Spare engine - good idea?

I have the possibility of buying locally a spare engine and
transmission for my 92 240 wagon. Mine has 310,000 kms and the spares
came out of a vehicle with <150,000 kms. The engine and transmission
work fine in mine, but I figure that at some point it may be useful to
have a spare, should problems arise. Good idea, or needless use of
storage shed/garage floor space?

There are also many other parts available from the original donor
vehicle. WHich ones do you figure would be more useful for me to pick
up, for future use? Thanks.

 

I think it depends on the condition of the rest of the car. If everything
else is in very good shape (including the plastic interior bits) the car
might outlast the engine. At nearly 230K miles the engine and tranny of our
'85 765T are two of the sturdiest parts.

It might be useful to get responses from people who have had 240s for a very
long time: if they had a replacement engine/tranny available, would they
have used it at any time?

As far as other parts go, I'll vote for keeping an AMM on hand. The fuel
pumps might come in handy, too. I'm sure other people will remember more.

Mike

 

Thanks for your thoughts Mike. Indeed, these 4 cyl engines (and auto
transmissions) have a reputation for lasting a LONG time, so it's not
certain that I'd get to use the spare drivetrain. THen again, one
never knows when some catastrophic failure may occur... The body on my
92 is quite good, so hopefully it will last me a few years yet...
I'll look at what else was taken out of the spares vehicle, and indeed
I'll like to get a spare AMM, and maybe also the ECU and other such
bits. Cheers!

 

In an earlier contribution to this discussion,

I fear that Sod's Law will ensure that the parts which fail on your car
won't be the parts for which you have spares from the donor car.

The safest solution would be to buy the whole thing - and then canabalise it
as necessary.

 

_____
Agree with keeping AMM as spare. ECUs vary from model to model. My
son's 1986 wagon needed a differential replaced at 400,000 km. The
overdrive unit (M46 tranny) was also replace a little earlier. I would
be tempted to keep engine, tranny and rear axle (includes diff) if i had
space.

Regards / John

 

Those engines are pretty easy to come by, if you have lots of space and it's
an exceptional price then it wouldn't hurt, but personally I'd pass until I
needed one. Usually the rest of the car falls apart long before the engine
fails.

You could pick up the air mass meter as a spare though.

 

You may have a point re: the engine (mine's been well maintained by the
previous owner and likely has a fair amount of life left in it). I may
pick up the transmission as I could fit that better in my storage area,
and maybe the diff if he's got it. There's apparently a lot of boxes
with stuff that was taken out of the rusty donor before it was
scrapped. An AMM is definitely on my list! (picked one up in a
junkyard a couple of weeks ago, but it's an earlier one 88 so won't
work on my car 92). Cheers.