Fire damaged engine, worth it?
 

There's a really low mileage engine in a local U-pull nearby. I'm wondering it it's worth it to pull it. It's a s4 13b with 90k or so.
I believe it was a pulsation damper failure that caused the fire.. It's pretty bad. Everything burned and probably for several minutes before they put it out. Would there be any sort of engine trouble that would result if I used the shortblock? Internal seal trouble and whatnot? I'd hate to go through the trouble of pulling it especially getting around all the mess in the bay..
What should I look at specifically to determine if the engine is feasable? In terms of an engine fire, I mean, aside from the normal comp. checks.

I wouldnt bank on using a junkyard engine period. The corrosion that takes place can be quick death of a rotary.

Add to that the possibility that all the internal rubber seals were damaged by heat ..

$100 or less is worth for a short block, but make sure rebuild it.

A lot of times fire engines get water and other corrosion into the engine. IF it's sat more than 6 months I wouldnt plan on using it as is, but rather as a core. IF it still turns freely and makes compression it may be okay. You really can't know until you get it out of the car and look inside the intake and exhaust ports.



I guess you could remove the plugs and look at them, and turn the front pulley with a 19mm socket, while using a mirror and a light to look inside and examine the rotors for rust etc.

Thanks, that's more or less what I figured.
Is there any danger of the aluminum becoming warped from the fire? I will go out there and do a comp check and probably buy it for rebuild if it checks out. They only want $100 for it.

For $100 I would take it.
No, the engine fire would not warp the housings.
There is coolant in there, so that keeps the temps down.
Every try and melt a styrofoam cup full of water?
Same principle...
The only worry is how long the engine sat around.
Accumulation of moisture inside can make everything worthless.
But, if the engine turns over by hand, at least the housings should be okay. :)


-Ted

I grabbed mine for $60 from the local u-pull that had suffered the same fate and it was in pretty damn good condition when I tore it down. The only thing that was crappy was the rear iron which had a little corrosion on it.