So I'm on the hunt for a used low mileage engine. 5.4L for a 99 f150. I have found some from respectful used engine businesses with under 50k miles and a 12 month warrenty for around 1800-2400.

The question I have is I also found one in my local craigslist with only 9200 miles, yes... 9200 out of a 00, for only 1200. Thing is though its from a rollover vehicle. The guy who has it is about 70 years old and owns a body shop her locally and has been in business since 1971, seems to be a respectful honest guy. Now I've been told NOT to buy from a front end collision or rollover by a family mechanic. He explained a little bit why but I'm wondering what your opinions are. There is no warranty with the motor from the body shop, I might be able to somehow squeeze in a compression check although it is just the motor and frame left over, the cab is gone and I'm not sure how that is done. The price is good and mileage is the lowest I've found. I asked him how extensive the rollover was and he sais it was mild, didn't do any damage to the radiator or engine.

Should I pass it up since it has no warranty and is from a rollover?
Also who is to say that motors from these other big places with warranty's arent from rollovers. Just because they have been compression checked doesn't mean a whole lot as far as that goes because according to the family mechanic, rollover engines can run fine for a period of time but eventually have a shorter life span.

Let me know what you think, That motor from the body shop might be gone soon.

again its either that motor with 9200 miles for 1200 with no warranty OR a 30-50k miles motor for 1800-2400 with a 12 month warranty. And shipping costs.. along with core charges.

 

I'd take it. Will he guarantee it to run? The only problem with a roll over is if the engine continued to run long after the roll that could be an issue. I had a Nissan truck I rolled back in 91 the thing was upside down still running. I quickly shut it off and other then it smoked for about 100 miles it was fine. it had to burn off the oil that got in the combustion chamber. The truck was almost new so they fixed it and it ran fine until I sold it.

 

I'm not sure. I'm going back there tomorrow to take a look at it and will get a chance to talk to him about what he's willing to put in writing. He's a nice guy, or maybe I'm just a sucker but he definately doesn't seem like the kind of guy to burn anyone. I'll see tomorrow and cross my fingers.

 

I'd think if you can either see it run or he guarantees it for 30 days at least I'd take it. That many miles.. Things probably been sitting along time.

 

I know a guy who rolled his pathfinder. It was sitting upside down and still running for a good while. The engine was ruined due to running with no oil pressure. If it completely rolled over back onto its wheels, then no problem most likely.

 

both my F-150 and my ranger where rollover receoverys. my ranger had oil in the intake and smoked for the first few miles after driving it again but ive since put 70,000+ trouble free miles on it. if he guarantees it runs i wouldnt hesitate to buy it.

 

Well I don't think I can see it run since the cab is off but he seems like a nice guy. I'll try and talk him into some sort of warranty that I'm comfortable with and if anything goes wrong with it then I'll only be out the labor and time. I hope not

 

This might be a stupid question but does the cab have to come off to do the swap on my truck or... I have only done swaps on a few ford rangers, a ford probe gt and a few mklll supras. Just curious what I'm getting into. Most likely going to be done at a shop.

 

the cab doesnt need to come off just yank the radiator and the hood and you will have lots of room to pull it out the top. but its alot easier if you remove the intake. You will find the hardest part is lining everythign back up going back in like the torque converter studs.

 

lining it up is a 2 man job one on top one on the bottom. Yeah its hard..

 

yup its a royal PITA

 

I wouldn't worry much about it being a rollover. If it is also a '99, I would take a breaker bar and see how easy it turns over on the crank bolt. Even if it was a light roll over (I realize it wasn't a frontal wreck), the inertia switch could have very well been tripped which would have shut it off immediately. I worked on mostly Fords the last 12 years before I retired (and a lot of other years also) and they have an inertia switch that is tripped really easy. If it was on it's side or top, even with the electric pump, it would have sucked air almost immediately. If it has set a lot of years, which it sounds like it did, the cylinders can get dry and begin to get surface rust. I would probably pull the plugs and put a few drops of tranny fluid in each cylinder to turn it over. The surface rust, if it has it, probably won't hurt anything unless it's a really humid area and the rust got deeper. With a little checking, I think I would definitely take a chance on it.

 

Thanks for the input guys. Going to go check it out at lunch today

 

why deliberatly buy a NPI motor???

 

99+ is PI