Which m20 motor is this??

[rThor432]

rThor432: I sense sarcasm. I'd like to fix what the PO did an half-ass job on. Please help.

Yes, a bit :D.

You really need the right hoses, intake boot, and accessories to match the wiring harness. If it's an "i" harness (appears to be..) then you will need the "i" idle control valve setup, because with the eta setup the plug will be in the wrong spot.

Ideally, with the "i" engine harness, you should have an "i" engine. You'll have to fool around with the vacuum hose routing to get the hoses for the "i" idle control system to work with the eta intake boot.

Also, do you have a vacuum line to your brake booster? Cant tell in the pictures.

[Erick]

He says that the motor is from '86, and the car is an '87. Super ETAs came in '88.

[napabavarian]

Do you know what the build date is on this car? Is it possible this is a super etta engine?

[slo325i]

I'm fairly new to these motors so please help me out:

Thanks to rwddrift we now know that this is an eta motor.

Kronos: How do you know that it has I electronics on it?

rThor432: I sense sarcasm. I'd like to fix what the PO did an half-ass job on. Please help.

[rThor432]

Nice idle control valve.

[napabavarian]

Difficult to tell for certian from the drivers side, can you shoot it from the passenger side? The runners on the etta intake are smaller, but that can be deceptive in a picture. It does have the 88-up electronics.

[kronus]

Whatever you have has 'i' electronics in it.

Is that nipple off the right of the intake boot capped off? Hard to tell in the pics, but it would be quite odd if it was, because then you wouldn't have an ICV.

[Erick]

it's an eta motor, that probably came out of an automatic.

[slo325i]

First my '87 sedan


View 1


View 2


View 3


I hope this helps out, guys. Thanks for helping me out.

Justin

[napabavarian]

Look at the engine from the passenger side, there should be a brace from the intake manifold to the valve cover, if it attaches to the high side of the valve cover it is most likely a 325i engine, if it goes across the valve cover and bolts to the low side it is likely an etta engine, then again I have a parts car with an engine that I will need to tear apart and measure to confirm what it is

[SpecM]

What about the casting # on the head?

this is the only sure way to tell

[ethree]

What about the casting # on the head?

[Erick]

Any car that's 9/86 is already considered an '87 though.

And the intake will not say anything. If it was an i and he swapped an eta motor, chances are that he opted to use the i intake manifold.

[jlevie]

The M20B25 became available for the US market with production that began in 9/86. So an 86 motor could be the i variant rather than an ETA. If the engine will rev above 4500rpm, it is either an M20B25, a stroker built from an M20B27, or the cluster is from a 318.

Examination of the intake, CPS, and valve springs should help narrow down what you have.

[Stephen]

Snap a pic, what does your ICV look like, etc wtc