brassplyer

Have you ever broken down an engine or trans on a car you just bought that had a performance build that you didn't do to check things - bearing clearances, cam, crank, rockers, lifters, make sure oil is getting to where it's supposed to, etc.?

roboto65

No I would say that if you perform a vacuum test and compression test and oil pressure you will get a good idea how strong your motor is. Pulling the dipstick on the transmission and smell will tell you a bit but that's about as far as I go maybe pull the pan and change fluid and filter.

Dynra Rockets

No. Gaskets are expensive anymore and I don't have the time. Oil pressure, compression test, vacuum signal and cleanliness under the valve covers can tell the health of an engine. I have run a dial indicator over rockers before to try and guess a camshaft spec.

R

Jebbysan

I did on my 400 in my 72' 4 years ago.......I had bought the car sight unseen and although the car was worth every penny.....and the engine ran fairly well......it shook at RPM and further inspection revealed the brand new Pioneer balancer was tack welded to the crank as the bolt had broke off, and someone had tried to drill it. When they drilled it, the drill walked off to the side and the hole was offset. Bubba Deluxe....I said to hell with it and jerked it out......I saved the block and the rocker arms...everything else in the short block was worthless....which confirmed my suspicions. The heads were done well though and although stock, I was able to sell the Heads, Intake, Edelbrock carb and cam and lifters with VERY little run time for $400.......
The thing that gets me is that somebody spent a LOT of time and money to half *** build this 400....somethings were spot on (heads).....they installed the factory trap door 6 quart pan as well.....which I reused.
I could have just drove it around and waited.....shake and all, but I wanted a Dart headed 406......

Jebby

7T1vette

Common? No. Are there instances where it would be wise? Yes.

If I purchased a car that was in really great shape....except for the engine/trans....and the seller discounted it quite a bit, I would probably remove the drivetrain, check it out thoroughly, and either rebuild it or replace it. No sense going to the expense/trouble of replacing it if the teardown shows simple wear that can be resolved with new parts.

lars

You tear an engine down to correct an identified problem (as Jebby did). Inspection and verification is done with leakdown checks, compression checks, visual inspection, and measurements, which can include popping the oil pan off for bearing inspection. You don't tear an engine down to simply do an inspection.

Lars

cv67

I tear them down every time beforehand then you only know what you really have and its true condition. People do this thing called lying...

derekderek

Nor would the seller let you. Really high perf motors are usually sold disassembled for this reason. Where the assembly is nothing compared to the price of the parts.

Jebbysan

Yes!

And when I go to sell an engine....I sell it with the heads removed and the oil pan off with a full build sheet of measurements on the short block....
If the buyer agrees to purchase....either myself, or the new owner can install the heads, valvetrain, oil pan....
I believe this is the right way to approach it if you are selling person to person...

Jebby

OldCarBum

My 73 big block was all stock when I purchased it with the exception of the distributor and other minor replaced parts.
It runs strong but, I had it all checked post purchase at a local Corvette speciality shop who changed a couple seals , a couple bushings , oil and filter, trans service, rear end gear oil replacement and repaired a leak in the power steering.
I’ve driven it locally for the past two years trouble free, and will continue to drive it as is until I tear it apart later this year.
My problem is I don’t drive it enough to trust it on a long drive because of the mileage and the “unknown” just waiting to happen failure of something.
After I do my body off resto/mod I will trust it to go for the long distance runs.

jackson

No it's not common with street cars.
I've done it routinely with race cars/parts/motors/rear gear etc BUT Before I bought.
Last C3 street car I PLANNED to buy I traveled 1000 miles & rented a bay and spent all day pulling stuff apart and checking. It passed muster, I paid; some dozen or so years hence, still have it (71 warbonnet yellow vert). It looked like the piece I fell for when they were new.

not much to be gained by inspection AFTER

derekderek

Always something to gain by post purchase inspection. Find out how bad the screwin was and what else you need to do to it...

TimAT

I just built a BB. Got the block from the machine shop and I measured/checked everything. Not that I don't trust the machine shop, (they are very good at what they do), but I wanted to record everything for future reference. And it's always "Trust, but verify"

brassplyer

Lol...

Tampa Jerry

In addition to all of the above, you could also send an oil sample out for an analysis. Jerry