Used SR20DET - What to Check?

[voiddweller]

Hi,

I have been searching through the FAQs on several forums to uncover the common aspects of the SR20DET S13 Blacktop motor (and other versions) that indicate a healthy or abused engine.

The general areas, like compression, turbo shaft play, heater hoses, scratched CAMs and burned oil in the valve cover are straight forward, but what else should I be inspecting?

Some other questions that come to mind for those that sell or have purchased turbo motors:

- When receiving an motor-set from a reputable business, that includes a SMIC, should I expect to receive the piping with it?

- Is it normal to have nicks on the turbo fan and scratches in the housing where the fan may have hit the housing?

- Should the engine come with used oil or are they usually empty?

Most places offer a 30 day start-up warranty that becomes void if the motor is 'opened-up', so I would like to check as much as possible before installing the engine.

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

[sean350z]

the best thing you can do is make sure you get your clip/motorset from a reputable importer especially if you can't see the motor.

if you can see the motor...inspect everything

the motor should not come with any oil in it, it's illegal to ship motors with oil in them. you may or may not get all your piping. excessive oil in the turbo piping is never good but could be from shipping. the shaft should have very little play and the fan should not contact the outside wall of the turbo. the fans should not be nicked up.

goodluck