I am in need of a replacement engine for a cracked 2006 block. Cracks are the result of the factory flaw that result in water leaking out. (Out of warranty period and can no longer be replaced by Honda for free.) I tired the JBWeld fix and it has blown off after about 6 months.

Are there any visual clues to differentiate the factory flawed R18A to a newer revision that had this issue corrected?
My understanding is that 2009/2010 as well as warranty replacements have updates that are not prone to the cracking issue.
Apparently the R18 in 2011+ has a different way to sense the crank position and it isn’t compatible with the 2006~2010 method.... so that block can’t be used ☹️

 

If you can find an RDOT block that would be your best bet. I'm not aware of any date stamping on the R18 block itself.

 

Any visual cue like thicker casting in the crack prone areas?

 

No