[DontAsk]

I am going down to the wreckers tomorrow to look at a Mazda Tribute 3.0L block for my SVT Hybrid that I'm building myself. Its less than a year old, but the milelage is unknown since the car suffered a dash fire.

What sort of telltale signs do I need to look for to make sure the block is in good condition?

I couldn't find any threads for this particular subject.

Thanks.

 

[DanG]

Heat can do all sorts of funny things to aluminum. I'm going to say to stay away from the motor unless it's obvious that the fire and heat got no where NEAR the engine compartment. You could have something warped (like aluminum does when heated) that you won't know about unless you blueprint the entire thing, which is costly.

Other than that- You're looking for plug fouling, intake fouling, etc... Evidence of massive oil or coolant leaks... That's about it short of running a compression test, which should be done when the engine is hot.

 

[CougarGT]

Pull the oil fill plug. Check for dirty, gritty oil.
Pull the dipstick, check for the same.

Look for signs that the engine was maintained well.

 

[DontAsk]

He's just selling the short block. Isn't the cylinder block subject to huge amounts of heat anyway?? Doesn't that imply heat damage should be ok?

 

[CougarGT]

Look for cross hatch in the cylinder walls from honing.

My block had 5000 miles on it, and the hone lines were still very visable.

 

[Buckshot77]

Originally posted by: CougarGT
Look for cross hatch in the cylinder walls from honing.

My block had 5000 miles on it, and the hone lines were still very visable.

Not necessarily the best way to tell as I've seen plenty of blocks with over 50K have the cross hatch still in them.

Rick

 

[CougarGT]

Originally posted by: Buckshot77

Originally posted by: CougarGT
Look for cross hatch in the cylinder walls from honing.

My block had 5000 miles on it, and the hone lines were still very visable.

Not necessarily the best way to tell as I've seen plenty of blocks with over 50K have the cross hatch still in them.

Rick

Although if the cross hatch is MIA, then there may be some wear issues

 

[DanG]

Also check for "bluing" of the cylinder liners. If there was a severe heat issue, the metal actually would tint blue. Not cool.

 

[exigent]

I dunno why everyone is so keen on new blocks... either get a brand new one or get an old one. Id venture to guess that overboring all six cylinders, aligning the crank bore and redecking will be very competitive with a new block... plus you get the bonus of good bearings and (hopefully if yer sm'rt) good rods and pistons- not to mention you KNOW the block is strait after all that is done.

Im using a core motor that cost me $400 and yeh.. its high milage... so what? Once its machined how is it any diffrent from a low miles block? Id guess its better if I use a good engine builder... Im 99% sure im going to use Leo's builder and he *never* blew a motor in 3 years of racing... Im not even getting a hookup and it still wont be the cost of new.

Thats my plan because Im looking for big power.... but if your looking for JUST a 3.0 and some bolt ons... id still say brand new or like i said way older with machining is the way to go. Ford still sells post '00 shortblocks for under $1500 dont they? Hell for my money the peice of mind of KNOWING the block is sound is worth the extra duckets.