The chances are that in some point and time in your life you may be faced with the decision of having to replace an engine in one of your cars. When this time comes you might find yourself having to purchase a second hand engine. Whether it is because there are no reconditioned units available to you or it may be because of financial reasons you choose a second hand over a reconditioned one. Either way, if the decision is made, you have to know what you are doing to get a proper dependable replacement engine for your vehicle. Here are a few pointers to consider along the way.
When doing your initial search for your replacement engine, knowing as much as you can about your own vehicle is the key. Before you make any phone calls or enquiries looking for an engine you should, at a minimum, have the following information to hand. The vehicle year, the vehicle make, the vehicle model, how many cylinders your engine has, whether it is diesel or petrol, does the vehicle have normal aspiration, a turbo charger or a super charger, the displacement of your engine either in litres or cc's. All of this information will be necessary and aide you in finding the right replacement unit for your vehicle.
The ways to find a replacement engine vary; firstly, if you are not mechanically inclined you can have your mechanic find a supplier for you. If they have been in the trade for any length of time they will be able to locate one for you and confirm all of the relevant details in order to be supplied with the correct unit. Some garages do not mind sourcing the engines but we have run across a few that are more than happy to find one but will then pass on the contact number of the supplier to you ( the customer) so you can complete the purchase and arrange payment and delivery of the unit. Another option is to pick up your local yellow pages and find the pages dedicated to vehicle breaker yards, make some phone calls and hope you stumble upon one that has your particular engine in stock. This is a hit and miss process and depending on your luck can work out in your favour.
The third option is to use the web to locate your replacement engine. Considering the advancements made to the internet over the past decade, some firms have made their own niche by providing "parts finder" websites. Basically what this allows is for you to log into their website, enter your contact details, enter the details of the engine you are looking for and submit your request. These firms are normally tied in with a great many suppliers who pay a monthly subscription fee to the site to be able to see your requests. The advantage to this type of search is that with one entry you are essentially contacting a mass group of companies who will in turn either call you or e mail you with quotes for what you are looking for so you will have given yourself options with whom you choose to use and you can look for the best deal. One word of advice when using a web service to find your engine, do not simply say yes to the first company to quote you, give the site time to do its work and get as many quotes as you can before making your decision of which one to purchase.
Once payment is made and delivery is made, make sure your mechanic thoroughly looks over the supplied unit to make sure it will do the job as needed, remember you have bought a second hand engine, not a reconditioned one or a new one so it is normal to have an engine delivered that looks less than pristine, carbon in the exhaust ports is normal as the engine was running in a car before it was removed and sent to you, also there may be slight oil leaks or other external wear and tear that would all be considered normal on a second hand engine. Essentially you have purchased a used engine at a cheaper cost than a new or recon unit so expect to have to do a bit of cleaning up to get it to do the job. Externally, how pretty an engine looks has no bearing on how the unit will perform once installed. I have seen some engines look like they just rolled off the showroom floor and after installing them find out there is an internally worn part and have to do the job again. And in the same breath i have seen engines that have looked initially like they have gone through a war but once installed, they have run for years without a single problem.
I hope this helps a few people out there who may feel a bit lost with the process of finding a replacement engine. Good luck in your search.
