My junkyard 4-cylinder swap left me stranded in rush hour traffic on I-95

I was coming home from work in Richmond last Tuesday when my 93 Civic started knocking REAL bad. Pulled over quick and saw oil all over the alternator side of the block. Turns out that cheap junkyard motor I put in 3 months ago had a cracked head from day one and I just never caught it. I had to have my buddy tow me 12 miles to his garage with a strap at 35 mph while people honked like maniacs. After that mess I pulled the head off and spent $80 on a used one from a different scrap yard, then lapped the valves myself on a Saturday. It fired up fine and has been holding compression for 2 weeks now. Anyone else get burned by a "low miles" engine pull that ended up being junk?

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noahcampbell2mo ago

Grabbed a cheap lapping tool from Autozone for like 8 bucks, but I probably used way too much compound and made a mess all over my driveway lol. Three months of "low miles" peace and quiet is a solid deal for $80 though, even if the block decides to grenade itself next Tuesday in traffic again. At least this time I know exactly which scrap yard to badmouth on Facebook while I'm waiting for my buddy's tow strap.

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dakota_rivera2mo ago

Did you lap the valves yourself just with sandpaper and a stick or did you actually use a lapping tool? I heard from a buddy that those junkyard motors are always a gamble because they just pressure wash the block and call it a day without checking anything inside. I mean it sounds like you got lucky with that spare head holding up so far but I bet the block itself has some hidden issue waiting to pop up in another month or two.

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