Advice on buying junkyard engines?

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One of my son’s friends buys junkyard LS motors. He throws them in his car as is. Doesn’t pull a pan or valve cover. Hooks up his turbo setup and runs the crap out of them till they blow up, then does it over.

If you take a jumper box you can usually get the mileage to light up in the speedo. You can run a car fax if you get the vin.
 
Most of the real work with an engine change is the bolting it back in part.

I'm also in the market for a JY magnum 5.9 right now.

Regardless of what I get I'll pull the pan, inspect the main and rod bearings, and scope out all the cylinders. I'll also run it on the stand before putting it in the car, and run a compression check as well. That all will take a weekend but it'll be better than wasting time with a mystery motor, and I can check and repair any problems.
 
Mean416 said:
Most of the real work with an engine change is the bolting it back in part.

I'm also in the market for a JY magnum 5.9 right now.

Regardless of what I get I'll pull the pan, inspect the main and rod bearings, and scope out all the cylinders. I'll also run it on the stand before putting it in the car, and run a compression check as well. That all will take a weekend but it'll be better than wasting time with a mystery motor, and I can check and repair any problems.
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I'd be interested in seeing your run stand setup. I also see you're in GA. Which area? I'm near Clarkesville.
 
ch1ll said:
My place has a core holding of 50’s-70’s cars/trucks. Anything newer gets dismantled and shredded. Some stuff they wait for it to get picked over if they know it will sell. They have over 5000 vehicles and there is never a shortage of stuff to go to the shredder and there is open space for more vehicles.

And get this, the most sought after part is computers for dodge trucks, they are sold as soon as they get them.
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I was looking for a computer for my 5.9 swap and could never find one in the pick n' pull yards. I think they pre-pull 'em. Why is the demand so high on them?
 
jos51700 said:
I was looking for a computer for my 5.9 swap and could never find one in the pick n' pull yards. I think they pre-pull 'em. Why is the demand so high on them?
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My guess is they puke and new/refurbished cost a nut.
 
Mike69cuda said:
One of my son’s friends buys junkyard LS motors. He throws them in his car as is. Doesn’t pull a pan or valve cover. Hooks up his turbo setup and runs the crap out of them till they blow up, then does it over.

If you take a jumper box you can usually get the mileage to light up in the speedo. You can run a car fax if you get the vin.
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The junkyard is EXACTLY the best place for an LS anything I'll gladly let them stay there
 
When I was in the business, I gave a 90 day warranty on what I deemed a good used engine. My engines were run, compression test done, and oil pressure tested. The guaranty was for the engine the way I sold it to them. If you took it apart, the original guaranty was void, but, I would guaranty that any internal part out of specs would be replaced free of charge. You would be surprised (maybe not!) how many knuckleheads are out there that don't know what they're doing. No way I can guaranty anyone else's work. If someone wanted buy an engine that was going to be a swap from car to truck or vice versa, I would swap the pan, pickup, dipstick and tube, etc, for no charge except for the cost of new gaskets and fresh oil. This would keep the guaranty valid and give the customer and myself the satisfaction that the internals looked good before they went to the effort and expense of installing it. We worked with them for other swaps too (like 2bbl to 4bbl conversions, new water pump, new freeze plugs, and others) for a discounted labor rate and the cost of any parts to keep a warranty in effect if they wanted it. Some didn't care because they were going to freshen it anyway, but, most wanted a bolt-in engine with a guaranty. Buy from a reputable firm that has a good guaranty if you plan on just plugging it in. Some will even install them for a reasonable fee. Be up front as to what you want to do to the engine in case they have restrictions on keeping the guaranty in place. Many will use heat tabs to reveal if the customer overheated the engine. If so, the guaranty would be void. If you can buy one from a recently wrecked car that can be started, that would be your best bet. Plus you could see what the mileage is too just to verify what you've been told.
 
LKQ sells engines with a six month warranty. There's a 5.9 Magnim right now in Georgia with like 165K for 1600 bucks. Not bad considering it comes with induction and exhaust. You could resell those items to recoup some of the cost.
 
The last time I needed a 360 magnum I found it on CL for $250, had the vehicle there it came out of so I was able to verify miles, (was 135k at the time) it's still running and driving.
I did regasket everything, had it down to the short block before I put it in.
 
RustyRatRod said:
LKQ sells engines with a six month warranty. There's a 5.9 Magnim right now in Georgia with like 165K for 1600 bucks. Not bad considering it comes with induction and exhaust. You could resell those items to recoup some of the cost.
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They're on FB marketplace all day for under a grand. But no warranty
 
jos51700 said:
I was looking for a computer for my 5.9 swap and could never find one in the pick n' pull yards. I think they pre-pull 'em. Why is the demand so high on them?
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I think I still have a 1999 5.9 computer. Ran last time I tried it (2012 or so).
 
I would rather buy a known good motor with no warranty from a running vehicle or buy the whole vehicle than buy a used motor with a warranty that I can't test run and pressure test the cooling system.
Sometimes you have to buy the whole buffalo to get a good motor.
In this area $1000 gets a beat to stink mid 90s truck with a good 100/150k magnum motor in it.
The best ones come from the church vans.
 
I've got a guy at a dodge truck recycles I have worked with for a long time so I trust him. I got my 360 LA from him he said the engine and trans ran good when the truck came in it did have 95,000 on them. $1500.00 for the pair been happy with them ever since runs good for a low compression motor doesn't smoke trans shifts good. That's the second engine I have bought from him
 
I've bought several vehicles from insurance company auctions for motors and transmissions, only got burned once. My thought is the car was almost guaranteed to be running and driving before the crash, so odds were good that it was mechanically sound.
Plus you get the whole vehicle, usually fairly cheap, and can recoup some of your money from parts you don't need.
 
I always pray the spark plugs have been in for a long while.
You can get a pretty good idea about the top end by reading the plugs. jmo
 
I have bought 3 5.9 engines with 135k to 170k miles on them. Bearings, rings and bores look brand new. Cam bearings are always bad. New cam and bearings, intake. Run them Hard! zero problems.
 
jcwren said:
I've never bought a junkyard engine before. I actually need two engines, a 5.9L Magnum that will go in my '71 Dart, and a 4.2L V6 for a '97 Ford F-150 that blew up. While I expect to do a little freshening up on one, I don't want to need to do a full valve job, new rings and bearings, line boring the crank or cam bearings, etc. The goal is not to buy a $600 engine so I can sink $4000 more into it.

How do you avoid buying a piece of trash? I've seen these used engine and transmission wholesalers on Farcebook Marketplace and have no idea how good or bad they are. I also know some junk yards are pull your own, while others sell pre-pulled engines. I'm not adverse to paying a little more for an engine that's been compression and/or leak-down tested or comes with some kind of warranty. There are also some things that I'd consider to be obvious like not buying an engine with 200K on it, one from a car that had a hard front-end hit, little things like that.

I'm reasonably sure I don't want to go with a pull-it-yourself option, as I'd literally be doing it by myself. I'm not into crawling around in the dirt and mud to get it out, and having back issues doesn't help.

I'd love to hear other people's advice and experiences on buying from wholesalers and junkyards, and what you do to make sure you're not buying scrap metal.
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Car-part.com. do a search for your engine and find a low mileage unit with a warranty.
 
Freezerman said:
I have bought 3 5.9 engines with 135k to 170k miles on them. Bearings, rings and bores look brand new. Cam bearings are always bad. New cam and bearings, intake. Run them Hard! zero problems.
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I would add new core plugs, timing chain, and head gaskets in addition to cam bearings to any used engine as well.
 
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