air intake, , kooks mid length headers, TB and MAF. The car is clean and has been in no accidents. Because I was having the suspension rebuilt, and having Bullit style wheels in the garage, I did the hub conversion and added the larger rotors etc. etc..
My mechanic called last week, told me about the motor and that he was going to get me a new motor on his dime. I went by the shop today to check in, see the new motor and check on progress and found that instead of a new motor, the shop was prepping a used pick-a-part motor of unknown mileage. Apparently the new engine has been "tested", runs and has an unlimited mileage three year warranty, but it is definitely not new.
I'd like opinions about what you think I should do. Oddly, even though I live in Southern California, the community I live in is very tightly knit, the shop has otherwise been very cool about all the repairs I've taken there, and they are the best game in town. Finding another trustworthy shop would be a major pain in this part of LA.
Knowing something about cars I know that the mileage of a motor doesn't tell the whole story by a long shot. Was this motor maintained as well as the one they cooked? Where did it come from? At 77,000 my '95 is one of the lowest mileage birds around. How many miles were on this motor? (They are going to check the mileage and get back to me tomorrow.) Over the last year of reading around here I know that these motors are prone to head gasket failure even in a non modded car. Can a used boosted motor be trusted? Even if they come back with a mileage number, who's to say that the previous owner took care of his motor at all?
The warranty is not a selling point for me in any way. As a school teacher with a short commute I put about 8,500 miles on the odometer every year. Three years can go by, I'll have an even more used motor with 27,000 more miles on it, no warranty and be looking at possible issues down the road. I keep cars. I've had my BMW 535i for 8 years and have no plans to sell it. Before that I had two successive Volvo 240 turbos on which I racked up the miles. My plan was to keep this car for quite a while and, knowing it was a relatively low mile car, I was planning on it being my daily driver for the foreseeable future.
Here's what I'd like to know:
If you have owned, or currently work at a repair shop, what's your shop's policy in a situation like this?
Should I expect a new motor or be satisfied with a junkyard engine?
Were there any differences between the '94 and '95 power plants?
Were there any differences between the manual and auto power plants?
What 3.8 specific issues should I look for in this used motor?
What's your general opinion of the matter?
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