I've been trying to research distributors for the JDM 1st gen B16A motor. I found out that the B16A has no US equivalent. I was told that you could use one from a 90-01 Integra but you need to remove one of the mount legs, which doesn't sound very reliable. Does anyone know what the differences are in the US Del Sol B16A3 or the 99-00 Si distributor to the JDM B16A one? I've read articles on the gray plug conversion so that you could use a newer distributor but they didn't go into much detail. If the differences are only in the plugs, then could you rewire one of the newer ones using the older plugs? If anyone has a B16A and has replaced the distributor what have you used?

 

what the hell car is this in. a crx/civic. yes you can do it but why the 90-91 ls dist is not unrealiable.

 

It's not in the car yet but it's going in a 91 CRX DX. I'm just preparing for problems that I might run into later on - bearing failure in the distributor. I never said that the LS distributor was unreliable, I said that cutting off a mount to make it fit isn't that great of an idea. It might work, but I would rather rewire a newer one and have it fit like it's supposed to.

 

You're right.....there is no equivilent replacement for the 89-91 B16A distributor.

Why don't you just look around on the net for classified Honda part ads and you should find one, they're not that rare to buy as a standalone. Since you own an 88-91 DX, its best to just stick with that B16A type of distributor rather than try an adapt a 92+ OBD1/OBD2 distributor on your car. You'll spend more money on that than you would on just buying a used 89-91 B16A distributor.

 

What would be so hard about adapting a 92+ OBDI or II distributor to fit? Do they line up with the bolt pattern on the 88-91 B16A and bolt up without modifications? I read an article in Super Street where they used a US Del Sol (B16A3) on an early B16A, but they did an entire gray plug conversion. If it's only in the wiring (plugs not matching up), I'm sure I could rewire it or even swap out the electrical parts so that the plugs are the same. So basically what I'm wondering is what the differences are and how to change a newer distributor to work with the B16A.

 

VtecVillain, you are correct. The problem that you are refering to is that you think that the leg on the far right may have to be cut on certain distributors in order to have them bolt up properly- not on the distributor that you are referring to. THE ANSWER=NO MODIFICATION NEEDED TO THE LEGS. The only thing that you have to do is rewire the distributor or repin. You can use the DOHC VTEC Del Sol distributor to fit on the 88-91 motors. As a matter of fact, the distributors that do come on the older motors usually premature over time from just sitting, resulting in the motor to not fire up properly. The difference in the gray plugs is:

92-95= 2 gray plugs- 1 big plug with about 6 or 7 wires; 1 smaller plug with 2 wires
99 si= just 1 big plug with all the wires on that plug that is still gray.

I believe that Honda just got rid of the additional B.S. and just placed a bunch of the wires on the newer Si on 1 plug in order to eliminate all of the plug n play.

Hope I answered your question.


[Modified by chi1874436, 4:51 PM 12/18/2001]

 

and to add to your info.....

ALL B-series distributors will fit ANY B-series head. they all have the same 'leg' patterns. The main thing is the wiring issues.

92-95/OBD1 have a dual grey plug on the distributor while the 96+/OBD2 distributors have a single grey plug. Yes it seems Honda combined both plugs from the OBD1, and in a sense 'mushed' them together and out came the OBD2 style distributor plug.

Vteckiller, its not 'super hard' to do the OBD1 conversion in your EF.....i'm coming from a $$$ stand point of view. Its going to cost you a lot more $$ to convert to OBD1 rather than just find a used 89-91 B16A distributor. But if money is no object to you --- more power to ya, be my guest.

you'll at least need these parts from an OBD1 (92-95) B-series engine:

OBD1 injectors (about $100 for a used set)
OBD1 distributor (about $200-300 used)
OBD1 ECU (ranges from $100-400 depending on which ECU you get)
OBD1 engine harness ( to either adapt or use for plugs, $50-200 used)

there's a few more things, but that's what's offf the top of my head.

so you have OBD1+$$ in one hand and $$ to buy a used 89-91 B16A distributor in the other hand....

buying the 89-91 B16 distr. seems more practical




[Modified by Katman, 11:02 AM 12/18/2001]

 

Katman - Are you saying in order to use the B16A2 or A3 distributor, I would have to use the newer ecu as well? I thought that maybe the newer one could be rewired to work with the PW3/PW0 ecu. If this isn't possible then I would definitely look for just a B16A replacement distributor. I was thinking of doing a gray plug conversion in the future, but I thought maybe I could use just the distributor for now. I'm getting some conflicting sides to the story from a few sources, so keep posting if you have any info on the subject.

 

VTECVillain. Katman is right about all of the conversions. You will need the newer Ecu as well. The injectors must come from an Obd1 also because your obd1 (92-95) ecu is programmed for high impedence injectors, therefore the 88-91 (low impedence) injectors will not be compatible for older gen ecu. If using the older gen ecu, then the only thing you need is the distributor. However, I have heard in the past that by using this conversion (upgrading to obd1), it will yield a slightly better smog application. If money is no object, then you can do it. If not, make sure you get an 88-91 distributor in good working condition and beware of the premature ones.

 

yes..

vteckilller --

Yep, you need to match the ECU and distributor with its respective year of production. The rules are a little different for OBD1 and OBD2 though..but as far as 89-91 vs 92-95/obd1 no, they are not compatible, you can't mix them together, you have to either stay 89-91 or go completely OBD1....

merry Christmas

 

if a gsr or ls distributor was used, what ecu could be used in an obd2 setup. or a si distributor would just be best.

 

A guy I know tried to use a new civic si dist with a pr3 and it just had too much advance in it. He could not get it retarted enough.

 

Which ever you decide to go with, remember that you would have to convert the plugs on the ecu side harness to bolt up to the ecu that you are using. Also you will still need to custom fabricate your distributor plugs in order for them to be compatible with the 88-91 harness.


[Modified by chi1874436, 7:36 PM 12/19/2001]

 

Here's a bassackwards alternative.
Background:
A first gen B16A distributor will work fine on a D16A6 - my winter beater (D16A6 power) is using my spare B16A dist. for the past year. The compromise's are:
-The B16A dist. will only bolt up with 2 of the 3 slots.
-The B16A dist. slots need to be elongated to advance the distributor within reasonable recommended range (16* BTDC was the most I could get out of mine).
If you bolt a B16A dist. onto a D16A6, with max. advance, the timing is 12* BTDC, which is why I elongated the slots. The extra 4* improved the fuel economy by 5MPG

So, here's the bassackwards (and possibly flawed) logic.
A D16A6 distributor will bolt onto a B16A head.
-The D16A6 dist. will only bolt up with 2 of the 3 slots.
-The D16A6 dist. slots will probably need to be elongated to retard the dist. within reasonable recommended range (15* BTDC for a B16A).

-TJ

 

i'm doing a grey plug obd2 conversion on my 1st gen b16a that will go into my '00 ek. i have a p2t (99-00 si) ecu. with this what distributor options do i have, that will work?

 

Except of course for B18a/b distributors.
Just so there is no confustion, B-series vtec distibs and non vtec distribs are in fact different.

Also from reading the posts, i can tell that a lot of people here are just re-typing what they have heard. Let me clear a few things up:
If you want to bolt an LS distributor to a B16a head, the forwardmost leg must be completely removed due to the vtec solenoid being in the way. Also, the top leg is the only one that lines up, the back one DOES NOT LINE UP. Its close, but no cigar.

I am currently using an LS distrib on my B16a, and i made a small bracket to accomidate the back leg. Also, if you can find a non-working first gen B16a distributor for cheap, you can just swap the internals from you stock 88-91 si one. The electronics and inner workings are pretty much identical for all non-obd distribs.


[Modified by RioNinja, 9:08 PM 12/20/2001]

 

So, heres my problem. I am doing a B16A swap into a 86 Civic Si. I am in need of a new distributor. What do I get? Can I use a 88-91Civic/CRX distributor or a 90-91 Integra, or can I just use a 92-95 Del Dol distributor? Or do I just have to locate and buy a 88-91 B16A used distributor? What are my exact options? Or can I buy the 90-91 Integra dist and then swap the internals into my B16a distributor that I have now? Please help!

Thanks!!

 

If you already have a non-working first gen B16a dist, then just swap in the internals from any non-obd distrib. 90-91 integ, 88-91 si, etc. Careful with taking it apart, it will be helpful to get a handheld impact driver and you will need a hollow tip torx bit set.

 

doh!
oh yeah...heh sorry.....spec overload