I'm a little worried about my supposedly low mileage '93 B230F replacement engine. First I noticed some scrapings in the intake side of the head.
Intake

Then I wanted to check the health of the oil and noticed some filmy stuff under the oil filter. I then drained the oil. The guys at Autozone said there is definitely water in the oil. I do not know how long it's been since the last oil change.

Then I showed them pictures of the block, where half is wet and the other half is dry.
Wet block

I forgot to take a picture of the foamy stuff under the oil filter, but I took a picture of the oil filter draining out.
Oil filter draining

The last complication is that the car this engine came from was rolled. Is there any way for water to get into oil if the car was upside down?

My plan is to go talk to the guy I bought this from on Monday. I also got an oil test mail off bottle kit from a truck stop. Finally, I am going to try to find a shop to do a leak down test after telling the guy I bought it from that I'm going to spend the money to do this. I'm not familiar with leak down tests, but I think it can tell me that the headgasket is bad.

Another thing is if the headgasket does need to be replaced, I had an understanding from the mechanic that the reason I should buy this lower-mileage (100k) engine was so I didn't have to do a headgasket job. It was also one reason I paid what I paid for it.

If it weren't for the foam on the oil filter I would not have known any better about the oil - I didn't know what watery oil would be like.

Can you all confirm the diagnosis or offer tips on how to approach the guy I bought the engine from?

Thanks,
Nathan

Took it back today. Mechanic confirmed my fears after we took off the oil filter and he saw the oil that was left in it. The whole episode was bizarre, from the scrapes on the intake, the foam on the filter, the leaking head, etc. I sort of feel a bit confused by the complexity of my dealings with the seller - I felt a bit like I was being taken advantage of but wasn't sure. Also, I'm not positive about the water in or color of the oil- I don't feel qualified to make that call. Also confusing was the oil in the filter definitely was milky, but the oil I drained from the pan was less obvious to me, but seemingly obvious to Autozone guys.

Anyway, I have a new source for an engine with a substantial guarantee on it, and I trust this guy personally. The guy I returned to I only trusted from repairs done by the mechanics that he manages.

Thanks for all's advice, you're a great resource. What I learned I'll share here :)

-Nathan

glad you were able to take it back ... and I assume get your $$ money back.

any autowreckers I've dealt with never gave cash back but a credit.
--
Norm Cook; Vancouver BC; 1989 745T 208,000KM

I got cash. This guy did not have too many engines it didn't seem like. He seemed real pissed at me, he does a good job trying to 'play' you. He seems very shrewd, all friendly when explaining stuff to you. But I think I saw through this and upset him.

Glad to have the experience dealing with him.

-Nathan

The oil on the side of the block appears to be emanating from the passage that feeds oil to the head. It is located directly below the front bolt for the #2 exhaust port.

A "low mileage" can be abused too! Mine had .080" wear in the cylinders at only 135,000 due to poor maintenance.

Pull the top cover, look for sludge and if the oil looks "snotty" refuse the engine.

A field test for compression is rotate the engine and each time you feel resistance make a chalk mark on the crank pulley, you should have 4 marks after two complete revolutions 90 degrees apart.

for the record, two revolutions on the crank of a 4-cly. engine will yield 4 compressions 180 degrees apart.

OOPS, You are correct! Thanks!
Must have been thinking about my old 283 Chevy? (Four marks 90* apart)

Hello Nathan,

I looked at the "wet" block picture and noticed that the number 1 exhaust valve is also wet which indicates seal failure or ring failure. The head gasket is definitely leaking outward and if the water is the color and consistency of a chocolate milkshake, I would take the engine back.

You might get by with just replacing the head gasket, but I would be willing to bet that because of the outward appearance, you will be looking at valves and a possible bearing replacement also. Water is very detrimental to the lower end if it has been run very long like that.

I always replace the bearings of any used motor just to get a visual on the condition of the crank (and spot bent rods), and have a little extra peace of mind.

Regards,
--
Will Dallas, www.willdallas.us, www.willdallas.org, www.willdallas.com 86 245 DL 205K miles, 93 940 250K miles, 88 765 GLE 149K miles, 86 244 DL 200K Miles, 88 744T 200K miles

That's a pretty nasty looking engine on the outside to be "low mileage" and that sure looks like water/oil mix to me running out of filter. There is no way for water/coolant to enter crankcase due to a rollover unless it happened to roll into a river IMHO. If someone delivered me an engine to buy in such shape from a wrecking yard, they would take it back with them. I would get my money back and look elsewhere, but I'm a picky old fart.
If you keep it, you really should pull head, engine appears to have fairly new water pump on it, I suspect prior cooling system problems and an overheat in past. But that's just my observations. Couple of tips, don't use manifold studs to lift engine and lose the FRAM filters, both can cause headaches. Good luck,rcs

With a resurfaced head and new gasket, do you think there is any permanent damage? Another poster thought bearings would rust because of water. Could overheating have caused scoring on the cylinders or other no-no's?

I have two lines of thought. I'd like the experience of doing a headgasket job, but not at the expense of a damaged engine. (An engine that needs a new headgasket isn't automatically a bad engine is it?) Or, I could take this engine back and try to find one that is dry all around and looks good. There is a larger junkyard nearby that I'm sure I could pick between 5 engines at least. Now that I know what I'm looking for I may just ask this guy to take his engine back and I'll go elsewhere.

Thanks,
Nathan

Hi there,
Before you let the shop do a leak down test i would let them do a pressure test the cooling system. It is less time consuming and gives you a pretty good idea if you will need the head gasget replaced.
Good luck
Sammy

This is just the kind of advice I needed.

Thanks,
Nathan

I agree with the previous posts; that definitely looks like oil contaminated with water. I can't think how rolling the car could get water into the oil, but there may be some way. I'd be wary of the engine without more tests, but it sounds like you're being pretty thorough.

As for the intake-side scoring, no idea what the heck could cause that damage in that spot. Maybe something bizarre happened when the car rolled? Or somebody was sloppy pulling the engine? From the photo it doesn't really look like a problem, just a mystery.

I would have been there when they pulled the engine, if I had my way. The owner thought I'd slow his mechanics down (maybe true, I would have been asking, what is this scraping in the intake, are all engines wet like this...)

This is my first engine job, and I want the car to be reliable. I am trying to be as thorough as possible.

Thanks,
Nathan

Good luck! I'm not much ahead of you; I've only done one. I was nervous about it, but it turned out to be more straightforward than I feared, and everything turned out ok -- I put another 80K on the car without any real issues. It was a Jeep, not a Volvo, but I remember the salvage shop I bought the engine from would swap it for a different one if I returned it within 10 or 15 days.
--
Daily drivers: '97 855, '88 244 Project: '87 765t

Usually salvage yards have a short warrantee period. Take it back if there was antifreeze in the oil. No personal knowledge but I have heard that if water, meaning antifreeze, is in the oil for any length of time the bearings get rusty. I may take a year or even longer but you're engine will be on limited time.
--
Tom F. Three Bricks, maintain two more.

From my limited experience, that does look like water in the oil. I had an Escort with oil that colour.

As per oil leak on exhaust side it does look it's coming from the head gasket. I have no idea of how common this is or if it could possibly be something else.

I have a weeping head gasket on intake side of my '89 745. I suspect it will go a long time before it finally needs replacing.

Having said that, I'd count on having the head gasket replaced.

EDIT: Hopefully some experts can chime in and give you more thorough advice.

--
Norm Cook; Vancouver BC; 1989 745T 208,000KM

How often do you find yourself filling up the coolant resevior? How much water is in the oil when you change it?

In my case it might be that it was barely loosing coolant over a long time, and the owner hadn't changed the oil recently so the water had built up. Neither scenario is desirable...

-Nathan