Buying used built engine advice

[snohacking]

So my friend has been out of the DSM world for around 2 years now and is finally ready to part out his 2g. I asked about his short block and he gave me a price of $500. It is a 6-bolt block with ross pistons, eagle rods, ACL Race Tri-Metal Bearings, arp mains, bored .20 over and is all balanced. I know he put more then $500 worth of machine work into it and parts cost alone is over he asking price. Block has some run time but not alot, maybe around 25-75 miles, and it has been sitting for around 2.5 years. Should anything be done before dropping it in? Should I break it down, check everything, and rebuild it? Are the rings and bearings still usable since it been sitting so long? Any advice would be great!

 

[EHmotorsports]

Has it been run since 2 years or has it been sitting with no starts for 2?
I'm worried about rust buildup on the cylinder walls from sitting so long. You may be able to put ATF in the cylinders and rotate the crank to help clean out anything that could be in there. But best way will be to break it down and clean/relube every part.

 

[snohacking]

It has pretty much been sitting the whole time. If I do break it down can I reuse the rings and bearings?

 

[EHmotorsports]

Depending on how they look yes.

 

[rdomeck]

I wouldn't break it down....You can turn the engine over and see how the cylinder walls look and you can pull a rod cap and a main cap to check bearings. Spend 10 minutes and no dollars on it vs a good day and chance breaking a ring on the way back together or something like that.

My .02 worth

 

[BadVr4]

drop the motor in, drain old oil, put in new. put a couple teaspoons of oil down each cylinder before starting. also put in a fresh pair of plugs. crank the motor by hand a few times. disconnect the angle sensor, crank the car for 5-10 seconds to build oil pressure, then reconnect the sensor and fire it up. if the motor has been sitting together and indoor, it shouldn't have much more than a small amount of surface rust on some areas.

 

[MellowVR4]

It gets really DEW'E in the garage that the car is being kept at /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/dunno.gif

 

[theevozero]

Assuming it was built correctly (what I mean is line honed main journal for the arp main studs), just do what they said. May sure it spins freely, lube the cylinders and replace the oil.

I typically like buying engines with more miles that are proven as oppose to an engine someone just "rebuilt" in their garage. Good engine builders/machine work is harder to find then most people realize.