HOw to know what type of motor you have

[ropponmatsu]

i see people taling abot a20 a16 b20 so on etc but i dont know what it means and i dont know what type i have in my 89" accord Lx-i

[buds302]

you got the a20a3
look under the distributor, there it a flat spot about 2inches wide. you can see this flat spot without having to squint. its pretty visible without moving anything. now wipe all the dirt and shit off of it and there are a series of numbers stamped into it. the biggest set of numbers on there is your engine code. usually it reads as a letter first then a coupe of numbers and then another letter or two. the first letter you see is your engins series. its either a,b,d,c,k,f,and h. now all of the american 3rd gen accords came originally stock with an a-series motor. now the two numbers after the first letter. they are the liter size. like a20a3. the 20 stands for 2.0 liter. b18 is 1.8 liter, d15 is 1.5 liter. and so on. now all a series are single overhead cam(sohc). all b-series are dual overhead cam(dohc). all d-eries are sohc. and there is one c-sereis and its the c32 and its a v-6 and can be found in the acura nsx and other cars. the only other engine that will fit in the 3rd gen car without changin the mounts is the b20.
any more questions? next time use the search

[buds302]

oh yeah you can tell the engine type on all honda cars the same way. with the little flat spot. its in the same place on all of them. the only other engine that is different from the series of letters and numbers is the zc. it says zc on the flat spot and only zc. no other numbers or letters. the zc is a jdm engine and comes as both sohc and dohc. it is a 1.6 liter and is not equvilant to any engine here in the states. it does however come close to the b16 but not quite. now when you hear the word vtec. it means variable timing electronic control. no 3rd gen car has vtec nor can be outfited with it.

[daamizin1]

I have a 1988 accord lx-i, and its fule injected 2.0 liter, does anyone know what engine i have?? i tried looking for companies that sell rebuilt engines because im going to get a rebuilt engine and put all performance parts on it, and i found one and they asked if it was a A20A or a F20A and i dont kno, i thought it was an A20A but im not sure. can anyone help??

[Ace]

a20a3 I beleive

[88accordalltheway]

OK
if you have any of these model accords: DX, LX
in ANY(86-89) year
You have an A20A1
if you have any of these model accords: Lx-i Se-i Ex-i
in ANY(86-89) year
you have an A20A3

For the aerodecks and JDM accords, im not totally sure but i do believe SOME have the A20A5 and the B20A*(im not sure if theres a number after the A for the B20)

I am still a nub at heart and thats why i dont know all of them.

[A20A1]

BS is an early A20A1

and

BT is an early A20A3

there are also variations like A20A2 ( carbureted ) and A20A4 ( EFI )

Ok, there is A LOT, and I do mean A LOT of confusion around the B20A/B18A engines available for the Accord/Prelude

Most of the time the B20A will be confused with the B20A from the 88-91 Prelude and the B18A will confused with the 90-93 Integra B18A1. Let me tell you that these engines aren't the same despite their same numbers.

The advised eye can tell the difference between the engines but when shopping for those, it comes in handy to have another way to tell them apart other than some slight visual differences (especially over the phone or the internet)


The chart below shows you the engine code, the serial number and the car it came from.

B20A DOHC PGM-FI
-----------------------------------
Gold Valve Cover

B20A-1000001~ (Prelude BA1-1000001~)
B20A-1000001~ (Vigor CA3-1000001~)
B20A-1050001~ (Prelude BA1-1040001~)
B20A-1500001~ (Accord CA3-1000001~)
B20A-1550001~ (Accord CA3-1060001~)
B20A-1550001~ (Vigor CA3-1060001~)

Black Valve Cover
B20A-1600001~ (Accord CA3-1200001~)
B20A-1600001~ (Vigor CA3-1200001~)
B20A-1640001~ (Accord CA3-1300001~)
B20A-1640001~ (Vigor CA3-1300001~)


B18A DOHC Dual Carb
-----------------------------------
B18A-1000001~ (Accord CA2-1000001~)
B18A-1000001~ (Vigor CA2-1000001~)
B18A-1040001~ (Accord CA2-1060001~)
B18A-1050001~ (Vigor CA2-1060001~)
B18A-1050001~ (Vigor CA2-1300001~)
B18A-1080001~ (Accord CA2-1200001~)
B18A-1080001~ (Vigor CA2-1200001~)
B18A-1110001~ (Accord CA2-1300001~)


The Prelude BA4/BA5 B20A
The 88-91 Prelude (Prelude BA5 and BA4) will have their engine numbers beggining like this:

SOHC
B20A-5500001~
B20A-5550001~
B20A-5600001~
B20A-5650001~

DOHC
B20A-5000001~
B20A-5050001~
B20A-5100001~
B20A-5150001~

As you can see, they do not match the B20A serial numbers I posted above for the Accord/Vigor/BA1 Prelude

The Integra B18A

The B18A1 engine was not available in the Japanese market. The 2 engines that were available in the integra at this time were the ZC (sohc, PGM-FI 1.6 liter) and the mighty B16A.

The only way to find the B18A1 is through a USDM Integra, thich can't be confused with the B18A from the Accord since the B18A is dual Carb

Conclusion
All you need is to make sure is that the engine serial number matches those for the Accord/Vigor CA-3 or Prelude BA-1.

You can now tell the engine importer to check the number on the block without any worries of getting the wrong engine.

Here is what the numbers look like on a B20A

....

....

....

Here are the transmissions that will fit the JDM B20A/B18A*

Here how the chart works:

You have each auto/manual transmission numbers with their corresponding serial numbers. Then it tells you which serie of engines/serial numbers and which car series/serial numbers it came from

This chart will help you to find a transmission for your Engine


Auto Transmissions:
-----------------------------------
F4-6000001~
Originaly came on:
B20A-1500001~ (Accord CA3-1000001~)
B20A-1000001~ (Vigor CA3-1000001~)
B20A-1000001~ (Prelude BA1-1000001~)
B20A-1050001~ (Prelude BA1-1040001~)
B18A-1000001~ (Accord CA2-1000001~)
B18A-1000001~ (Vigor CA2-1000001~)

N6-1000001~
Originaly came on:
B20A-1550001~ (Accord CA3-1060001~)
B20A-1550001~ (Vigor CA3-1060001~)
B18A-1040001~ (Accord CA2-1060001~)
B18A-1050001~ (Vigor CA2-1060001~)

N6-2000001~
Originaly came on:
B20A-1600001~ (Accord CA3-1200001~)
B20A-1600001~ (Vigor CA3-1200001~)
B18A-1080001~ (Accord CA2-1200001~)
B18A-1080001~ (Vigor CA2-1200001~)

N6-3000001~
Originaly came on:
B20A-1640001~ (Accord CA3-1300001~)
B20A-1640001~ (Vigor CA3-1300001~)
B18A-1110001~ (Accord CA2-1300001~)
B18A-1050001~ (Vigor CA2-1300001~)

Manual Transmissions:
-----------------------------------

A2N5-1000001~
Originaly came on:
B18A-1000001~ (Accord CA2-1000001~)
B18A-1000001~ (Vigor CA2-1000001~)


A2N5-2000001~
Originaly came on:
B18A-1040001~ (Accord CA2-1060001~)
B18A-1050001~ (Vigor CA2-1060001~)

E2N5-1000001~
Originaly came on:
B18A-1080001~ (Accord CA2-1200001~)
B18A-1080001~ (Vigor CA2-1200001~)

E2N5-2000001~
Originaly came on:
B18A-1110001~ (Accord CA2-1300001~)
B18A-1050001~ (Vigor CA2-1300001~)


B2K5-1000001~
Originaly came on:
B20A-1500001~ (Accord CA3-1000001~)
B20A-1000001~ (Vigor CA3-1000001~)
B20A-1000001~ (Prelude BA1-1000001~)

B2K5-2000001~
Originaly came on:
B20A-1550001~ (Accord CA3-1060001~)
B20A-1550001~ (Vigor CA3-1060001~)
B20A-1050001~ (Prelude BA1-1040001~)

F2K5-1000001~
Originaly came on:
B20A-1600001~ (Accord CA3-1200001~)
B20A-1600001~ (Vigor CA3-1200001~)


F2K5-2000001~
Originaly came on:
B20A-1640001~ (Accord CA3-1300001~)
B20A-1640001~ (Vigor CA3-1300001~)


Make sure you get the transmission that matches these numbers, No other transmission will bolt to your B20A/B18A.

Note that the B18A and B20A refered in this chart both come from the Accord/Vigor and BA-1 Prelude (Second Generation).

The "B20A" form the BA-4 and BA-5 Preludes had different transmission numbers and will not fit on your Accord. They are completely different Engines. See this thread for more details Where does the B20A come from?

Here are the transmission numbers you don't want.

Manual
--------------------
D2K4-3000001~
D2K4-4000001~
D2K5-1000001~
D2J4-3000001~
D2J4-4000001~

Auto
--------------------
K4-1000001~
PY8A-1000001~
MY8A-2000001~

When making your Purchase, stay away from these!!!!

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[carotman]

I almost forgot about all this info.

I could do the same chart for the A20A and A18A but as you can see, it was alot of work. I wonder if anyone uses the B20A/B18A chart. Taking time to do the same thing for an engine already available all around north america is pointless

[daamizin1]

ok, thanks everyone.

[ropponmatsu]

ok, so i can drop a b20 into my Lx-i without using engine mounts, right, but can i also make this a vtec b20 cuz thats what im after and oh yes i have a stupid question is it possible to fit a c32 into an accord with engine mounts,

[snow_man_20]

ok, so i can drop a b20 into my Lx-i without using engine mounts, right, but can i also make this a vtec b20 cuz thats what im after and oh yes i have a stupid question is it possible to fit a c32 into an accord with engine mounts,

no V-TEC, sorry dude not with that motor.

[ropponmatsu]

np, but could i vtec my current A20.
And if i did which one would have more potential power, a Vtec A20 or a regular B20

[Vinny]

a20=no vtec