I have a mystery for anyone who wants to chime in. I bought a '90 CRX Si from a good friend of mine. He bought a JDM B16 motor for the car and swapped it, then decided he wanted a new Nissan 350Z and he sold me the CRX.

There was some confusion when he first got this motor. He had ordered a JDM B16A to do his swap with, but the company that he bought the motor from screwed up and they sent him a B16A2 instead. When he got the motor and started the swap, some things didn't add up and this is how he found out they sent him the wrong motor.

Based on the research he did, he has narrowed it down to a B16A2, though we have no idea what JDM vehicle the motor came out of. I have been researching online how to identify B-series motors, but because of all the damn B series variants out there and all the different vehicles they came in (not even counting the difference between USDM and JDM models) I am having trouble pinning down exactly where this motor came from.

What I do know about the motor:

- It is a DOHC VTEC B16.

- It has a YS1 cable transmission. I don't have experience driving other B16s, but I can say for certain this tranny feels amazing. I have pulled on stock Mustang GTs in this car with only 147 whp, I think mostly because of how quick and tight the gear throws feel.

- The stock rev limiter is set to either 8200 or 8500 RPMs (I have never run it over 8K).

- It has a PR3 ECU with gray connectors (I am told the color of the connectors is important, but I haven't been able to establish the difference).

My friend told me when I buy parts for the motor, anything for a '99 or '00 Civic Si will work. So far this has worked out well for me, though I am aware because of how similar B16/B18 motors are that the Civic connection might not mean anything. He knows the car very well, but due to the confusion when he got this motor even he is not really sure where it came from.

Based on this info, can anyone here help get an idea where this motor originated? Are there any obvious things that I could look for on the motor/tranny that would definitively identify what vehicle it came out of?

Thank you HT gurus.

 

whats the engine code stamped on the front by the tranny

 

b16a2 is from the usdm 99-00 civic si,canada 99-00 civic sir or euro vti..there is no jdm b16a2

you're right about the connectors being important,,grey means obd1 and white/yellowish means obd-0

 

That is one thing I am wondering about. There is no paper trail for me to follow to verify that this is actually a JDM motor.

I know for sure my friend wouldn't lie. But he might be misinformed.

On the other hand the rev limiter seems high for a USDM motor. Also the company he bought this motor from deals only in JDM, I don't see how they could have accidentally sent him a USDM motor when they don't sell them.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by carbonfibercrx &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">That is one thing I am wondering about. There is no paper trail for me to follow to verify that this is actually a JDM motor.
On the other hand the rev limiter seems high for a USDM motor. Also the company he bought this motor from deals only in JDM, I don't see how they could have accidentally sent him a USDM motor when they don't sell them.</TD></TR></TABLE>

you are not listening ,,there is no jdm b16a2...

also how are you getting the rev limit? if you're using the stock tach dont go by that its very inacurate

 

I understand you perfectly. What I mean is there are two possibilities as I see it, either it is a B16A2 and is NOT a JDM motor, or it is not a B16A2 but some other variant of B16. I am new to Honda motors and I am absorbing a lot of information lately, so forgive me if I am a little ignorant of B series engines in general.

As for the rev limiter you are right, I don't really know where it is set, all I have to go on right now is driving the car with the stock tach in it. As I said 8K (on the stock tach) is as high as I have ever revved it. My friend who performed the swap told me the limiter is just over 8K, but I'm not sure now if he based that on the stock tach or if he got that info from somewhere else.

I'll be getting a Greddy e-manage installed soon, at that point I'll be able to see what all the ECU settings are. Until then I really don't know for sure about the RPMs.

 

yeah it usually cuts out at around ~8200 revs..

look at the front of the engine right next to the tranny,,you'll either see b16a3,b16a2,b16a1 or b16a ..so let us know ,,

also what does your intake manifold look like? does it have pgmpfi written on it? or is it blank?

and the valve cover , does it say honda motor co. or nothing under the dohc vtec?

 

B16A is a JDM motor, from an 88-91 civic, that's the most common "JDM" motor you hear about. But the B16A2 is virtually the same, i don't really see a problem here, besides the fact that it's almost 10 years newer than the 1st generation.

But i'm sort of confused, I thought the B16A2 came from the JDM SiRII's, and the B16A3's came from the 99-00 Si coupes.....

 

yeah it usually cuts out at around ~8200 revs..

look at the front of the engine right next to the tranny,,you'll either see b16a3,b16a2,b16a1 or b16a ..so let us know ,,

also what does your intake manifold look like? does it have pgmpfi written on it? or is it blank?

and the valve cover , does it say honda motor co. or nothing under the dohc vtec?

what color are the distributor plugs?

is there 1 or 2 o2 sensors on the exhaust manifold?

 

&lt;&lt;look at the front of the engine right next to the tranny,,you'll either see b16a3,b16a2,b16a1 or b16a ..so let us know&gt;&gt;

Yeah, that would be helpful to know.

&lt;&lt;also what does your intake manifold look like? does it have pgmpfi written on it? or is it blank?&gt;&gt;

I believe that pgmpfi is stamped on the intake manifold, but I would have to look at it again to make sure.

&lt;&lt;and the valve cover , does it say honda motor co. or nothing under the dohc vtec?&gt;&gt;

Pretty sure the valve cover just says DOHC VTEC in the upper side, but again I'd have to go look at it to be 100%.

&lt;&lt;what color are the distributor plugs?&gt;&gt;

The distributor/wires/plugs have been replaced with aftermarkets, so I'm not sure if this will be helpful.

&lt;&lt;is there 1 or 2 o2 sensors on the exhaust manifold?&gt;&gt;

This I do not know, I will go look when I get home tonight.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by mr.speaker &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">b16a2 is from the usdm 99-00 civic si,canada 99-00 civic sir or euro vti..there is no jdm b16a2

you're right about the connectors being important,,grey means obd1 and white/yellowish means obd-0
</TD></TR></TABLE> isnt it also for del sol 96-97 VTEC?

 

a jdm motor only have it like this for example b16a's and the udsm has a number next to a letter like this b16a2's

 

ohhh so a B16A comes in a JDM Civic SiR and a JDM Civic SiRII....
it all makes sense now

oh yeah and one more thing, the motor should have the year stamped on the front of the head somewhere, look for that too.

 

a picture is worth a 1000 words....

 

If it came with the engine and transmission attatched it could only be from an OBD1 DA Integra XSi or OBD1 CRX SiR. Only two cars that had cable transmissions and OBD1 computers. PR3 with gray plugs is a dead giveaway.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by IT GUY &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">If it came with the engine and transmission attatched it could only be from an OBD1 DA Integra XSi or OBD1 CRX SiR. Only two cars that had cable transmissions and OBD1 computers. PR3 with gray plugs is a dead giveaway. </TD></TR></TABLE>


that exactly what i was going to say...i have a 91 crx w/b16A w/ys1 tranny and it came out of a 91 honda integra xsi....but my ecu is still obd0

 

They switched in 92 to OBD1. Still made the CRX in Japan that year though

 

Its most likely a 92-93 integra xsi motor/tranny, I have the same one in my car. It is not from any crx as they were all obdo. look at the stamp on the head above the header, it should look like 9/2 or 9/3 for 1992 or 1993

 

http://hybrid2.honda-perf.org/tech/b16a/

sheeesh

 

its from a da i have one and mr speaker doesnt know what hes talking about. i have a b16a2 with a ys1 tranny from a 92 DA xsi and the limit is 8300 rpms look at a stock jdm da tach

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by tougetuned_ef &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">its from a da i have one and mr speaker doesnt know what hes talking about. i have a b16a2 with a ys1 tranny from a 92 DA xsi and the limit is 8300 rpms look at a stock jdm da tach</TD></TR></TABLE>

do some research there is no jdm b16a2...There is a b16a 2nd gen but no jdm b16a2,,if it says b16a2 its not jdm i dont know whats so hard to understand this isnt that complicated to get .

these guys are right its probably an obd1 xsi engine swap....and your friend probably said B16a2 because thats what all the internet morons call a jdm b16a 2nd gen..even hmotors supposedly the best engine place labels it wrong and makes people spread the bullshit

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by mr.speaker &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

do some research there is no jdm b16a2...There is a b16a 2nd gen but no jdm b16a2,,if it says b16a2 its not jdm i dont know whats so hard to understand this isnt that complicated to get .

these guys are right its probably an obd1 xsi engine swap....and your friend probably said B16a2 because thats what all the internet morons call a jdm b16a 2nd gen..even hmotors supposedly the best engine place labels it wrong and makes people spread the bullshit</TD></TR></TABLE>


mr.speaker does know what he is talking about

i have a jdm b16a from a DA6 OBD 0

b16a2/a3 are any market BUT japenese (usdm, ukdm, etc.)

 

If i saw a pic the engine, the dizzy, and the tranny and block area's in the front, i could tell you "exactly" what you have.
Btw, are the engine connectors milky white, or grey? Important!

 

damn some of these people are idiots here

ALL B16As IN JAPAN HAVE A B16A STAMP like this one

1st Gen



2nd Gen



This is a USDM/EDM stamp for a b16a

1st gen



2nd gen

 

^ Well said