I’m wondering what your guys thoughts are or if anyone has any similar experience in this field. I found a new engine off of a salvage s2000, The car looked like it was mint prior to the crash, very low mileage, only a handful of owners. The car got destroyed in a rear end collision, but the engine and everything under the hood looks perfect. I started the car and it seems to idle and rev fine. That said, when I pulled out the dipstick there was barely any oil on the stick whatsoever. I wiped and redipped at least 5 times, still only a drop on the tip of the stick. Are there any ways I can tell is this engine was oil starved? The low mileage and overall great condition leads me to believe it was well kept but the oil is essentially non existent. Coolant is full and fine. Would maybe the junkyard drain the oil and a preventative measure? Any insight would be great.

 

I did a little reading just now about junkyards and it seems that they punch a hole in the oil pan and gas tank. Are you able to inspect the oil pan? They might've punched a hole in it.

 

If the yard had punched a hole in the oil pan, they certainly wouldn't have given the keys to him to run the engine. Besides, that would only be done for a vehicle destined for the baler or shredder, not on vehicles for dismantle.
It's likely the car was low on oil at the time of the accident. That doesn't mean it was neglected but I guess you can't rule anything out.

 

Whoops! I totally overlooked the part where he mentioned starting the car. My apologies!

 

Curious as to what is very low mileage and a handful of owners? For me, less than 5k miles would be very low, for other might be 20 or more. This information may help with advise.

 

You’re right, I should have been more precise with the mileage. The odometer sits right below 50k miles, looks like only two owners when I ran the carfax. Last owner had it for 10+ years, looks like the crash was only 2 months ago as well, so the engine hasn’t been sitting for a huge amount of time. Also - I didn’t see any oil dripping underneath the car.

 

JD,

Some, probably most of the folks on this site know more than I. If it was me and I felt comfortable with the deal, I would go for it. If I was not comfortable, walk away. To be comfortable I would need to at least part it out and make a little profit.

If I was going back to look at it again l would check the oil on a cold engine to see if there is a difference. Possibly after running it, some of the oil was on the upper parts of the engine and did not have enough time to drain completely to the pan. If I did do the deal, first thing would be an oil analysis test, then go from there.

Hope this helps!