I have a 1995 LWB sitting in my driveway that I just decided to give up on about a year ago when I realized someone had stuck a 3.9 block in it to “fix” whatever issue they were having with the original 4.2. Just wasn’t worth the trouble to work out all the crap knowing it was not the right engine anyway.
So I’ve been keeping an eye out for bargains on whatever I might need to refurb the thing later on.
I picked up a 4.2 engine that the seller got with a vehicle he bought from a guy who bought it from a guy who said the engine had been “rebuilt”. Well, obviously, it was a gamble based on that pedigree, but also because all the hoses are questionable, and the rest of the engine looks like it was pulled out, power washed, then sat on a palette since then. Years.
I had in mind to do the heads and seals, make it looks good, then go from there. But I used a borescope today to look into the plug holes, and found what amounts to 8 cylinders that look to never have been run. The walls and tops of the cylinders are 100% clean. You can still clearly read the numbers.
The exhaust valves look used. But looking at the rockers, I’d say they were also unused after refurb.
So, it will need a lot of stuff transferred over from the old engine, lots of new bolts and belts and such, but at this point, what would you do before dropping it in and turning the key?
So I’ve been keeping an eye out for bargains on whatever I might need to refurb the thing later on.
I picked up a 4.2 engine that the seller got with a vehicle he bought from a guy who bought it from a guy who said the engine had been “rebuilt”. Well, obviously, it was a gamble based on that pedigree, but also because all the hoses are questionable, and the rest of the engine looks like it was pulled out, power washed, then sat on a palette since then. Years.
I had in mind to do the heads and seals, make it looks good, then go from there. But I used a borescope today to look into the plug holes, and found what amounts to 8 cylinders that look to never have been run. The walls and tops of the cylinders are 100% clean. You can still clearly read the numbers.
The exhaust valves look used. But looking at the rockers, I’d say they were also unused after refurb.
So, it will need a lot of stuff transferred over from the old engine, lots of new bolts and belts and such, but at this point, what would you do before dropping it in and turning the key?