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buyers guide for second hand engines?
mrwibble - 16/3/11 at 07:29 PM

anyone got any tips for my near purchase of a zetec e blacktop. looking at spending around £250ish more for something worth it. just wondering if there are any questions i should be asking or paper work i should be asking to see.

cheers guys.

[Edited on 16/3/11 by mrwibble]

austin man - 16/3/11 at 07:48 PM

When I picked mine up from a breakers I had a receipt with engine number and registration number of the car the engine came from. All on letter headed paper

big_wasa - 16/3/11 at 07:53 PM

The main thing with a zetec is regular oil changes with 5w/30 oil so any service history would be a bonus or pay £100 and have the cash to buy another if you wreck it.

franky - 16/3/11 at 11:28 PM

can't you get a crate engine for £500?

ashg - 16/3/11 at 11:58 PM

with zetecs buy the cheapest one you can find then use the change to buy another and another and another should you kill them.

norfolkluego - 17/3/11 at 01:45 AM

Paid £50 for mine (spotted by Big Wasa), cracking enine

hughpinder - 17/3/11 at 08:11 AM

Check whats with it - A bare engine isnt worth much compared to one with alternator/starter/loom/ecu/inlet manifold/induction/exhaust manifold/cat (you can sell the bits if you're not using them).

People on this forum have had the zetec runnning injection with the standard ECU/inlet manifold and that can save a load of effort/cash.

Regards
Hugh

martin1973 - 17/3/11 at 08:20 AM

as has already been said
buy a zetec cheap, thrash it kill it fit another.

MakeEverything - 17/3/11 at 08:36 AM

quote:
Originally posted by franky
can't you get a crate engine for £500?


IIRC there was a load of new engines for £900 or £700?

mrwibble - 17/3/11 at 09:28 AM

hmmm, not sure i want it to blow up in the middle of nowhere, i suppose i could get covered by the AA, its a road car really, so i want reliability.

40inches - 17/3/11 at 11:30 AM

Are these good value? ford focus 2002 engine brand new 2litre direct factory on eBay (end time 27-Mar-11 10:05:51 BST)

lotusmadandy - 17/3/11 at 11:58 AM

I payed £50 for my silvertop with 60k on it.

It's totaly standard and get thrashed to within an inch of its life.
It has been 100% reliable and is as good now as the day it went in.
As said they are very robust engines and dont very often go wrong,
If the oil and filter is changed regularly.

Andy

UncleFista - 17/3/11 at 12:38 PM

Our spare 2l silvertop cost us £50, the one we now have fitted is the 130bhp 1.8 from an Orion Si, that one cost £50 delivered, we sold the inlet and ecu for £70..

Seriously, buy cheap and replace as and when

mrwibble - 17/3/11 at 12:40 PM

ok. better to buy silvertops then, with hydraulic lifters than the black top?

big_wasa - 18/3/11 at 02:00 PM

quote:
Originally posted by mrwibble
ok. better to buy silvertops then, with hydraulic lifters than the black top?



Why ? It costs more to do a top end rebuild than to buy a fresh engine. It makes more sense to get a black top as there will be a better suply of them in years to come. Silvertops are already getting that little bit harder to find in a hurry. Last of them would be 97~98.

Ive done the full rebuild at £600 + and wouldnt do it again. Get a lump and give it a full clean and service If it dies buy another and swap parts over.

whitestu - 18/3/11 at 02:30 PM

My first zetec [1.8] cost £50 and wasn't great as it had a rattle, though I still drove it hard and had no probs with it.I swapped it for a 2.0 for £85 which is perfect and has done several track days with no problems.

Stu