I was in a pick-and-pull junkyard looking for parts for a 2001 subaru forester when I came across a 928. Most of it was shot, but the engine appeared intact, so we bought it and pulled it out of the car. I've since disassembled it and there isn't any obvious scoring on the cylinder walls, and I feel that the engine could be successfully rebuilt, although I have never rebuilt a 928 engine (coolest engine rebuilt was my fathers 454 corvette), so I won't even pretend like I am an expert. Engine is M28/15, #00223, so it is a 4.5 L US that came out of a 5-speed car. What should I do with this engine?

As a side note, my '88 runs fine, and I don't think I would ever swap the 5L for the 4.5, and additionally, the engine has no fuel system, though it does have intact heads and intake manifold, so if I *did* want to do that, I would have to figure out how to retrofit either the engine or the car so that the fuel system and engine matched.

Having read the forums a bit, it looks like the high-value items are the 86.5 5L block and euro heads, neither of which is on this engine. Is this engine even worth selling, or should I melt it down and cast an aluminum bust of F. Porsche? If it is worth selling, given that it is all apart, what should I be asking for it (assuming that I have an expert check it out to confirm that it's a viable unit)?

Thanks!

 

What'cha got there would make a fine table stand. Or, you could cap off the bottom, and make a rather heavy planter out of it. Let's see, put some handles on it, and use it to work out those glutes.

 

Haha yeah, I was thinking of building one bitchin' go-kart...

Or maybe saving it for that day when I might be forced to buy the dreaded minivan. I could use it to give that guy with the juiced up van a run for his money at the dragstrip...

 

Lets see, you went to a junkyard to get parts for a subaru. You saw a OB 928 and bought the engine. You have an S4 and not an OB. Hey man, are we related or something? Sounds exactly why I would have done, hehehhe.

 

My guesstimate is that a complete running ready to drop in 4.5L motor is worth $500 to $1000, so one in the condition you describe is worth maybe -$500? The catch being that nobody goes to the expense of rebuilding a 928 motor using a 4.5L, except for those that want to keep the original block.

Did you get the clutch and 5 spd? Torque tube?

 

No, the car was mostly stripped. I knew it was an older model, but I thought it might have been the 4.7, and I wasn't especially familiar with the engine numbers, so I couldn't be certain. It was there and the car looked like it was ready to be crushed otherwise, so I took the engine just in case.