golfer17
01-23-2006, 10:39 AM
ok, here is why i recommend that you always see a front clip or motorset in person before buying (or at least be more careful than i was).
back in august, i had decided on getting an s14 sr clip to put in my s14 and so i checked around and after hearing tons of horror stories decided to go with a reputable company (and pay more) that happened to have one in stock at the time because when we talked to them on the phone they assured us they got first pick of the best clips shipped over here and that everything was in great condition and showed us how the leakdown was good (although the compression wasnt quite ideal) on the s14 sr they had in stock and so we pretty much told them we wanted it, we just wanted to see pictures first. well, they sent us some pics of some really random stuff, including three pics of what looked like the pedals, but we were had already been convinced that this was a great motor and so we went ahead and bought it.
well, anyways, when we got it, we noticed it was extremely dirty, which was to be expected, but this thing was more than dirty, it had dirt and grime caked on to the block and was definitely not what a 60k mi. motor should look like (if it had been sitting in a junkyard for less than a month or so like they said). we immediately noticed the bent and taped up charge pipe for the smic, the hole where an fmic went through, and the smic was not in the best of shape (although it was tested to hold water). also, there was a custom bracket left over where an afpr most likely was, and it was very noticeable that a lot of things had been removed and replaced often as there were different color bolts (some definitely not stock) on everything and the turbo was definitely not on the car before (even though it was the right turbo). we come to find out that a lot of bolts and such that should be tight were loose (engine mounts, turbo, etc.) and we had a bent turbo oil drain, a wastegate actuator that had to be bent because it was welded onto the wrong place, and it had s13 intake piping (which later required a custom power steering line, custom bov recirculation and a custom routed vent hose), and gave us some trouble after startup while we figured out the intake manifold bolts were loose and one was missing. also, we spent a ton of time cleaning the motor and cleaning/replacing bolts and boltholes etc, and lots of time/money replacing parts and such that you would expect to still be good on a 60k or even 100k mi. motor, but were definitely junk and old on this one. the oil pan was also smashed in as well as the pickup tube, but it was a good thing to replace that and enlarge the pickup anyways. our cams were also extremely worn and almost in need of replacing, most likely from hard use and the fact that the oil squirters for them were a little clogged (we unclogged them). also, the vacuum lines had been spliced into many times in many places and put back together, so there was most likely a boost gauge and controller put on the engine at one time (of course, i mean we already pretty much know it had a different mani, turbo, and ic before it went to the junkyard). and also the fan shroud had been severely damaged and unusable(probably in shipping though). basically, the only good thing we got out of the clip was a like new exedy stage 1 clutch as everything else worth anything was of course stripped off or in too bad of condition to be used.
well, anyways, thats all i can think of at the moment that was wrong with our clip (and one of the reasons why the swap took so long and was not what i would call a "bolt in" affair even though it did bolt in of course). just make sure you either look at all this stuff first before buying a motor or at least get really good pictures of all of this and dont just trust a company because they have a flawless rep on forums and good luck.
back in august, i had decided on getting an s14 sr clip to put in my s14 and so i checked around and after hearing tons of horror stories decided to go with a reputable company (and pay more) that happened to have one in stock at the time because when we talked to them on the phone they assured us they got first pick of the best clips shipped over here and that everything was in great condition and showed us how the leakdown was good (although the compression wasnt quite ideal) on the s14 sr they had in stock and so we pretty much told them we wanted it, we just wanted to see pictures first. well, they sent us some pics of some really random stuff, including three pics of what looked like the pedals, but we were had already been convinced that this was a great motor and so we went ahead and bought it.
well, anyways, when we got it, we noticed it was extremely dirty, which was to be expected, but this thing was more than dirty, it had dirt and grime caked on to the block and was definitely not what a 60k mi. motor should look like (if it had been sitting in a junkyard for less than a month or so like they said). we immediately noticed the bent and taped up charge pipe for the smic, the hole where an fmic went through, and the smic was not in the best of shape (although it was tested to hold water). also, there was a custom bracket left over where an afpr most likely was, and it was very noticeable that a lot of things had been removed and replaced often as there were different color bolts (some definitely not stock) on everything and the turbo was definitely not on the car before (even though it was the right turbo). we come to find out that a lot of bolts and such that should be tight were loose (engine mounts, turbo, etc.) and we had a bent turbo oil drain, a wastegate actuator that had to be bent because it was welded onto the wrong place, and it had s13 intake piping (which later required a custom power steering line, custom bov recirculation and a custom routed vent hose), and gave us some trouble after startup while we figured out the intake manifold bolts were loose and one was missing. also, we spent a ton of time cleaning the motor and cleaning/replacing bolts and boltholes etc, and lots of time/money replacing parts and such that you would expect to still be good on a 60k or even 100k mi. motor, but were definitely junk and old on this one. the oil pan was also smashed in as well as the pickup tube, but it was a good thing to replace that and enlarge the pickup anyways. our cams were also extremely worn and almost in need of replacing, most likely from hard use and the fact that the oil squirters for them were a little clogged (we unclogged them). also, the vacuum lines had been spliced into many times in many places and put back together, so there was most likely a boost gauge and controller put on the engine at one time (of course, i mean we already pretty much know it had a different mani, turbo, and ic before it went to the junkyard). and also the fan shroud had been severely damaged and unusable(probably in shipping though). basically, the only good thing we got out of the clip was a like new exedy stage 1 clutch as everything else worth anything was of course stripped off or in too bad of condition to be used.
well, anyways, thats all i can think of at the moment that was wrong with our clip (and one of the reasons why the swap took so long and was not what i would call a "bolt in" affair even though it did bolt in of course). just make sure you either look at all this stuff first before buying a motor or at least get really good pictures of all of this and dont just trust a company because they have a flawless rep on forums and good luck.