Greetings. First post here. Looking at buying a Z32 TT that has had a replacement JDM motor installed. Car is '96 model. My question is this: How to identify what year the engine is (hopefully visually and not simply VIN). If I'm paying a premium for a '96, I'd like to know I'm getting the same updates that came with the '96 motors (e.g. non-variable timing, etc.). Where is the VIN on these motors? Is there anything different about the Japanese spec motors?
thanks in advance.
Lyle in Durham, NC.
How to ID the year of a JDM engine
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ThisIsSparTTa
- Posts: 738
- Joined: Wed Sep 26, 2012 6:02 pm
- Car: 91 300ZX TT 2+0
Re: How to ID the year of a JDM engine
I wouldn't pay a premium for a 96. In fact I'd pay substantially less. 96 made a lot of unfortunate changes on its way out. There were few put on the road. 95-96 specific parts are typically harder to find and a lot of the OEM parts are no longer available. 96 is missing VTC which is a big hit to power. The OBDII is harder to deal with and to my knowledge most of the tuners won't deal with them.
Don't think just because its a 96 that newer is better. Even at 18 years old, it really depends a lot on the mileage, how its been stored and how its been treated. A 90 that's been garaged and treated gently it's whole life is going to be in better shape than a 96 that's always lived outside and ragged on. In either case, whether the rubber parts on the car is 18 or 24 years old, they are probably dead or on their way out. There's going to be a maintenance, and its still going to be a fickle car.
IMO the best year to get is a 94. It had all of the refresh updates before they started really changing a bunch of things.
Anyways, to answer your question, the biggest tell-tale sign of whether its a 96 or not is if it has VTC solenoids. Checking the ECU to see if its the OBDII will tell you if its 95-96 or other. Other than that, there aren't a lot of specific things to look for on just the engine.
Other difference on a JDM engine is that the oil pressure sender will be located on the "left" side of the car instead of the right side. Also, it will likely have an old style PTU still because they didn't issue the recall there.
Not sure where they stamp the VIN on the engine.
http://z32.wikispaces.com/Year+Differences
http://z32.wikispaces.com/Production
Don't think just because its a 96 that newer is better. Even at 18 years old, it really depends a lot on the mileage, how its been stored and how its been treated. A 90 that's been garaged and treated gently it's whole life is going to be in better shape than a 96 that's always lived outside and ragged on. In either case, whether the rubber parts on the car is 18 or 24 years old, they are probably dead or on their way out. There's going to be a maintenance, and its still going to be a fickle car.
IMO the best year to get is a 94. It had all of the refresh updates before they started really changing a bunch of things.
Anyways, to answer your question, the biggest tell-tale sign of whether its a 96 or not is if it has VTC solenoids. Checking the ECU to see if its the OBDII will tell you if its 95-96 or other. Other than that, there aren't a lot of specific things to look for on just the engine.
Other difference on a JDM engine is that the oil pressure sender will be located on the "left" side of the car instead of the right side. Also, it will likely have an old style PTU still because they didn't issue the recall there.
Not sure where they stamp the VIN on the engine.
http://z32.wikispaces.com/Year+Differences
http://z32.wikispaces.com/Production
Re: How to ID the year of a JDM engine
So, you're saying two garage-kept one owner bone stock cars with 80k miles, original paint, and perfect interiors - one a '91 and one '96, The '91 is worth as much or more on the market as the '96?
I would think that if you're going to go nuts on mods (e.g. bigger turbos, intercoolers, engine internals, etc.), the 8-bit ECU on the earlier cars would be be the better choice - if anything, just to avoid the CEL hassles. If you're going to drive the car with modest upgrades (ECU and cat-back exhaust), OBD-II is your friend. Lastly, in my mind, the passenger airbag is a huge plus (over the '90 - '92).
I would think that if you're going to go nuts on mods (e.g. bigger turbos, intercoolers, engine internals, etc.), the 8-bit ECU on the earlier cars would be be the better choice - if anything, just to avoid the CEL hassles. If you're going to drive the car with modest upgrades (ECU and cat-back exhaust), OBD-II is your friend. Lastly, in my mind, the passenger airbag is a huge plus (over the '90 - '92).
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ThisIsSparTTa
- Posts: 738
- Joined: Wed Sep 26, 2012 6:02 pm
- Car: 91 300ZX TT 2+0
Re: How to ID the year of a JDM engine
I would pay more for an equivalent 91, but in that scenario, like I said I would prefer the 94. One drawback of the 91 would be if it had old style injectors, which will fail soon or now. Otherwise, yea, its been plenty of time on the rubber and the 96 has too many drawbacks.