I posted questions about rims and wheels for my Accord yesterday, now I have another question that my husband put to me and I thought I’d ask here…I mentioned I was going to install a rebuilt engine in my car. I found a place, a Japanese company that imports engines from Japan with no more than 60K miles on them. I am going down to L.A. to check it out tomorrow. If I want it, I will be able to take it with me and save on shipping costs of over $200.

My question is this…how can anyone tell what the true mileage is on any engine for sale? A lot of import places say the engines they get from Japan have about 40K but no more than 60K miles on them. I understand that they may or may not come with a warranty depending on where you buy it. This company will be giving me a warranty, but how can I be sure of the mileage that they say it has on it? They also said they’ve checked the compression, steamed cleaned it, etc. I guess this question can go for any kind of engine, no matter the car. I just want to know what to look for when I go check it out tomorrow.

Thanks a lot for the info...


Modified by yoni_69 at 11:55 AM 1/30/2008

 

Unfortunately, there is no way to tell how many miles are on the motor. Usually a low mileage motor will look cleaner than a high mileage one. But, that does not mean the inside is fine. Ask if they have done compression tests, leak down tests or anything else.

 

Take off the oil fill cap and look in to the valve area, with a flash light;
light brown staining is good, Black sludge or flakes are bad.
Yes the Japaneese condemn engines at 60k miles, and I've had pretty good luck with those import engines.
Usually you have to swap out the dist & wire harness from the japan engine.