Re: Pull a part parts....

["Jeff Reeves" <jeffr@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Aside from conducting a thorough visual inspection of the engine or
transmission, you're taking a gamble that the part works. Most Pull A Part
type places will drain all fluids from the vehicle and remove the batteries,
so it would be impossible to hear one run. On the good side, however---most
places like that will allow you to buy at least a 30-day warranty in the
event the part you buy turns out to be defective. 
Here's what I'd recommend as far as buying an engine from the Pull A Part:
If you are intending to use the engine "as-is" with no major rebuilding or
overhauling, I'd at least pull the oil pan and check a few of the bearings
for wear. Also check to see that the oil pickup screen hasn't been blocked
at some point which could cause oil starvation. You would likely want to
regasket the engine anyway since if it's used, it probably leaks. Another
good thing to check would be to make sure it will even turn over freely. If
it turns with no hang-ups or strange sounds, the rotating assembly might be
OK. Take the top off the distributor and watch the rotor turn as you turn
the engine back and forth to check for timing chain wear. If you buy the
engine and get it home, see if you can attach a starter to it and do a
compression test on it before installation. If you get an engine with a bad
cylinder or something you can then return it under warranty before you've
gone through all the trouble of installing it. All the engines I've ever
bought from Pull A Part have been bought with the intention of doing a
rebuild, so all I was really concerned with was making sure the rotating
assembly worked freely and that there weren't major chunks missing or breaks
in the block. 

Another thing to look at when considering a Pull A Part engine is the car
itself. Take a look at the overall car--was it in relatively good shape? Was
it wrecked? Was it a car that some college frat boys spray painted and cut
the top off of before laying a brick on the accelerator? All these can be
visual clues as to what condition the engine might be in. Check the
odometer. I have seen some really low-mileage grandma cars in the Pull A
Part that were there simply because someone didn't want them. Heartbreaking!

Look at the engine itself. Is it clean? Has it been painted some other color
besides what it would have been painted from the factory? That might be a
good indication that the engine has been overhauled or rebuilt. Can you see
evidence that parts have been removed and/or replaced (i.e. blue Permatex
around an intake manifold, etc)? 

A lot of these same questions apply to transmissions as well. I needed an
automatic transmission for my Spirit a few years ago and went to Pull A
Part. They had about 3 Concords that had suitable trannies, so I get under
the cars and pull the pans to check for clutch matter and debris. One of the
Concords was a sad looking specimen that obviously hadn't been on the road
in several years and in actuality had been an Alaska car (dealer emblem and
license plate). This Concord's tranny had the cleanest looking pan and
showed some evidence of having been rebuilt at some point in time. Three
years and 35,000+ miles later that tranny is still running strong and has
given me zero problems. Not bad for a $65 transmission, huh? 

There are good deals and nightmares to be had at Pull A Part. Use your head,
choose carefully, and you'll likely be rewarded with miles and years of good
service. 

Jeff Reeves
Auburn, GA 
79 Spirit GT
72 Javelin SST
69 Ambassador DPL




Message-ID: <007701c4a12d$acb5eaa0$72303d42@mike>
From: "AMC of Memphis" <amcofmemphis@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <mail@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Pull a part parts...
Date: Thu, 23 Sep 2004 00:25:00 -0500

I was just wondering for those of you that pull engines and trannies out of
a pull a part, how you can tell if they are good or not.  I know that
trannies are almost impossible to check, but how about engines?  Is there
anyway to check to see if they are good before pulling it?

Mike Serpe