just out of curiosity what should someone expect to pay at a junkyard for an engine? also a tranny

I bought an 87 NA and I want to get an engine to do a full rebuild on while mine is building up mileage... that way I can swap with less down time...

-non

 

i was wondering that myself...

 

depending on the yard, anywhere from $100 to $1000 for the engine, and $100-$500 for the tranny

 

i paid $75 for an s4 and an s5 ($150 altogether). they came with flywheel, intake manifold, throttle body, and tps. funny, the guy overcharges for evrything else but dead engine cores.

 

The guy who bought my 88 Ragtop paid $350 for a "running" engine from a yard in Mass. He got it in the car, ran it for 2 weeks and the seals went on it. The engine had been sitting in the yard for 2 years and you know how much the rotaries love just sitting around...

Buyer Beware...

 

1k was paid for the 98 percent complete parts car. it was an 89 t2 btw.

 

went to pick your parts and asked for an RE S4 engine and was quoted 750...

 

oh i was quoted 300 on just the long block motor with low compression.

 

ya I went today to a mazda junkyard and the guy wanted 1k for both engine and tranny 650 for the engine alone... I passed because I dont really need to spend money on a "working engine" I can get a blown one and do a full buildup and not have to worry...

-non

 

"Get a blown one and do a full buildup"???.. hmm i dont know about that. What if you pull the motor apart and find out that it took a couple of seals and scratched the housings pretty bad. THEN you will have to buy new or used housings. Always think of the worst things before purchasing a dead motor.

If youre in a hunt for a used motor. Look at an engine that is still in the car. Driveable preffered. Drive it around, this way you have a feel if the engine is good or bad...

 

I wonder how many j-spec (junkyard spec) motors are just flooded.

 

$150 at the local 'pick your own crap' junkyard

 

I would check the odo of the donor car b4 you buy. If its high miles, i would pass no matter how cheap - you get what you pay for.

 

I had the chance to buy an S4, 60k mile engine from a local yard for $200 complete. I didn't have money at the time, and they scrapped the car.

I almost got a great deal on an '88 GXL LSD. Then I looked in the car to check the milage... 301k miles. F that!

 

Ah, I was just checking for junkyard FCs today, and have only been to one of those you pull yards. How do most junkyards work in terms of pulling parts and getting a look at them?

 

i just pulled an 86 13b long block w/ front accessories (alternator, airpump, waterpump)
upper intake, and harness.

dude wanted extra for the clutch disc and pressure plate so i just ubolted it and tossed it into a near by junk car. 277.8x tax included...

im in orange county, california.... i got to rent one of those cool engine hoist with a steering wheel for 5 bucks every half hour.


but truly, dont spend too much on an engine that is iffy. i got mine from an accident car, the best doner.

a good way to test compression is to use a socket wrench on the front hub bolt and turn the engine and count the "chugs" it makes for two revs... there should be six good chugs.