Jdm A20 ???

[dillirk]

:wtf: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=7953589757&category=33615

Don't all JDM 3gees have b20's

[shepherd79]

Not all of them. Most of them had A20 motors. Only specific models had JDM B20 motor in them.
there is nothing special about this JDM motor. they all the same. I would be even skeptic in buying this motor if it came from Japan. I bet it is been sitting on the shelf or in the car somewhere at the junkyard for a very long time.

[NXRacer]

i think we get screwed pretty good when it comes to JDM stuff. Even the JDM a20s arent any better then the USDM ones.

[A20A1]

you might want the ECU and black box though... they might not have all the same emissions standards as us so you might be able to toss a fewextra vacuum lines and contorls and still have a perfectly running car.

[2drSE-i]

1986-89 HONDA ACCORD 2.0L . This engine comes as a long block which includes the block, cylinder head, oil pan, valve-cover, & timing belt cover, etc. . The timing belt is included but it is highly recommended you change it. External accesories are not included.

ive seen that exact wording before, only before it didnt say JDM, so if your gonna buy it, i'd use extreme caution.

[BlueBead]

here you go:
all info has come from this site:
http://www.honda.co.jp/HOT/ModelData/accord/index.html
Which gives the JDM models and trim levels and their engines... its in japanese tho....

Aerodeck:
2.0Si =2.0l DOHC PGMI B20A
LXR-S =1.8l DOHC +CV dual carb B18A
LX-S = 1.8l DOHC +CV dual carb B18A
LXR = 1.8l SOHC 12valve carbed A18A
LX = 1.8l SOHC 12valve carbed A18A

Coupe:
only had one model,it had an A20A3.. so 2.0l SOHC FI

Sedan 86 & 87:
2.0Si =2.0l DOHC PGMI B20A
EXL-S =1.8l DOHC +CV dual carb B18A
EX-S =1.8l DOHC +CV dual carb B18A
EXL =1.8l SOHC 12valve carbed A18A
EX =1.8l SOHC 12valve carbed A18A
EF =1.8l DOHC +CV dual carb B18A
EL =1.8l DOHC +CV dual carb B18A

Sedan 88&89: (optional carbs or FI)
2.0GXL = 2.0l SOHC 12 valve A20A
GXL = 1.8l SOHC 12valve A18A
GX = 1.8l SOHC 12valve A18A

[BlueBead]

I'd say go to a JY.
There is no point in messing around with something that could bite you in the ass.
Its probably the carbed head, so then your compression would go down too.. Plus shipping makes it $775... I'd rather spend that money on a parts car or rebuilding my own engine than risk it on something like an ebay special.
Find a smashed LXi with a good engine and do swap if you need to. If its a striaght across swap you could do it in a day if you follow yasu's how-to
http://www.3geez.com/showthread.php?t=7316
I hope you know a bit about this stuff tho
Good luck with it..

[dillirk]

I dont want it. I have an SE-i and my engine is in great condition. I was just wondering if this guy was scamming.

I dont see the point in jdm engines any way. By the time you buy it and ship it it costs any where from $1000 to $2000 more than the one you can buy in town at a junk yard and all your getting in most cases is a slightly higher comp ratio that gives you about 10 HP. When you think about what you can do to a USDM engine with $2000 you realise how expencive that 10 HP and JDM badge is.

[carotman]

In fact, most of the 3G accords had the A18A I think since the A20 and B20 were for the high end cars.

The B18A was a nice engine tough. Too bad no one imports them here in North America

[HondaBoy]

wasnt there a guy on here from, i think arizona, that had an A18 in his 3gee? i remember him showing the pix of the engine codes and stuff. anyway, i think that's too much for an A20, reguardless of mileage. i can get an A20 with tranny for $250. i think i'll get the tranny, they want $100. i'll give em a lower offer though.

[dillirk]

Self service JY wants $75 each here. Thats where I got my teg tranny. Sweat deal consitering when I took it apart I noticed it had recently been rebuilt.

[Shadowkat]

Hello all. While i am aware that this is an old thread and maybe not quite what I was searching for I figure it's close enough, and I try not to start new threads if they can be avoided, so here goes.

The recent saga of my car is a long one so I'll spare you the details, but essentially here's the main points:

232,000 miles - 5 speed swap and engine replaced with 150,000 mi engine

253,000 (chassis) miles - the above mentioned 2nd engine (now with 172,000 miles) encounters severe problems including blown head gasket (fixed) followed by ruptured coolant line (fixed) and very irregular and heavy vibrations causing a second coolant leak. Both coolant leaks were/are very fast leaks (takes 1 gal of water every 300 miles or so)

I haven't really been driving the car because the problems are so severe but sometimes I do take it around town for short trips when I want to drive a stick shift. Despite the leak and the major vibration problems the engine itself makes great power(for an a20a3 - meaning the compression is still good) and preforms quite better than expected. Yet sadly I believe the engine to be toast.

These problems arose because I was auto-crossing the car on a regular basis. I have another car (my sister's) that I'm no using as a daily driver so I've decided to replace the engine one more time and turn it into my dedicated weekend warrior - auto cross car

Now the the crux of my question/problem:

I've been doing my preliminary research for this next engine swap, and because I didn't really have great luck with my 2nd engine (from a j/y) i was looking for alternatives. Here's how it plays out in my head with the prices I've found so far.

Another j/y engine w/ 145,000 miles on it would be $400 for me, plus I would want to do a full rebuild to make the engine more reliable for racing but the rebuild kit is $350 not including all the time I'd spend rebuilding the engine which I've never done before.

Now the connection to this thread: I found a site that sells low miles A20A's from Japan that have been compression tested, oil pressure tested, and leak down tested with a 6 month warranty (conveniently the length of most of an auto-x season) for 780 + 140 for shipping.

Now obviously that's more money than rebuilding a j/y motor but it's also far less work on my part because I'd only be swapping and not rebuilding. Plus it comes with the warranty, much lower miles, and I think it would be more reliable over all.

What do you guys think? Would that be worth it? keep in mind I don't want a JDM engine because I think it's an upgrade, but rather because I think it'd be more reliable for racing with.

As always, any input is greatly appreciated

[A18A]

if the place your looking at getting it from is ASAP motors, then i would say not to. apparently they are shit

[Shadowkat]

I don't think that's the site I looked at unless they're affiliated somehow. Here's the link:

http://www.usedjapanmotors.com/engine_details.aspx?catid=6

[Shadowkat]

Oh I forgot to ask this before, but I am also interested in understanding the specs of the JDM A20 a little better. As i said earlier, I'm not looking at JDM motors as a performance upgrade but rather as a reliability upgrade. In fact I'm actually hoping that a JDM motor is not an upgrade at all. Because if it does in fact increase performance in an way, no matter how slight, that means I can no longer race in a stock class for autocross. So if someone could shed a little light on the subject I've heard conflicting reports. My current understanding based on my research is that the JDM motor is rated slightly higher for power but only because it has less emissions junk on it. If this is true does that mean I'll be making the stock power for a USDM engine if I'm only using the JDM long block with all of my USDM accessories and emissions crap? Appologies if this is a noob question but i really haven't found a clear answer.

[A18A]

i dont know if there's a 1985-1987 jdm a20, but i think that the 87-89 jdm a20a is just the same as a usdm a20a1. i don't think they made a fuel injected jdm a20a either.

[Shadowkat]

Hmm, interesting. I'm definitely going to call the place for more information because I'd rather not do a carb to EFI swap if I can help it because I do need the EFI motor. If this imported motor idea doesn't work out does anyone have any knowledge of/connections to a place that rebuilds/remanufactures A20's? Essentially I'm just looking for something that I can rely on a little more than a j/y motor even if I rebuild a j/y motor myself

[A18A]

all you have to really do is swap the manifolds, dizzy, maybe the cam if you want and probably a couple other things from your current engine.

[Shadowkat]

Yeah I actually just spoke with a representative from the company and he said the same thing. Essentially I could by the tested/warrantied/low miles JDM motor and just swap the manifolds. That may in fact be worth it. I definitely have more research to do but thanks a ton for the input.

And for the record, the JDM A-series is definitely exactly the same as the USDM version if I were to swap it?

[Shadowkat]

I suppose I should have realized that because I'm staring with an LX-i I wouldn't nearly have as hard of a time as I would if I was trying to make a DX into an EFI car. Duh!

[RobT5580]

I bought a JDM A20 back in the late 90's and the one perk besides being cheap was that it was in mint condition and probably very low mileage. There are some perks to buying JDM rather than USDM but thats if you buy from a reputable place.

[Shadowkat]

I like what you have to say RobT5580, it's very encouraging because what I'm looking for is a motor that's going to be reliable even under the stress of racing. So it comes down to whether or not I should buy a USDM motor and spend the money to completely rebuild it and make it reliable or do I start from a JDM motor and use it as is? Would you consider a JDM motor to be a large enough step up in reliability that I could safely race it without a rebuild. Additionally, how do I go about determining if a place is reputable or not? Any and all input is great. I'm really struggling to decide if it's worth it to resurrect my car that I love and love to race or if I should just hold on to my money and deal with racing borrowed cars or not auto crossing at all until I can buy a newer and (theoretically) more reliable car?

[Shadowkat]

Also, Rob, if you don't mind telling me and if you remember, what was the place where you got your JDM motor from? Do they still offer A20's? Would you recommend them?

[cygnus x-1]

One thing about these engines is that they're all 20 years old. So all the rubber seals and hoses and such are going to start going bad, even if the engine doesn't have a lot of miles on it. Unless your engine is really worn out or has mechanical problems I'm not sure a low mileage JDM engine will be very much more reliable. Before you buy another engine you might want to do some more diagnosis of the issues it has. Depending on where the coolant leaks are, another engine may not even fix the problem. Where is the coolant going? Are there any visible leaks or is it burning in the engine? The vibration could be due to a bad motor mount, or a clutch/flywheel problem. Another motor won't fix those things.

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[AccordB20A]

its weird how most of the cars from japan have the a18a. but a18 nearly has more HP than the a20 anyways lol
only seen one a20 from japan in a 2.0GXL fixed headlight accord. the g on gxl means fixed headlamp. the e on exl means popup lights :)

[Shadowkat]

One thing about these engines is that they're all 20 years old. So all the rubber seals and hoses and such are going to start going bad, even if the engine doesn't have a lot of miles on it. Unless your engine is really worn out or has mechanical problems I'm not sure a low mileage JDM engine will be very much more reliable. Before you buy another engine you might want to do some more diagnosis of the issues it has. Depending on where the coolant leaks are, another engine may not even fix the problem. Where is the coolant going? Are there any visible leaks or is it burning in the engine? The vibration could be due to a bad motor mount, or a clutch/flywheel problem. Another motor won't fix those things.

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You make a great point, and I was thinking about that all last night. In addition to the new engine I'd probably have to overhaul all my rubber houses and mounts and the cooling system just to be sure I've really rid myself of the problems my car is having. So would a new engine really be worth it then? I just don't know. Part of the problem is that I'm really having a hard time figuring out what is wrong. The coolant sometimes just burns off, and other times it waterfalls out from under the engine.

By the time I have enough money to afford something newer than my car like a Civic hatch or something I'll have missed the better part of two autocross seasons and I'll be off to grad school so that wouldn't really be worth it. So do i dig deeper and really try to find my car's problem?

Please input, I need all the ideas I can get

[Vanilla Sky]

Dig deeper. Do some troubleshooting and find out where it's leaking from.

I'm with cygnus. You'd be buying an engine that could likely be in worse condition, even though it only has 50,000 miles on it. To go used, your best bet is buying a parts car. I have 2 parts cars that had been gone through, just to have other problems. I have a grand total of $50 in both of them together. Deals on running parts cars are out there, but you have to do a lot of legwork to find them.

[Shadowkat]

Once I find the leak in my cooling system and fix the leak, how do you recommend I then go about finding the causes of these leaks? Is there a way to check coolant system pressure?

[RobT5580]

I dont recall the company by heart as it was almost 10 years ago. I would think that it is hard to find a JDM A20 as it was back when i bought it. Keep in mind you never know what your gonna get especially now because it would have been sitting a while. I have had good luck thus far with JDM motors. The only one out of the 4 or 5 that i have had problems with is the stock B20A in my car now burns oil but i paid $350 for it so i can't complain.

With all that i have done over the years i would not have dumped so much into rebuilding my motor. It was kind of money lost as my motor could have went on for a long time as A20's are pretty solid. If you want to build something up perhaps get a donor and build it on a stand and drop it in later.

[Ichiban]

Once I find the leak in my cooling system and fix the leak, how do you recommend I then go about finding the causes of these leaks? Is there a way to check coolant system pressure?

Yes, infact there is a coolant system pressure tester. It has a cap adapter, a gauge and a hand pump. You stick the cap adapter on in place of the rad cap, pump the system up to pressure (usually 15 PSI) and either watch the gauge drop or locate the obvious leak.

The testers themselves are sold by Snap-On, Mityvac, Stant, KD and a variety of other companies. Most decent shops should have one.

[cygnus x-1]

The coolant sometimes just burns off, and other times it waterfalls out from under the engine.


Can you be more specific about where the water is under the engine? Front or back? Driver's side or passenger's side? That would give some clues to where it might be coming from. Do you see water anywhere on the engine? It's possible the radiator or a hose is leaking and spraying water everywhere. Makes leaks tough to track down sometimes.

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