4 ms·

If they're in a scrap yard they're most likely being parted-out, so the engine will be bought and put in another car.

by cjrp 3y ago

bluGill 3y ago
The engine is for sale if you want to buy it. Most engine will last longer than the car if you take care of it. Back in the 1950s engines were a lot more likely to fail and so people would keep an old car running by buying a junkyard engine. Now that isn't very popular (it still happens, but it isn't popular)
- doubled112 3y ago
  I think this is what I was trying to point out. Engines are everywhere. Winter and road salt ends way more vehicle lives than engine failure where I live. My 2011 Ford Focus, for example, is slowly returning to nature. I can find dozens of them with engines in great shape, but also with body problems. Body work is incredibly expensive.
  - jandrese 3y ago
    Yeah, if frame rot doesn't kill the vehicle (maybe you don't live in the rust belt for instance), then it's usually the transmission that sends the car to the chopper. Engines tend to outlast the rest of the car as long as the owner keeps up with basic maintenance. Plus, when things break on the engine they're usually fixable short of blowing a crank through the side of the block or something catastrophic like that. A body that is rotting out is hopeless, nobody is even going to try to fix it. Where you'll have a lot more trouble is finding a large generator to bolt onto that engine. Those are far more rare. As many people have pointed out, sticking a little 5kW generator on the side of a full size car engine is a hilarious mismatch that's going to burn way more fuel than necessary. Sure it's a fun project, but quite impractical. Harbor Freight actually sells the appropriate replacement engine for $180, that van is worth more in scrap value than that. Plus it takes forever to stabilize the frequency so it's not even as good as the standard setup. Maybe the best use for this would be some Mad Max style post apocalypse where most all technology has been lost, but gasoline is abundant and apparently free so people spend their time making heavy metal looking art cars and sports equipment.
    - bluGill 3y ago
      After the apocalypse gas is free for 3 months if you can get it out of the tanks. After that it is rotted away and not usable. Diesel should last longer, but you have to watch for algae growth.

If they're in a scrap yard they're most likely being parted-out, so the engine will be bought and put in another car.

by cjrp 3y ago

If they're in a scrap yard they're most likely being parted-out, so the engine will be bought and put in another car.

The engine is for sale if you want to buy it. Most engine will last longer than the car if you take care of it. Back in the 1950s engines were a lot more likely to fail and so people would keep an old car running by buying a junkyard engine. Now that isn't very popular (it still happens, but it isn't popular)

doubled112 3y ago
I think this is what I was trying to point out. Engines are everywhere. Winter and road salt ends way more vehicle lives than engine failure where I live. My 2011 Ford Focus, for example, is slowly returning to nature. I can find dozens of them with engines in great shape, but also with body problems. Body work is incredibly expensive.
- jandrese 3y ago
  Yeah, if frame rot doesn't kill the vehicle (maybe you don't live in the rust belt for instance), then it's usually the transmission that sends the car to the chopper. Engines tend to outlast the rest of the car as long as the owner keeps up with basic maintenance. Plus, when things break on the engine they're usually fixable short of blowing a crank through the side of the block or something catastrophic like that. A body that is rotting out is hopeless, nobody is even going to try to fix it. Where you'll have a lot more trouble is finding a large generator to bolt onto that engine. Those are far more rare. As many people have pointed out, sticking a little 5kW generator on the side of a full size car engine is a hilarious mismatch that's going to burn way more fuel than necessary. Sure it's a fun project, but quite impractical. Harbor Freight actually sells the appropriate replacement engine for $180, that van is worth more in scrap value than that. Plus it takes forever to stabilize the frequency so it's not even as good as the standard setup. Maybe the best use for this would be some Mad Max style post apocalypse where most all technology has been lost, but gasoline is abundant and apparently free so people spend their time making heavy metal looking art cars and sports equipment.
  - bluGill 3y ago
    After the apocalypse gas is free for 3 months if you can get it out of the tanks. After that it is rotted away and not usable. Diesel should last longer, but you have to watch for algae growth.