Weekend oil change...bummer

[dsallean]

Originally Posted by mikefocke

There is a reason used motors have one price and totally rebuilt with "improved" parts and then tested engines have a completely different price. The gap can be $25k!!!

There is no sure thing especially with a used engine, you are relying on a few tests, the reputation of the seller, and any forum info on the seller that you can get. There are people who sell failed engines, even ones that put new IMSs into failed engines and then sell the engines or cars as if they are cured. People lie and cheat, sadly.

OTOH, the engine from my crashed '99 would have been a perfect donor engine. But how to know?

Questions I'd ask:
Why was the engine available? Crash, flood, swap?
Was it running when removed from the donor car?
Have you pulled and inspected both the filter and sump and what were the results?
Have you done a compression test and/or a leakdown test? Results?
Have you inspected the IMS area and is there any sign the IMS is not the one the car came with?
Have you made any changes/improvements to the engine? What?
What accessories are original to the engine and still attached?
Cost delivered to my door?
Warranty?

You can buy any engine and have a failure a week later, a year later or never.

mikefocke thanks so much for the insight. Good questions to ask. While I would ideally prefer some guarantee that whatever engine I end up spending thousands of dollars to buy is in perfect shape in the end I must do my due diligence and remember its my responsibility to do so. Buyer beware as they say.

[dsallean]

Getting the shop ready to pull in the Box for whatever surgery is required.



I think the car gods are mocking me. This morning as I drove to work in my Toyota I saw two silver 986's. One screaming past in the other direction. Ugh.

[dsallean]

I want to follow up as I ran the analysis software on Sunday. Warmed up the engine with a 30 minute top down drive around in lovely fall weather. I haven't driven it otherwise. The results were:

Camshaft deviation position 1: -6.96
Camshaft deviation position 2: -3.71

Still no codes...yet.

The engine is coming out soon. I have looked at a few replacement options and have been tempted with a 3.4 (as with every sports car I have owned I fight the urge to go bigger in some way). But I can't pull the trigger until I drop this engine and do a post mortem first. I know I should have another engine on the way while I drop the first to minimize downtime but I am going to wait. Just my curiosity and learning curve on these cars.

Dave

[The Radium King]

dude - the metal is not magnetic so probably not an issue. brown plastic is variocam tensioner pads (probably the reason that you have high deviation) - updated part is $20 and can be done with engine in car - but doesn't really need changing until deviation gets to +/- 9 or so. i say drive the car man and stop worrying about it.

[dsallean]

Originally Posted by The Radium King

dude - the metal is not magnetic so probably not an issue. brown plastic is variocam tensioner pads (probably the reason that you have high deviation) - updated part is $20 and can be done with engine in car - but doesn't really need changing until deviation gets to +/- 9 or so. i say drive the car man and stop worrying about it.

TRK I appreciate that. The shop said the IMSB was going and the engine is toast. I am skeptical, however I need to change the clutch so I am going to check it out while I am in there. I would prefer NOT to drop the engine. My understanding is that the variocam tensioner might be going and it can be done with the engine in the car it is easier to perform with the engine out.

I will take your advice and drive it while the weather is so nice here

[geraintthomas]

Personally? Change the oil filter for a spin on one, so ALL of the oil has to go through the filter. You can get a spin on adapter for not much money. Put a magnet in the sump (or get a magnetic sump plug), change the variocam tensioner parts and just drive it.

People are all too quick to say "ohh it's IMS that", so obviously the shop will tell you that. I'd just do the above and enjoy the car.

[Smallblock454]

Originally Posted by dsallean

TRK I appreciate that. The shop said the IMSB was going and the engine is toast. I am skeptical, however I need to change the clutch so I am going to check it out while I am in there. I would prefer NOT to drop the engine. My understanding is that the variocam tensioner might be going and it can be done with the engine in the car it is easier to perform with the engine out.

I will take your advice and drive it while the weather is so nice here

If gearbox and exhaust system is out of the car the engine is hanging on the front motor mount and on the transversal mount you put on the top it's no problem to move engine a little bit from one side to the other and fix it there. Also you can lower the engine a little bit with the transversal mount. But make shure you do not hurt the front mount or any lines or electric cables. And put the car on leveled ground and on leveled jack stand while doing that. I would not recommend to let the engine only hang pn the transversal mout from the top, because that might be too much weight for the chassis structure. So you should also support it a little bit from ground if you push the engine aside to get enough clearance to remove the valve covers.

Regards, Markus

[dsallean]

Thanks for the advice guys. You are much more knowledgeable than me on these cars. I do have a transverse engine support bar in the shop I can use. I will drive while the weather is nice, order some parts for the clutch and tensioners and a spin on adapter and when the parts come in do some work.

This is a very helpful forum. I have been on some other sites over the years with different cars and they all seem to have a sort of personality...and some personalities�� Encouraging folks here on this forum.

Dave

[Giller]

Originally Posted by flaps10

You don't.

I can't wait until we finally dispense with the "it's only 1% (or 10%)" theory. Every week, on every forum associated with the M96 there are new posters with metal in the oil.

Yes.....yet it isn't always the IMS is it? In this case, metal isn't ferrous therefore not IMS....

IMS is still only a small small percentage.

[Boxtaboy]

I don't trust any shop. Lol. How do you know if they didn't drop those particles in the engine pan? Did you see them pull that crap out? I don't think the green stuff is bad. I say drive it until it implodes, and then worry about a replacement engine.

[flaps10]

Originally Posted by Giller

Yes.....yet it isn't always the IMS is it? In this case, metal isn't ferrous therefore not IMS....

IMS is still only a small small percentage.

Except you have to consider where the non-ferrous metal is coming from. Like main bearings for instance.

These pictures were my main bearings. They were TOAST




Rod bearings too:

The shiny patch is where all the non-ferrous stuff rubbed off.

This heavy wear was the result of a very early stage dual row IMS failure pumping debris through my engine.
Thankfully I didn't just change the oil and drive the F out of it like seems to be the common advice.

[ksjohn]

Non ferrous is not coming from the IMSB. So, the sky is not falling, or, you may not have enough information to determine if it is falling. But, you have something going on.

Agree with getting a spin on non-bypass type filter and filter mag. Anything circulating gets caught on the first pass. Debris can't do any more damage once captured and you can analyze it better.

I had a failing IMSB in mine. Fixed that and installed a spin on filter and mag. I changed the filter and oil after 500 miles. Then changed the filter after 1000 miles, 3000 miles and 5000 miles when I changed the oil again. I now have 10,000 miles on it. Changing the filter this weekend just to see what might be there.

BTW, the filter is $4.50 and you need half a quart of oil to change the filter between oil changes. Also, I did some investigation into the best type of filter. Good old paper has finer media and will allow less through. The filter mag is to capture any ferrous flour that would pass through a filter. Extended life filters have more porous media but can hold more garbage. So, go with paper and change them more often!

Also, find a new shop! They are either incompetent or they like to sell new engines to people who may not need them.