There is one thing I recommend to each customer who purchases a used engine from us: that they thoroughly inspect the cooling system on their vehicle and replace anything in that system that isn’t functioning perfectly. An engine in a vehicle with a failed or failing cooling system has about as much chance of surviving as a fish dropped in the sand in the middle of a desert. Don’t believe me? More than 50% of engine failures are caused because of a malfunctioning cooling system. Not high miles, not no oil – just getting too hot.

Your engine puts out a tremendous amount of heat by design. Part of this is so it can burn up pollutants and meet the requirements the EPA has put on the automakers, ans so you can pass your vehicle inspection, and part of this is because of the thermal dynamics of power transfer: most of the energy an engine produces is lost to heat.

Most people nod their heads when I preach on this, but if you’re not a gear head or a mechanic, you may not know what to you need to do. That’s what this specific blog is about. Read on, learn, and do.

The most neglected fluid in a vehicle is the coolant. It is nasty stuff – corrosive and poisonous. I once forgot to clean off a screwdriver that had come in contact with coolant, and a few hours later, it was pitted and rusty. Brand new coolant contains an “organic corrosion inhibitor” that is supposed to keep it from eating the insides of your radiator, hoses, and engine cooling channels for up to five years or 150,000 miles (if you have “long life coolant). I don’t think they know what five years means, because the corrosion inhibitors don’t seem to do their job well for that long. When the inhibitor goes past the point of doing its job, it starts to eat everything it comes in contact with. GM and Chevy owners have been plagued with gaskets getting eaten through. 3.1L, 3.4L, 3.8L, 4.3L, 5.3L and 5.7L engines are well known by mechanics for leaky intake manifolds which allow coolant and oil to mix, destroying the engine. This is not the fault of the engine or gasket. This is a maintenance issue – the fault of the owner! I do a complete machine flush of my coolant every two years, and my engines and cooling system love me for it. You should do the same thing every 12-24 months as well. In my experience, this will eliminate over half of all cooling system problems. Not only will it keep your coolant from terrorizing your car, it will clean sediment out of your radiator and keep it doing its job more efficiently.

The second most common cause of cooling system failure is low fluid. This is easy to deal with – check your fluid once a week. It is easy. On most vehicles, you just pop the hood and glance at the coolant reservoir to make sure there is liquid between to hash marks on a bottle.

The third most common cause of cooling system failure is a non-functional water pump. This can be caused by the pump locking up, the belt that drives the pump failing, or degradation of the gasket sealing the pump against the engine. Fix this problem by following the replacement guidelines of your vehicle manufacturer for these parts. You’ll lessen the chance that you’ll need to call me for a used engine.

Fifth is a faulty thermostat. Go ahead and replace these every two years. The part is $15-30. An engine is $1200-$5000, depending on what you have.

The last common cause of cooling system failure is electrolysis. Electrolysis is caused by a an electrical current being added into the cooling system. This only happens when your vehicle has a fault in the electrical system. You’ll know when it happens because the radiator it destroys looks like someone dumped acid all over it. You should have your mechanic check the current in your electrical system when he does your annual vehicle inspection. It only takes about ten minutes, and it can alert you to many other problems.

Your radiator, even when properly maintained, will eventually lose its ability to cool because mineral deposits will coat it inside, reducing its ability to release heat – the mineral deposits act like an insulator. If you want to be sure your radiator is working, you should check for two things.

1. Flow. Your mechanic should check to make sure enough coolant can flow through the radiator.
2. Temperature. Your mechanic should use an infrared thermometer to check the top hose and bottom hose. The top hose should be around 20 degrees hotter than the bottom hose.

If you have enough flow, but not enough temperature reduction, you’ll blow up your engine. If you have enough temperature reduction, but not enough flow, you’ll blow up your engine.

I hope this article will be of great help to you as you strive to maintain your cooling system. A small expense on the front end can have big payoff for you down the road – the continued low cost operation of your existing vehicle.

If you need an engine, please call us at 901-266-9996. We’d love to be of help to you.

Popularity: 6% [?]

The Buick Enclave was introduced for the 2008 model year with the 3.6L LY7 engine. This engine had been introduced originally for the 2004 Cadillac CTS. While there have been upgrades made, the design proved reliable and has been a mainstay of the mid size market. In 2009, enclave upgraded to the 3.6L LLT engine also used in the Acadia, CTS, Outlook, and Cadillac STS.

2008 Enclaves are beginning to get to the age where some engine replacements are necessary that are not covered under warranty. These are typically vehicles that have used up their drive train warranty of 5 years or 100,000 miles. Most Enclaves will currently have few miles than this! 33,000 miles per year would be a heavy driver indeed. Another source of engine failure that General Motors won’t warranty is failures due to lack of coolant resulting in overheating or failures from a lack of oil to lubricate the engine.

Many families finding themselves in need of a replacement engine for their Buick Enclave spend too much during the process. There is currently a tremendous availability of good low mile Enclave engines, meaning that there is really no reason to buy a “new” engine from the dealership. We’re proud to offer great deals on Buick Enclave engines every day. All of our motors come with a 1 year, unlimited mile part warranty and a free vehicle history report to verify the mileage on the vehicle the engine was removed from.

Our staff will be happy to walk you through the replacement process. In addition to selling you a great engine, we can guide you in finding a mechanic. While we won’t tell you who to go to, we can share general principles that have helped thousands of our customers have great experiences finding a mechanic and getting their engine installed.

We’d love to add you to our list of satisfied customers – if you need an engine, please call us at 800-709-9233. We’ll do our best to get you back on the road quickly.

Popularity: 9% [?]

We are frequently asked whether or not a catalytic converter should come with a used engine. The simple answer is “no.” There are two reasons for this, and I’ll go into those below.

A faulty catalytic converter can destroy an engine due to the critical function they serve in handling exhaust on modern vehicles. The 2002 and 2003 Nissan Altima have been reported by many to have catalytic converter problems, as have a lot of Suzuki vehicles. This can destroy the engine.

Salvage yards and engine sellers are restricted by the EPA in sending Catalytic Converters. Regulations say that you have to be specially certified to “re-certify” a catalytic converter. It is in violation of EPA regulations to send a catalytic converter if your company doesn’t have these qualifications. I am not aware of a single salvage yard in the US that advertises this certification, because it is insanely expensive to get! This is the main reason that used engines don’t come with Catalytic converters.

The second reason is that a catalytic converter isn’t part of the long block. Our company, and many others, only sell the long block, and not the bolt on parts like the starter, alternator, etc. In many vehicles, the catalytic converter is part of the exhaust manifold. If this is the case, no exhaust manifold should be shipped with an engine.

If you have any questions about buying a used engine to help get you back on the road, that’s what we’re here for. Give us a call at 901-266-9996 and one of our salespeople will be happy to help get you what you need!

Popularity: 18% [?]

This is just a snip because I’ve been talking to so many people recently that need Mitsubishi Montero engines. The Mitsubishi Montero is one of those vehicles that hits you the first time you see it. It has a suave look that seems to combine the aesthetics of a Toyota Land Cruiser and a Land Rover Ranger Rover. We get a of calls from people looking for 3.0L 6G72 used engines for their Monteros as well as the 3.5L 6G74. Lately, the 3.8L 6G75 has also been generating some calls as well.

While not all Monteros have high dollar engines – we simply cannot buy these engines cheap. We do have some of the best deals available on 3.0L Montero Sport engines (call Daniel at 901-384-5622 direct to speak with him about these), but the 3.5′s are simply hard to come by. 3.8′s are recent enough that we have excellent pricing and availability on them.

Popularity: 24% [?]

On board computers and diagnostic computers have made diagnosis and repair of vehicles more efficient and less costly. If you don’t believe me, consider the fact in recent years many shops that used to charge a higher rate for diagnostics than actual repair labor have ceased that practice. Plugging a diagnostic computer into a car is a lot like running an MRI or an X-Ray on a person: you get a quick and exact picture of the symptoms of your patient.

For many repairs, this computer is more than what you need. For some repairs, a diagnostic computer in the hands of of someone who doesn’t understand what they’re working with can be a nightmare. Let’s look at a common sensor issue that causes a check engine light to come on: an oxygen sensor. If your oxygen sensor fails, you definitely need to replace it. But there are other issues that can cause a false positive on an oxygen, or O2 sensor. The main false positive happens if you aren’t getting enough fuel pressure to the engine. If this is the cause, you could either need a new fuel line (if you do, I recommend Gates Submersible Fuel Line Hos or Gates Barricade hoses) or a new fuel pump/fuel sending unit. Not getting enough fuel pressure can cause the O2 sensor to read “lean” and out of acceptable range. So, if this happens, and you go to an auto parts store, get a free diagnosis, and you still get the error after you reset the code, what happens? You’re out the money for the sensor, since you can’t return installed electronics (“we don’t sell parts for diagnosis” – even though they diagnosed you!) and you still have to figure out exactly what’s going on.

If you’re competent at repair diagnosis yourself, you might not need a mechanic. But if you’re not sure, you should definitely pay someone else to work on your vehicle. You don’t always need to take it to the dealership – though they do fine work. You don’t only have to utilize the mechanic just down the road – though he might be the best in town. In that case, use him.

Rather than finding a convenient mechanic, find the best in your area. An experienced mechanic that is good at diagnosing can save you hundreds on each repair and help you keep your vehicle on the road for a long, long time.

If you’ve had your vehicle competently diagnosed and you need an engine gas or diesel for a car or light truck, please, give our sales staff at call at 901-266-9996.

Popularity: 23% [?]

The 7.3L Power Stroke engine is a great engine, but one thing that has always frustrated mechanics with 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, and 2003 Super Duty trucks with the 7.3L Power Stroke engines is the fact that you have to remove the upper radiator hose to replace the serpentine accessory drive belt. The reason for this is that the Ford OEM upper radiator hose goes straight through the accessory belt drive system. This means that to replace the belt you have to drain the cooling system, and that adds cost to the overall job.

Gates has two kits to fix this problem. The first is part number 22434K and is good for vehicles 1999-2002 vehicles produced up to April 28. After an April 28, 2002 production date, the part number is 22690K. The difference is that the second kit has a slightly longer belt.

The Gates kits inclue upper and lower hoses and a “FleetRunner long-life fleet-rated belt.” Gates claims that this package reduces labor on a future belt replacement by up to 50%, so it makes sense to consider this option.

We recommend this kit be considered by any of our customers installing a used 7.3L Power Stroke engine from our company, Low Mileage Engines.

If you’ve had an engine failure in your F-150, F-250, F-350, or any other type of late model vehicle and are looking for a good used engine, please call our sales staff at 901-266-9996. We would be more than happy to quote you on an engine and answer any other questions you may have.

Popularity: 28% [?]

A properly functioning water pump is critical to the continued functionality of any engine. If your water pump fails and you continue to drive your vehicle while the engine is hot, you will destroy your engine – no ifs, ands, or butts about it. Your engine relies on your water pump to force coolant through its water jacket. By forcing coolant that has just gone through the radiator into the engine, you also force the heated coolant out of the engine and into your vehicle’s radiator where it is cooled as it travels through the radiator, only to come out, hit the water pump, and go through the cycle again.

Water pumps are a belt driven accessory with two main different configurations. The first configuration type involves the power originally coming from the crank shaft pulley. Some vehicles use a serpentine belt to drive all accessories, including the water pump. If this is the case for your vehicle, your serpentine belt is very important. In addition to driving the water pump, it would also drive the alternator, power steering pump, and air conditioning compressor. It does this by taking power from the crank shaft pulley which is typically mounted on the front of the engine. You can also take power from the crank shaft pulley indirectly. For example, I have a friend with a 1968 Corvette with a water pump driven by a double pulley that comes of the air conditioning compressor. The main belt spins the air conditioning compressor pulley not only rotates the compressor, but has a secondary groove with the water pump belt in it. That belt in turn rotates the air conditioning compressor.

The second main type of water pump configuration is one in which the timing belt drives the water pump. This is common in Camry engines, Honda engines, or any vehicle with an interference engine (my 1997 Audi A4 has a water pump driven by the timing belt). Here is something you should know. Any time you change a water pump driven by a timing belt, replace the belt. Any time you replace a timing belt that drives a water pump, replace the the water pump.

There are two reasons for this. The first is that both of these are maintenance items. They have to be replaced at some point or your engine won’t work (I have information on maintenance schedules below).

The second reason is that if your belt or pump breaks, the other unit won’t work. If your water pump locks up, it will strip the teeth on the timing belt. If that happens, and you have an interference engine, you’ll be calling Low Mileage Engines looking for a new motor. While we value our customers and want to do a good job for you, we prefer helping folks who have gotten a lot of life out of their original engine and haven’t had a preventable failure!

You should always follow your vehicle’s owners manual for the maintenance schedule. A General rule of thumb for vehicles made in the last 20 years are that if you have a KIA, you should replace the belt and water pump every 40,000 miles. All other vehicles should be considered for a timing belt change at 60,000 miles. Again, and I cannot stress this enough, make sure you replace the belt driving the water pump when you replace it, and vice versa.

Age should also be taken into consideration in the maintenance schedule. Personally, if the mileage to justify a change hasn’t been reached but the belt has been in use for five years, I would change it because belts can get dry rot over time. Changing a belt is so cheap compared to what could happen  if the belt breaks that it doesn’t make sense to not change it.

You should consider replacing the water pump on any used engine you install, period. As a bolt on accessory, a water pump isn’t warranted and failure could lead to overheating, which voids any warranty. This includes warantees on new engines, used engines, remanufactured engines, reconditioned engines, rebuilt engines, or any other adjective in front of “engines.”

If your water pump has failed and you find yourself needing a replacement engine, please, call the sales staff of Low Mileage Engines at 901-266-9996. We would be more than happy to quote you on the engine you need, explain what makes our warranty the best in the industry, and answer any questions you may have.

Popularity: 24% [?]

For years, Low Mileage Engines has offered the strongest standard warranty available on used engines. For years, Low Mileage Engines has offered one of the easiest to understand Labor Warranties available on used engines. Now, we’ve made our Labor Warranty even more affordable and even easier to buy.

$100 will get you the best labor warranty available on a used engine. What does this cover? For this $100, Low Mileage Engines will cover the number of hours specified in the Mitchell Book for a Complete Engine Assembly R&R. If you have an engine failure not due to overheating (blown head gasket), not due to your failure to keep oil in the engine, and not due to any type of “obvious” abuse, Low Mileage Engines will cover replacing the engine we’ve sold you at $45 an hour. This is a good deal – you get a lot for a very little. Replacing a 6.8L Ford Triton engine, for example, calls for over 20 hours of labor. 20 hours X $45.00 means Low Mileage Engines would cover up to $900 for the replacement.

There are very few companies selling used engines that offer a solid option for a labor warranty. Low Mileage Engines strongly recommends each and every customer purchase a labor warranty. While each engine comes standard with a part warranty, Low Mileage Engines can only help to cover labor costs if a customer chooses to purchase the labor warranty.

If you have any questions, or need a quote on a used engine, please call us at 901-266-9996.

Popularity: 24% [?]

One of our most requested engines is the 6.0L Powerstroke engine – a Ford Diesel engine that is used in F-250′s, F-350′s, F-450′s, F-550′s and E Series vans (250′s, 350′s, 450′s, etc.). This is an engine that has been mired in a lot of controversy. Ford had to replace the 7.3L Powerstroke they had been using since 1993 (though the term Powerstroke wasn’t used untl 1994) to meet EPA CAFE regulations. In other words, they had to come up with something that released less pollution.

For what it did – provide a lot of power with a lot less pollution than its predecessor – the 6.0L Power Stroke was a marvel. It was engineered in record time and it released a lot less pollution. However, the engine had a lot of problems – Ford agents bought back millions of dollars worth of vehicles with these engines in them. Some authors have called this engine a disaster. Whether you agree or disagree with that, the fact is that Ford quickly began work on a replacement engine, the 6.4L engine. The 6.4L Power Stroke has even less of an emissions footprint, but produces a lot more horsepower and a lot more torque.

The 2011 Super Duty is introducing a 6.7L diesel Power Stroke engine. This engine holds the unique distinction of being designed in house (and not by Internatonal). This engine is even more fuel efficient, releases even few emissions, and has even more power than its predecessors. Many engine remanufacturers I’ve spoken with are anticipating that this engine will be very difficult to remanufacture due to its compacted graphite iron block. This will make it a very difficult diesel engine to resleeve, and the preferred rebuild method will be to bore out the existing sleeves.

Customers looking to replace or rebuild a 7.3L, 6.0L, or 6.4L Power Stroke engine can benefit greatly by calling Low Mileage Engines. You can reach us at 901-266-9996, and our expert sales staff will walk you through all the replacement options we have available. There is no cheap way out of replacing a diesel engine, but there are ways to spend less and get more. Our low mileage used power stroke engines come with an excellent warranty. You can also purchase a labor warranty and expand your year coverage on the purchase.

Again, you can reach our sales staff at 901-266-9996 between 9 and 6, Eastern Standard time.

Popularity: 30% [?]

I’ve been talking to a lot of customers over the last several months asking us flat out if they should fix their Toyota. Drivers are worried about safety and investing money into a vehicle that might see a rapid decline in value.-

The fact is that whether you have a Camry, a 4Runner, a Tacoma, or any other late model Toyota, replacing your engine still probably makes sense – whether you choose to keep your vehicle or not. You have to make a decision that works for you, your family, and your financial situation. My job is to make you aware of what you need to know when you look for a used Toyota Engine.

The first question you need to ask is “What happens if I do nothing?”

If you don’t replace your engine, you will be stuck with a yard decoration that you can keep or sell. If you keep it, you’re a unique breed, and I can’t help you! If you sell it, know that you’re only going to get around 25% of the wholesale value the vehicle has with a good engine in it. In other words, a $10,000 car with a bad engine is worth, at most, $2,500. If you have a paid for car worth  $10,000, figure you will invest at most $4,000 to replace it ($2500 for engine, $1500 for installation – this is a HIGH figure). In this example, by replacing the engine, you net $6,000. Since you’re not buying another car, you net an additional $10,000. That’s right – replacing your engine just saved you $16,000.00.

The next question you need to ask is “Would a replacement vehicle be a better option?”

If you can stomach throwing away $16,000, and need another reason to replace your engine, consider the value of “the known.” You know your vehicle, you know how you have maintained it, and you know whether or not it has a good chance of needing other major repairs. You know what you’re dealing with.

Sadly, one of our largest customer groups is people who have just bought a used car. They drive it off the lot without having a mechanic look at it prior to their purchase. A week later, boom. It could be an original high mileage engine failing. It could be due to lack of previous maintenance. Sadly, a common reason is that the engine was replace with a high mileage piece of junk by the dealership. I know that I answer calls all day long from used car dealerships looking for a $500 engine. Here’s a hint: $500 dollar engines typically aren’t worth the $500 you pay for them – especially when dealing with late model Toyota engines.

The last question you need to ask is “Is replacing my Toyota Engine a patch, or a good long term solution?”

In 2003, I replaced the engine in my aunts 1997 Toyota Camry. This is 2010. She has put close to 200,000 miles on the engine I got her. If you get a good low mileage engine, replacement is considered a “permanent repair.” Recently, I purchased a 2002 Toyota Camry with a bad 2.4L engine. The vehicle has 189,000 miles in it. I’m putting a 19,000 mile engine and a 16,000 mile transmission in it, along with a new all aluminum radiator and new struts. My expectation is to have the equivalent of a new car for used car price when I’m done

In conclusion, I would say that yes, you should fix your Toyota if you have a bad engine. You’ll save yourself a lot of money and have a good, lasting solution. By avoiding the headaches that can come with buying a used car, you can avoid stress and drive your vehicle “on the cheap” without sacrificing safety and worrying about getting stranded on the road.

If you need an engine, please, contact our sales team at 901-266-9996. We would love to help find an engine that will last you a long time – at a good, fair price!

Popularity: 28% [?]