dth0ng69

Hey Guys, I never bought a motor from craigslist, but theres a guy selling a obd2 1998 b18b with complete long block, tranny and obd1 wiring harness.
He claims that it has 80k and that its in working condition and is asking 800.
I mean that seems like a good price for almost complete swap besides mounts and ecu.
But what should i look for and watch out for when looking at the motor.

thanks for reading.

fryman

You should definitely get a verbal or written agreement that if there's any problems with the motor,besides anything he may have told you is wrong with it,then you can bring it back to him and get a full refund.
That's what I always do when buying something from craigslist that may have problems.

jjlaw72

also I would call the local police station to run the vin# don't want to get caught with a stolen motor,and police here in cali will run the #s

dth0ng69

how did most of you guys with b swaps get your motor? I know buying it from hmotors or things like that is PRICEY... like 2,500 for a basic complete swap. like b16, Ls and Gsr's are like 3,000+ I know its the safest way, But Im just wondering is there any safer way besides Hmotor that isnt extremely pricely like under 1000 range.?

shietzitzkien

nope. i got my b20 from a friend that owns a shop. other than that, if it wasn't for him, my car would've stayed garaged without a motor for months

jjlaw72

you can find them in junkyard too for about 300.00 or piece one together on cl thats is what

i'm in the middle of doing looking for a cheap motor then I'll repalce the barring,rings and seals, my local junk yard has about 20 ls autos the want about 300 for the motors but if you find the right day the have half price day

jdm_billy

I've got two motors from craigslist from Seattle 1 ls-v and a gsr the the ls-v cost me 600 with a ls tranny and the block was no good we did a compresion test and 2 clyniders were bad and the 99 gsr long block for 950 that one was good it runs like a champ I put a type r tranny on it and put it in my hatch so I'd say it's a gamble man good luck with whatever you do

Jayden!

also make sure crank turns

xKAMILxEK

i got a motor for ma old ek hatch from craigslist and it was good strong motor so idk good luck

Kidnkorner

you should send an oil sample out, do a leak down test and pull the valve cover.

As far as Hmotorsonline.com goes, you get what you pay for. Roll the dice on craigslist and you can get burned. If you don't know what you are doing you should throw a pro some change and have them go with you.

got00rice

buying motor off craiglist is just like rolling a dice. you get lucky, you receive a good running motor. but if not you get a crappy motor. like they say you get what you paid for. i always order my motor from hmotor. get a b20 for cheap then slap a vtec head on and u get a b20v.

crx6662

i would say print out a agreement. have the seller sign it and check i.d. to be sure. if he refuses to sign you know there is something fishy. but if the seller jumps right on it and signs then it should be a legit motor. thats what i do. good luck man!

fungus mungus

If buying off of craigslist, get a proper bill of sale, which includes both the buyer and seller's name, driver's license number, address, and phone number, and signature. If you ever want to BAR the motor, you will need this. Be sure to check the info they write down with their driver's license...I know someone that got a bill of sale for a stolen motor and the seller info on it was bogus.

Like a previous poster said, get the VIN of the motor and have the PD run it to be sure the motor isn't stolen. Some motors (obd1) don't have VINs, so there isn't much you can do with those. Try to get the VIN of the original car the motor was in, if you can (that's what I did).

I bought a motor swap off of a member on H-T, but he was also listing it on the local CL, so I guess it counts as a CL purchase. The motor was a good solid motor, and although there were a few things that needed to be done to it before I would put it in my car, they were minor. The guy was on the up and up.

Go with your gut...if the person you're dealing with seems a little suspicious...the place you're meeting a little sketchy...the price a little too low...it probably is.

If you can legally put a JDM motor in your car, I'd go with hmotorsonline.com. I've heard nothing but good things about them and the extra $$ is more than worth the peace of mind you'll get when purchasing the motor.

fm

dth0ng69

i dont know if i can legally pass emmissions with a Jdm motor over here in WA, but last time i took emissions all they did was plug something in near my fuse box and checked for CEL and that was it. I have a 1998 ek cx. btw. obd2

Vindicator9000

I got mine very reasonably priced on hondamarketplace from a guy north of Chicago.

Drove from St. Louis to Chicago, loaded engine, drove back in the same day. 12 frikking hours on the road. You have NO IDEA how boring most of Illinois is, especially to drive it twice in one day. But it was worth it.

jdm_billy

What I did also I made a bill of sale and told him to sign it and put his driver licence# on it and made sure it matched up from his Id

mlp98dx

From what I've heard and is recommended, buying any "used" motor...you should replace a variety of things that are usually bound to go with time, such as timing belt..water pump...and etc. Just to be safe, and since the motor is already pulled it's just easier to replace a lot of those items already.

Take the advice of everyone here, as far as getting the VIN ran, and getting some sort of documentation from the seller.

fungus mungus

^^^^ X2

Timing belt, water pump. Check the clutch and throwout bearing while you're at it.

Vindicator9000, I've done that drive in a day and you're right...it sucks. I used to drive through Highland on the way to school every day.

fm