sethck

I need to come up with a dollar value to get back from a junk yard that sold me a bogus engine. Its a l33 5.3 vortec engine with accessories, wiring harness, and ECU. The original purchase price was $1450. I go to get the motor and the driver side head has been damaged from the accident and has a 2" hole in it where the exhaust manifold cracked the head. We got the price down to $950 and i took the motor. The passenger side valve cover was shifted to the center of the motor like it had been hit. The junkyard techs said it was fine, just a superficial shift.

Now i take the engine apart and find cylinder number 8 pushods have been bent, especially the pushrod closest to the end of the valve cover. Once the head was removed i saw where the valve slapped the piston. I'm wondering best case and worst case scenario on this and how much i should ask back from the junkyard for this?

Next i pulled the lower pan and found a small amount of shavings in the oil pan. They stuck to a magnet and its very concerning. I'm thinking this whole motor is junk but if i get my money back completely they want the motor back assembled and i have to drive it over 2 hours back which is gonna cost me $75 in gas. Is it fair to ask them to reimburse me that for selling me a bad motor?

BTW they said they started the motor and it ran fine... is that possible with the pushrod/valve issues on the number 8 cylinder. Basically the junkyard guy called me a liar and got defensive. I'm in need of some quick advice on what i should do in this situation.

kokingSS

iTrader: (2)

not positive, but im sure that if the valve slapped the piston the it would not be running fine. you could hear it and it would have a definate not proper sound to it. i would ask for all my money back. the 75 in gas your probably going to eat it, just my $0.02

BadGTho

iTrader: (6)

i would not have purchased a motor with that type of superficial damage.

i would say that your own poor judgement is to blame

sethck

Dont be an ***. the valve cover was shifted maybe 1/4" and just off the gasket. They assured me there was no problems underneath.

67Ranger

iTrader: (16)

you should be able to get your money back, but if not, at least another engine...

sethck

finding the l33 aluminum block engine is a bit of a problem though. They only had one in there 1000+ car inventory. I looked into the bearings on the rods and they looked to be fine. I'm assuming the half teaspoon amount of shavings is acceptable. So now im just concerned about the damage from the bent pushrods and valve train. Is there normally any damage to the lifters or anything in the block.

I'm also already $200 down because i already purchased a replacement head for the other side.

y2k_ta

iTrader: (80)

I can speak from experience on this......I guess it MIGHT be possible to get it started, but even if they did it would run like crap and it would be immediately obvious that something is wrong with the valvetrain. I stress MIGHT since it would be a 1 in a billion chance. They just don't want their mistake back, and are hoping to stick you with it.

y2k_ta

iTrader: (80)

I can speak from experience on this one too. The valves and lifters should be fine as long as the rockers were properly installed. If they weren't adjusted correctly, then you might have a bent valve or two. When you pulled the bent pushrods, did any of the lifters appear to be stuck? Since the pushrod bent, the lifters could be ok since the pushrod took the brunt of the damage. You might also want to look at the rockers on the cylinder that had the bent pushrods. There is a possibility that they could be tweaked as well.

sethck

the pushrods pulled out cleanly. The rocker arm looks just the same as the other rocker arms. When i take the heads to the machine shop ill have him look at the rocker arm a bit closer to confirm this. Is there any chance the valves are alright with small to medium contact with a piston. If not im more than ready to purchase new valves and whatever i might need to fix the situation.

RE AND CHERYL

iTrader: (31)

Ditto...I'm reading your post and wondering why you even took the engine home in the first place. Just knowing the valve cover was ripped off in the accident should have been a HUGE flag to stay away from it. Especially since the 5.3 truck motors are a dime a dozzen.

Re'

y2k_ta

iTrader: (80)

I replaced all my valves last Summer. I bought the valves from Lingenfelter for just over $100.00, and paid close to $300.00 to have the heads checked out and the new valves installed.