Freelander 1 Replacment engine

So, if you remember way back when I was trying to fix a low oil pressure in my wife's hippo, we had decided to just let it run its course and wait until the engine exploded as I could not find a replacement engine.
So fast forward to today and the wreaking yard now have a total of 4 freelanders, I have not seen all of them, but I'm assuming the all are in for hgf, and not low oil pressure.
So now on to the questions, 1 out of the 4 will donate a engine to my wife's hippo, how do you tell which are the better ones to grab? As they will have no oil or antifreeze in them by the time I see the cars. I have no issue in removing heads, oil pans, etc so how do I decide on which on? how do I check to see if the head is still good and worth grabbing. Anything big to watch out for with I'm guessing a hgf? I will also have the engine out of the wife's car when the time come, so I can rob parts off of it as well, I was just hoping to get a long block ready to drop in as it would be the fastest way.
I've been watch for a long time for another freelander to show up that I can rob parts from and I have 4!
Thanks for all the answers

I would just drop the sump. A good one will have no signs of mayo, not a lot of sludge and moderately clean oil. Also look for signs of ground metal. Big ends should be snug with no signs of looseness.

And of course with head off, look for consistent liner protrusion.

Awesome thank you, I was thinking of doing all that, just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing anything else.

Check the liner indents in the cylinder head. If you can catch your finger nail in them, the head has been toasted and is sadly scrap metal.

If it looks like this, it's scrap:

If it looks like it's, it's okay:

I was reading about your engine issues last night, thanks for a better picture, hopefully it won't be that bad, but I do have a few other hippos to choose from as well.
Thanks
For the replies so far.

You can't actually get to the big ends without splitting the lower block housing. You will be restricted to checking crank end float and main bearing knock. Generally however the KV6 bottom end is tough as long as oil changes have been regular.

K16s are similar tough - but again, like any change, regular oil changes are key.

So it took longer then it should have to remove the engine out of the freelander, but I succeed, and it came home with me. I popped the heads off, and found the gasket between 3-5 was blown. The heads looks ok at first glance, still need to clean them up, and the block looks like it is ok as well, but still need to clean it up before I can say for sure.
Is there a way to check the bottom end? I have no history on the engine. I would like to check to make sure it's all good before I spend money on it! The engine in the wife's hippo has low oil pressure so it's coming out and this one is suppose to go in, but I would like to make sure I won't have issues.
What is the best way to measure the liner protrusion? How much is acceptable, how flush can they be before issues come back? What is the best gaskets to reinstall? I know I need to replace the head bolts, anything else that should be done while the heads are off? I'm wanting to replace the water pump, thermostat housing and thermostat, and well the idler and tensioner pulley for the timing belt and new belts.
Thanks

With the head removed, you'll need to lock the liners in position or else they'll move and will need to be re-sealed into position. If you invert the engine, you can remove the bearing ladder once with sump has been removed. It then should be possible to inspect the bearing shells in the journals for wear/scoring.

Generally though, the K-series is a generally very durable engine (bar the head gasket issue), so would be surprised if the bearing shells were significantly damaged - but I guess from a scrap engine, you can never know. Also check the crank end-float etc. The K-series engine workshop manual is a worthwhile thing to have - definitely get yourself a copy if undertaking this kind of work

With a second hand engine, I would replace the oil pick up pipe O ring. If you have a new pump, replace that too.
Belts, idlers and water pump are a must. Head bolts are worth changing, but not essential if they are in spec. The best gasket's are OE, but most aftermarket versions will be fine. As said, don't rotate the crank with the heads off or the liners will need to be resealed.
It's worth fitting a new thermostat assembly while the top of the engine is apart.
Oh don't undo the cam pulley bolts unless you have a thorough understanding of how to re-time the cams from scratch. The cam setting tools will help here

Nodge68 said:

With a second hand engine, I would replace the oil pick up pipe O ring. If you have a new pump, replace that too.
Belts, idlers and water pump are a must. Head bolts are worth changing, but not essential if they are in spec. The best gasket's are OE, but most aftermarket versions will be fine. As said, don't rotate the crank with the heads off or the liners will need to be resealed.
It's worth fitting a new thermostat assembly while the top of the engine is apart.
Oh don't undo the cam pulley bolts unless you have a thorough understanding of how to re-time the cams from scratch. The cam setting tools will help here

Click to expand...

Hi Nodge68, where is the spec for the V6 head bolts? Thanks in advance.

Martin

Rubicon,
There is a trick used on the K series by the MG guys. Not sure if it works on the the V6. You can use 15mm copper heating pipe cut to length and the original head bolts to hold the liners in place. stops you having to worry about dislodging them.

zefrench said:

Hi Nodge68, where is the spec for the V6 head bolts? Thanks in advance.

Martin

Click to expand...

I'll look it up later when I'm near my laptop.

Lowbank said:

Rubicon,
There is a trick used on the K series by the MG guys. Not sure if it works on the the V6. You can use 15mm copper heating pipe cut to length and the original head bolts to hold the liners in place. stops you having to worry about dislodging them.

Click to expand...

Like this.

Exactly as Nodge has shown - obviously additional bolts required to ensure that all four liners are clamped.