Non-vtec JDM D15B (OBD2) to replace d16y7. Need Help.

[LRD V8R]

Okay so I've been trying to read up on this for about 2 weeks. I pulled the d16y7 out of the car over the weekend, but now I'm stuck. I bought the motor online from a reputable vendor. They told me (and I've read) that this is a pretty clean swap, but now I'm not sure exactly what that means. The JDM wiring harness doesn't work with my existing ecu. I was told to swap the exhaust header and intake from the d16y7 to the d15b. I figured the dizzy would have to be swapped also. Well I went to do that and suprise it won't fit. At this point, I don't consider this a "straight swap".

What exactly do I need to do to get this thing running? I have not been able to find a list of exactly what I need anywhere. I have searched every which way I know how and haven't had any luck.

Thanks for the help.

 

[Briansol]

I'm not too familiar with this non-vtec d15b, but in general, you want to reatain your oem harness from your car, and extend or swap plugs only where necessary.

it sounds like you might be dealing with obd2a vs obd2b. what year is your car and what year is the engine you bought?

 

[LRD V8R]

Jdm motor stamped 98. My car is a 96

 

[Briansol]

yep, so that's the issue... 2a vs 2b 2b started in 98. in this case, you can't really use your engine harness... too much is different.

IMO, i'd try to exchange it if it was a local buy especially if they said it would bolt right in after you told them what year car you had.
If that's not an option, you're in for a wiring debacle and cutting and pasting plugs. it's not too bad, but it's a lot of work.

so, what the other guy was getting at was to put the car's intake mani and exhaust mani on, and you'll have to hack the distributor and possibly alternator as well to work, and then you can use your chassis harness. they should bolt on, but again, i'm not familiar with the d15b non-vtec at all.

 

[LRD V8R]

Bought it from a vendor out in CA, so I would imagine it would be quite difficult to get it back to them. I'm pretty certain the intake and exhaust manifolds will bolt up with no issue (haven't gotten that far yet).

Are there any instructions/ guide available for what exactly I need to do in regards to hacking up the harness?

What about swapping out the ecm from a 98+ ? Would that work? Ideally, I'd like to keep it as clean as possible.

 

[Briansol]

You can probably just continue to use your stock computer. They are close enough in spec it looks like. Otherwise, you'll have to pony up some cash for a rywire (or other vendor) 2a to 2b conversion harness (and i may have that backward, it might be 2b to 2a)

Engines aren't obd specific.... it's the electronics that are. so if you bring over all your old electronics, there's nothing really to do.

 

[LRD V8R]

So I kept doing some research. There is a stamp on the right side of the head that shows 98 (which I was reading), but apparently it's the the two circles above the left most exhaust port. When I look at those they show (7) (9|7). I'm assuming that means 97? Also from what I've read OBD2b started in 99.

Having said all that, take a look at this harness. It looks similar to what is in an OBD1 motor. I did find the manifest from the freight company. It clearly states that the motor I purchased is for a 96-98 OBD2 motor. There is no blue connector that mates with the ecu. What you see in the picture is what mates to the ecu.

I took a picture of the head code as well. P2A-9. This raises even more questions...

Pulled this from another post:

OBD-1 SOHC ZC VTEC
Head Code "P08-3"
1996 ^ SOHC ZC NON VTEC
Head Code "P2A-10"
Year Code "98"
several of these with years varying from 96-00
All with head codes from P2A-8, 9 and 10


So much for that whole "drop right in" business. I'm going to keep digging, but any insight as to what exactly I have would be helpful.

 

[LRD V8R]

Here's a picture of the distributor on the D15B.

UPDATE: Based on the head code and the way the wiring harness appears, I think the full designation of this motor might be the d15z4. Apparently these were in some of the late 90s models in various countries. Because they were in other countries, they weren't necessarily required to run OBD2. The distributor does not look like OBD1 parts that have looked at, and I haven't found anything explaining how to wire up such a system (I believe it is SFI??) with my OBD2 harness (and how reliable this would be).