I am not a car guy, but about 9 months ago I picked up a 95 del sol with all the low budget mods you'd expect. I suspect the motor has been swaped. I'm not someone who fixes much myself, so I know nothing. I would apreciate your help, I could possibly take pictures if needed

Thanks

look for the badge... it will say d16z6 or b16a or whatever. the badge is on the left side of the motor down about halfway where the block meets the transmission. i dont have a picture of the badge... but someone else on here should

There is a flat plate on the front of the engine, right where the transmission meets the engine block, that will have your engine code stamped on it. You'll only need to know the big imprints on it, not the smaller #s below it. Like this:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v473/CivicSpoon/plate.jpg
That one is the H22A. It doesn't have any #'s after the A, because it's a JDM engine and they don't have numbers after the last letter in the engine code. Chances are yours will be something like D15B7 or D16Z6. You may have to spray some brake cleaner or something on it, if the code is covered in dirt and grease.

got it.. Thanks. D16Z6...

I took the car to have the timing belt and acc belts done a month or so after I bought it. When it took longer than expected, the mechanic told me that it wasn't the engine that was supposed to be in there so none of the original belts he ordered fit, and he had to fabricate 2 motor mounts because it wasn't really bolted to much. According to the FAQ in the del sol forum a 95 Si, which it happens to be according to the VIN, should have this engine. He also told me someone put a vtec head on a non vtec engine? ...and that it "wasn't hooked up?" This guy has been a friend of the family, my brother used to date his daughter, and he runs a shop called "precision imports," but is it possible he bullshit me and doesn't know what he's talking about?

I didn't really argue with him, cause, what the hell do I know... And I didn't really care to ask around because I got the car so cheap I figured it made sense. I didn't buy it for any reason other than it ran. and maybe a little because of the targa...


Anyone have an opinion?

Sounds like he doesn't know what he's talking about. Personally I would never take it back to him, ever. If he got the wrong belts, then he should have ordered the right ones (by checking the engine code). But since he said it looked like someone swapped a vtec head on a non-vtec engine, he must have gotten the belts for the D15B7 instead of the D16Z6 and just made up that excuse to cover up his fuck up. The D16Z6 engine has a vtec head stock. And if your car is an Si (matching the vin), then he really wasn't paying attention. And it sounds like he might have unbolted the drivers side mount when he did the timing belt, and couldn't figure out how to get it back it (which is pathetic if he's really a mechanic for his job). There shouldn't have been any fabrication of anything, whatsoever, to change the belts. If the vtec wasn't "hooked up" then maybe someone had cut the wires or unplugged the wires by mistake, those are the only way to have them unhooked. It sounds like there isn't anything precise about precision imports :D Find someone else who knows Hondas a lot better, you will probably pay more but you'll know that someone isn't messing up your shit.

That's what I was thinking. I cracked my radiator this morning and he quoted me $350, he said it was 2 hours labor. I changed the radiator on my 93 Celica gt and had no problems so I felt confident enough to do it myself :) I found a brand new radiator with a lifetime warranty for $98 in 15 min and coolant cost me $6.88 at wallmart. Took me, a complete amateur non mechanic who knows nothing, maybe an hour.

not being a car guy, I wanted to be sure I got the right part, so that's why I was curious about the engine. I have a mind to go down there tomorrow and ask what the hell he did to my car. I probably have, like, 5 different motor mounts in there now.... Maybe I should take it somewhere else and get another opinion and have some ammo when I go down there.

When he did the timing belt he forgot to plug the alternator back in, and he charged me for towing but plugged it back in for free. Then two weeks later the car stalled out, he towed it in and gave me this explanation: "There's a gasket in there (under the belt cover or maybe between 2 pieces of the cover) that we usually inspect but it's a hard part to get so we don't usually change it unless it is really hard. I guess we should have changed it. It broke and got loged between the the teeth in the belt." Again he charged me for towing but fixed it for free.

I mean jesus, I 've had the car for 9 months and the only time it died was because of him. The radiator is the first real thing that has broke.

This is the reason why my toyota deteriorated into a lump of crap. I was always afraid to take it someplace. It's so hard to find an honest mechanic.

sorry for ranting ::gets off soapbox::


Thanks again guys

ok, although you may not like it, the cheapest and sometimes the best thing to do, is go to a little snot nosed kid that drives a honda and ask him to look at it... normally honda people (dont go to one with the body kit and fart wings though)know more than anyone. if you were to go to me and my buddy we would tell you whats wrong with it and fix it for like 50 bucks... me and him have puled 7 motors now (3 dodge neon, 3 del sol, oh and 3 trannies for the sol also, 1 integra swap to b16) and we know a little about whats goin on... i went to the junk yard and knew more about a civic than the dude did lookin rite at the book.

so if you arent afraid to ask, find the people that congregate in the parking lots... the first question to ask them-- first tell me what engine do i have-- if the look strait for the badge on the front and say d16z6 or if they dont even have to look because they can tell by the valve cover, pick them and ask them if you paid them, would they fix what was wrong or help u...

if u asked me, id pull your motor, change the clutch, change tranny or whatever major like that for 100 bucks! totally, all the motors i've pulled have been for free. dont be afraid to ask, they may know more than you think..