How to find a good junkyard engine?

The local Pick-n-Pull is going out of business. Boo. Every thing is 50% off. Weee!

I need a 4.6 Ford engine for my P71. There are a few Crown Vics there. The yard has no idea as to the condition of the engine when they come in, though.

What do I look for? Mileage? The coolant and oil are removed by the yard, so no help there. Use breaker bar on the crank?

The only good thing is a complete engine is something like $120.00.

Get three? Ones gotta be good.

Look for disabling body damage that caused the car to be totaled rather than a car with a great body that likely just stopped running so it was junked.
You want the car that was running right up to the point of impact. Drove it all the way to the scene of the accident.
Hits toward the rear or side are best.

and of course crank the engine with a breaker bar to make sure she isn't ceased.

Check the coils to see if any were replaced (shows plug-spitting). Turn it over with a breaker bar. Look for accident damage, and buy that one!

Yeah, usually I try to get one from a car with lots of rear-end damage. Always turn the engine over by hand. I'd also add that if you want to be really thorough, you can check the coolant to make sure it doesn't have any oil in it (even if the yard drained it, there will still be some in the hoses and such) and pull a valve cover to check for sludge build-up on a poorly maintained engine. Usually, I just turn it over by hand and buy it though.

Will they let you put a battery in it and do a compression test?

These are the potential donors.

Rust can form on valve seating surfaces in a sitting engine in no time at all, compression test may be inaccurate. Engine needs run first.

Unfortunately, there is no way to do that.

In reply to dean1484:

Its possible.

That's a tough one, since none of those appear to be wrecked. I'd say the best chance of getting a good one would be the interceptor. If it was actually retired by the city/county/etc. it probably ran. Most of their retired cars are still drivable. Most civilian cars that are "retired" are because of engine or transmission problems, so the other two are a bigger gamble.

Also, if it turns over, pull the valve covers and oil pan. Even if it's been drained, there should be enough residue in the pan to be able to tell if it's got coolant, etc. in there. Also, look at the bottom of the rods and check them for play. Usually if it's had a rod knocking the bottom of the rod will be discolored because of heat.

N Sperlo wrote: and of course crank the engine with a breaker bar to make sure she isn't ceased.

Ceased? Was that intended to be siezed or deceased?

jstein77 wrote:

N Sperlo wrote: and of course crank the engine with a breaker bar to make sure she isn't ceased.

Ceased? Was that intended to be siezed or deceased?

Same thing. It's a redundant question.

Xceler8x wrote:

jstein77 wrote:

N Sperlo wrote: and of course crank the engine with a breaker bar to make sure she isn't ceased.

Ceased? Was that intended to be siezed or deceased?

Same thing. It's a redundant question.

Brought a smile to my face, I kinda like it. Ceased.

I'm not sure about that Interceptor, it has rust on the fender. Most PDs won't run 'em until they rust -- that one was probably second-hand when given to the junk yard...

I like to peer down through the oil fill hole in the valvecover. shiny = good. gooey-black= bad.

It's a crap shoot. Get the red one.

Interceptors in my town get passed down from the cops to Public Works. They've spent the first 100,000 miles either going full throttle from a cold start or idling for eight hours at a road job (with none of those hours showing on the odometer). Then the town road crews drive them until they die. I'd rather take my chances on a civilian version.

Regardless of which one you get, snag some of the P71 specific parts.

Keith Tanner wrote:

Xceler8x wrote:

jstein77 wrote:

N Sperlo wrote: and of course crank the engine with a breaker bar to make sure she isn't ceased.

Ceased? Was that intended to be siezed or deceased?

Same thing. It's a redundant question.

Brought a smile to my face, I kinda like it. Ceased.

The computer thought it was a real word, so I just rolled with it.

In that group, go for the one with the least in the way (#3). If it turns out to be crap, you spend almost zero time getting it out thanks to the other buzzards who got all the other parts out of the way for you.

Yeah. Imagine how FUBAR'd the sheet metal was on the one that that one gave it up to.

I would pick the red one because it looks to have been somewhat well maintained, assuming its more likely there because the transmission died or no one wanted it at an estate sale or something like that. Hard to say though.