How do I tell what the condition of the engine is?I want to be able to look at an engine and say:that engine burned oil or its in great condition.What should I look for when trying to figure out an engine's health.Thanks.

 

is it still in the car or has it been removed....?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Purple_GS-R &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">is it still in the car or has it been removed....?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Its not specific,in general,im just looking for some tips on how to find out the engine's health. Ive seen heads full of darkish oil and im not sure on what colors of oil i should be looking for.

 

bump

 

Compression numbers, Leak down tests, Engine oil varnish can show regularity of oil changes and blow by components funtioning. This is a good start, I am basing this on the engine not being in the car, otherwise if you are mechnically inclided usually other smaller things can stand out for you.

 

if u take off the valve cover u want the head to be a golden brown color if its a real dark redish brown almost black, someone has neglected the motor and did not change the oil regularly...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Purple_GS-R &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">if u take off the valve cover u want the head to be a golden brown color if its a real dark redish brown almost black, someone has neglected the motor and did not change the oil regularly...</TD></TR></TABLE>
Thats what i was looking for, thanks! What about piston wise?Is it normal to have some color below the piston rings like in the pic?

 

i couldnt tell u for sure.........bump for sombody that knows a lil better

 

bump

 

Someone needs to learn how to change their oil. That is an LS motor that was smoking and the cap on the far right looks a bit scored.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by slomofo &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Someone needs to learn how to change their oil. That is an LS motor that was smoking and the cap on the far right looks a bit scored. </TD></TR></TABLE>

1)So its bad to have color below the piston rings?

2)How the hell can you tell thats an LS?

 

Oh yeah, it had a rod knock too.

 

 

the red color is bad. some gold is ok, but if it is red, that's burned oil from lack of oil changes. As in, it was broken down enough that if the red is there, the bearings, rods, cam journals may be in less than stellar shape.
Red=bad.

Other than that, pull the spark plugs and see how they look. There are tons of things online on how to read spark plugs, if you're not familiar. That could save you from getting one with a blown head gasket or worse.

Look at the color of the oil. If it's BLACK, don't think about buying it unless it's for a rebuild. It was neglected.

Look for coolant or oil burned on where the head and block meet. If it's wet only right there, not up or down from there, it probably has issues.

Also check the timing belt. If you're buying a used motor, you should put one in anyway. But if it's really loose or if the timing marks are off, it could have bent valves.

 

For a better explanation: