What to look for on replacement engine for my Mitsubishi Delica?

[Intrepidor]

I bought a “running, low mileage” replacement 4G64 for my Mitsubishi Delica and was lined up to have it swapped by a shop. When it arrived, they discovered chunks of the balance shaft in the oil pan, so we put it on hold, and Life happened. Fast forward a couple years, I’m looking at trying to restart this project. We moved to rural Michigan, so any rebuild shop will be a long way away. I’d like to make sure this engine is worth it before I decide to get this rebuilt or just get the current one rebuilt.

Engine is out of the vehicle, and I have it mounted on an engine stand, what kinds of things can I check now at home to make sure this is a viable option before I invest time & money getting it rebuilt?
I’m a noob at this but have a manual and am reasonably mechanical, so be gentle.

 

[miliman13]

Your gonna get much more qualified responses from others but, you have to just tear it down completely and check every thing.

I doubt it is untouched, with what you described.


I’m curious if you intent on a 100% rebuild
Or if you may have considered going over to the 4g63 head or stroker ?

Following

 

[Intrepidor]

Your gonna get much more qualified responses from others but, you have to just tear it down completely and check every thing.

The plan is to tear it down, the problem is I don’t know what to look for as far as red flags, if that makes sense? It’s supposed to have only 30k miles on it but I’m suspect as how would a balance shaft break in that time? So what would be some immediate red flags to look for as I'm dissasembling that would say this isn't worth a rebuild (I can alsways rebuild the one in the van now as an option).

I’m curious if you intent on a 100% rebuild
Or if you may have considered going over to the 4g63 head or stroker?

Plan to do a 100% rebuild as my goal is simplicity / reliability over performance. I't in an already top heavy van so I don't need to be tearing around corners

Maybe the best thing is to start the tear down and share some pics here.