How can i find out if the head of an engine is a b16a2 from a 99 Si or a b16a3 from a VTEC del sol?? B/c both heads have the same exact valve cover (I know both engines have the same specs literally but I just want to know which head it is for saying purposes)

 

look on the front of the head just above the exhaust manifold in the casting, you'll see some numbers and letters. Write them down and post them up here and we can tell you. In general if the first 2 numbers are 9/9 or 0/0 it's from the B16a2 engine of the Si. Those numbers represent the year the head was produced and that's how you'll know.

 

ahh..ok will check...

 

-okay..on the far right of the front of the motor it says "PR3-1"
-on the far left, theres a stamp looking engraving that says "07/ 18/ 01" (looks like a date??)
-then near that, theres four small circles with a few numbers in them which were: "9/1," "1/2," "2," and "10" (im pretty sure thats what they were)
-somewhere on the right side of the front was an "HM" too.....
....and thats everything i could find on the front of the motor above the headers....this area is part of the head? thought it was part of my block which is a b17a1....but ur saying those things i mentioned on it above are all part of the head??

 

????????

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by just4747 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">-okay..on the far right of the front of the motor it says "PR3-1"
-on the far left, theres a stamp looking engraving that says "07/ 18/ 01" (looks like a date??)
-then near that, theres four small circles with a few numbers in them which were: "9/1," "1/2," "2," and "10" (im pretty sure thats what they were)
-somewhere on the right side of the front was an "HM" too.....
....and thats everything i could find on the front of the motor above the headers....this area is part of the head? thought it was part of my block which is a b17a1....but ur saying those things i mentioned on it above are all part of the head??</TD></TR></TABLE>

sounds like is a 91 (sir-1) head. If you open the oil cap, you should be able to see the oil spray bars. The first generation has cast aluminium oil spray bars (rough textured) while the later generation ones are made of extruded aluminium (smooth surface).

 

lol impossible...its def either a vtec del sol or an Si...i mean look at the valve cover/head:

 

whats the difference in heads?
is one better than the other(sorry to hijack).

 

im pretty sure on a 91 sir, the valve cover has dohc in bigger letters than vtec, and its vice versa on mine

 

anyone???

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by just4747 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">lol impossible...its def either a vtec del sol or an Si...i mean look at the valve cover/head:

</TD></TR></TABLE>

That looks exactly like my valve cover, but that really doesn't mean much.

99-00 Si stock b16a2:



Edit: I don't think theres much of a difference between an a2 and a3...besides the OBD level. They're nearly identical engines.

 

If it doesnt have a 9/9 or 0/0 marking... its not a USDM b16a2 from the 99-00 Si.

 

Ok, it's really pretty irrelevant what valve cover is on a head since they can be changed at random and have nothing to do with the head itself or the year. Those 4 circles you mentioned show the date code as a (9/1) 1991 head casting dating it as an SiR-1 head. As far as the block goes, you said it's a B17a1 which is the old GSR engine so that date code does correspond to that year of engine. Why do you believe that it's a USDM del sol head or 99-00 Si head?

 

thats why i said it really doesn't mean much.

 

but even if its a SiR-1 head, its still a b16a2 right?? (160 hp)

 

or is it b16a1?

 

but once again, the valve cover i have can only be from a b16a2 or a3...and knowing the kid who had the car and did the swap, he wouldnt change valve covers randomly like that....and y would he put a 91 sir civic head on a gsr b17a1 block??? wats the advantage of that combo??

 

b16a1 first gen b16

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by just4747 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">but once again, the valve cover i have can only be from a b16a2 or a3...and knowing the kid who had the car and did the swap, he wouldnt change valve covers randomly like that....and y would he put a 91 sir civic head on a gsr b17a1 block??? wats the advantage of that combo??</TD></TR></TABLE>

That valve cover could be off of a B18 just as easily as it could be from a B16 or B17 so it absolutely does not indicate anything about the engine other that the fact that it's a DOHC B series VTEC. There's no real advantage or disadvantage to running that head on that block, it's the same head that came on that block originally.

 

how is it the same? the block is def a 93 gs-r...u mean that the gs-r block is the same as an sir1 block, right?

 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the B17A1 is just stroked B16A.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by just4747 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">how is it the same? the block is def a 93 gs-r...u mean that the gs-r block is the same as an sir1 block, right?</TD></TR></TABLE>

I was referring to the head, the heads are the same.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by BlueIntegraBoy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Correct me if I'm wrong, but the B17A1 is just stroked B16A.</TD></TR></TABLE>

pretty much...it's got the same 81 mm bore but the stroke is slightly longer by 4.4 mm (77mm vs 81.4mm)

 

yup id call 1st gen jdm b16a, cuz of the 9/1

that valve cover looks like its painted so it was definetly removed, so how would u figure that it has to be the original one? either way if its painted or a type r cover it was removed so theres a good chance its not the original. do like someone stated earlier and take off the cover and post a pic here

 

yeah it was def painted red and not originally red...i can tell that....so yeah maybe it was just put on afterwards...damn