How can i make sure im getting a good engine from a junkyard? All the ones i found is a good ways away. Just wanna make sure im getting a good engine. Any help is appreciated. Btw...i have a 96 st. I found some 97 corolla 7afes. Will they work? Will it be an exact swap?

I've never bought a junkyard engine, but I have bought an engine from a local insurance salvage yard. They sell engines, body panels, windows, and other stuff after they buy the wrecked car from the insurance company. The place here gives a 6 month warranty on the engine. If I were you I would look for one of the places near you instead of going to a junkyard. The junkyards do sell complete engines sometimes, but they let people buy whatever parts they need off of them, so you don't know what it's missing, and you don't know why it went to the junkyard in the first place.

BUT...if you have found an engine for a great deal and you want to risk it, then look in the oil cap and radiator for a greyish milky substance which would indicate that oil is mixing in the water from a blown head gasket. I would also look under the timing cover to see if the belt has snapped, and make sure the engine hasn't thrown a rod. I would also look at the belts and hoses to see if it was maintained regularly, meaning it was owned by a sensible person who took care of it. Even if these things do check out OK, I wouldn't recommend it because it could be in the junkyard for reasons unknown. Good luck though.

Someone told me if you can, check the compression, turn the crank to see if its not locked up, also see what kind of warranty they have on it, and what kind of warranty, if it is for running condition or certified rebuildable. look at the block and make sure there are no holes in it. i just had a locked motor and my friend pulled the oil pan and found metal, then went to the spark plugs, pushed down on it and had room to move, then took a second oil pan off and found 2 rods were murdered, and then found 4 holes in the block.

im pretty sure they have warranties, and returns. at least my local yard does. make sure you dont tear it apart tough..

Junk yards are a good place to get engines if it's all you can afford. Most will give you at least a 6 month warranty on parts (not labor). Most local junkyards are not what they once where, most of the time they remove engines and transmissions and keep them in warehouses. Usually if it's a good junkyard and they don't have the one you need they will have one shipped to their junkyard for you to pick up. Always ask for mileage but never expect an honest answer. It's really a crapshoot but in general, if it was running when it got to the junkyard then it will run once it's in your car. If you get one out of a Corolla you might have the engine mount brackets with the ones you have right now and I honestly can't think of anything else that would be different.

If you end up getting one from the junkyard and you don't want to void the warrenty, get the engine in the car and only change what's nessasary to make it run and don't forget to put oil in it, start the car and drive it for a few days the way you would normally drive. The warranty won't cover small things like plugs, wires, belts, hoses, etc... so you'll need to keep your old engine handy in the case problem is one of these. If it has a knock, burning huge amounts of oil or anything significant going wrong with it then you'll have to contact the junkyard and then pull the engine.

Besides the obvious that everyone mentioned, its never a sure shot, you can only hope and increase your chances if you do the above.

This is why i dont trust junk yard "good" engines. I would rebuild yours if possible, if its got a hole in the block then yeah you need a new one, but i would still tear the junk yard engine down and rebuild it. I wrote a good guide on how to do this with a 7A-FE


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yes a corolla engine will work, you just use your manifolds and sensors