I just picked up a 97 850R Sedan from a kid who had parked it due to it knocking. He had also told me that the engine was 'blown' and that it was 'overheating' - so I didn't know whether to trust his description of anything. I was unable to start it at his place. It has about 240k on it.

The price was right, and it's got some parts that I'd like to 'improve' on my 97 850R wagon that were still in decent shape on this sedan.

I'm struggling with the decision of what to do with it.

A lot of the R specific stuff is rough. Front seat covers are pretty much shot. Carpets are gone, various trim pieces missing, and lots of brackets and covers are missing under the hood. But, that's probably $100 worth of stuff at the salvage yard, and if I buy an engine, most of the covers, etc will be attached to it.

A salvage yard engine at the pull a part here will be about $250 including core - but I don't own a truck to move it in, and I have no way to know that the salvage yard engine is any good. Can't really do a compression test on an engine you can't crank. I know they guarantee the part and you can exchange it, but it's a lot of work to pull an engine out of one car, install it in another, and find out you have to pull it, take it back, and try again.

I don't really care for 850 sedans. But they might grow on me.. I find that as I work on something, I bond with it. But, if I'm going to put the work into something, I'd almost rather it be a wagon. I know that if I do this work with the intention of making a buck or even breaking even, I'm going to be disappointed. If I look at it as a learning opportunity, though, it might make sense.

It's got the wrong wheels, the wheels on it are from a 740. I think they are called 'Hydra'

I've got receipts for lots of maintenance over the last few years. So, I know for quite awhile, it was kept up.

What would you do? I can't change an engine in my driveway/garage, but I might be able to find somewhere to do it.

 

Before you assume the engine is blown (or just has a blown head gasket) can your crank it to do a compression test? also pull the timing covers to see if the belt is intact. The knocking may be a rod knock or you may be hearing exhaust gasses blow through a gap in the head gasket... If you have a place to work and do a project, you may want to start by pulling the head off the old engine while its in the car to see what's what. Then you can decide if you need to pull the rest of the engine for a swap.

 

I was able to get it started last night.

It starts and runs, but it definitely has some sort of a knock that increases in frequency as engine RPM goes up.

Initially, would crank, but not start. I started doing checks to make sure it got fuel, which was obvious, as I could smell gas in the engine compartment after trying to start it.

Next, I checked for spark, and pulled #1 and grounded it on the engine block. It sparked.

And something odd happened - after trying to crank and start for several hours, the car fired right up. And died about 30 seconds later. So, I reinstalled the plug, cranked it, and it started right up.

But the knock is definitely there.

I don't think it's head gasket, as the coolant is clean. Wouldn't there be oil in the coolant if it was a head gasket?

The car has been sitting for awhile. So, I'm going to do a compression test tomorrow and drain the oil and put some (cheap) new oil in it tomorrow to see if maybe the knock improves as the car warms up. It was on E, so I couldn't run it a lot last night

(of course, I went and got a few gallons of fuel, and put them in, and it's still on E, so... maybe the gas gauge doesn't work - wouldn't surprise me with everything else wrong with this car....)

I bought this primarily because I enjoyed doing a head swap on my wagon after I burned one of the exhaust valves. I pulled a JY head, had it rebuilt, and swapped it in over labor day weekend. It was a big job, it ticked me off, but in the end, it was fun, and I learned a lot.