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Where to buy a Japanese motor

3K views 43 replies 21 participants last post by  Silver7 
#1 ·
I'm the luckiest man in the world: I have collapsed HLAs on the exhaust cam. I get to see how bad it is tomorrow when I pull off the valve cover.

New HLAs are 40 a pop from Mazdaspeed and I didn't see any bearings for the cam (sealed?) and I started thinking about just putting in a new engine and I know that Japanese ones have next to no miles on them.

Irrelevant info: 94, 1.8L, 185k miles.
 
#10 ·
JDM engines are exactly the same as USDM ones. in fact, there are a ton of cheap engines that are almost identical that can easily be found in a junkyard. the 90s mazda protege (dont know what gen specifically) has the same motor, just in fwd configuration. even ford escorts use our motor, only a slight variant, and it's in some kias too.

and like pretty much every japanese motor the cams have no 'bearings' per say, there are just journals machined into the head
^ this is GENERALLY why, but I do see your point about more of a guarenteed low milage motor.
 
#4 ·
JDM engines are exactly the same as USDM ones. in fact, there are a ton of cheap engines that are almost identical that can easily be found in a junkyard. the 90s mazda protege (dont know what gen specifically) has the same motor, just in fwd configuration. even ford escorts use our motor, only a slight variant, and it's in some kias too.

and like pretty much every japanese motor the cams have no 'bearings' per say, there are just journals machined into the head
 
#6 ·
I'm not some JDM-tyte moron (I promise), but I just know that Japanese motors usually have way less miles and wear than their American counter-parts
How do you figure? Every JDM engine place I've seen on eBay, CL, etc has 50k plus motors (which is still decent...but still) that don't come with ANYTHING and are beat to **** looking in pictures. Why not just find a junked, low mile Miata, do it yourself and cut out the middleman (and the outrageous shipping costs of engines).
 
#9 ·
^ maybe you should do a little research before you make a pointless reply.
Japanese motors get sent to us and other countries because Japanese regulations only allow motor to have a limited number of miles before they need to be decommissioned. If you have a vehicle with a lot of miles and dont want to risk a junkyard motor or buy a new motor, the Japanese motors are a great choice. Most places certify the motor, give you compression numbers and an estimate to how many miles it had.
the place i mentioned sells all BPs, B6s, BP-4Ws for the same price. for 650 and that much info its really hard to turn down. the only draw back is that you have to reuse your old oil pan and egr (US emissions).
 
#14 ·
Watanabe's in South Gate still around?


Japanese motors are not the same as junkyard motors, 50,000km is what you get in a Japanese car and then you replace the engine or car. 50,000km is barely broken in, the motors are pulled out of the cars, hot run tested and warrantied and shipped to the folks who can use them all over the world.

It's not a 'JDM' engine, it just happens to be in a car that was sold in Japan, dig?
A lot of bullshit in these posts. There is no limit on mileage for motors or cars in Japan. There are plenty of cars here with 150k+ kms on them. I've driven and ridden in several myself. You can find ads for cars for sale with even more kms on them than that.

Generally speaking, yes cars have much fewer miles (kms) on them here than in the US. That's just because people don't drive as much or as far. It has nothing to do with any regulations limiting how much you can drive your own car.
 
#13 ·
Watanabe's in South Gate still around?


Japanese motors are not the same as junkyard motors, 50,000km is what you get in a Japanese car and then you replace the engine or car. 50,000km is barely broken in, the motors are pulled out of the cars, hot run tested and warrantied and shipped to the folks who can use them all over the world.

It's not a 'JDM' engine, it just happens to be in a car that was sold in Japan, dig?
 
#15 ·
How can you guy's honestly be talking about a JDM motor for a Miata. When the car was built there, yes there might be very suttle differences due to emissions. But why?

Do yourself a favor call your local junk yard see if they have a low mile motor.. Or rebuild the one you have prolly for the same amount you would spend for a used one.
 
#21 ·
no motherfuckers the reason that "jdm" engines have such low mileage is because they tax cars higher for registration the older they get, its sort of an incentive for people to buy new cars more often. people usually ditch their cars to buy new ones and thus these distributors are able to get their hands on a shitload of low mileage engines so easily
 
#23 ·
Also untrue. The tax ratings are based on engine size. Now, the biannual shaken (vehicle inspection) has an industry built up around it. This mofo costs around $1500 on average depending on what kind of shop you get it done at and how many parts need to be replaced in order for it to be deemed road worthy. The shaken is notoriously strict and the shops that cater to this market are notorious for ripping people off.

Add all that to the fact that most Japanese are more averse to fixing their own cars than even your average American and you can see why they throw away their cars pretty quickly. Real gear heads here do their own work or know good places to get their cars serviced for a decent rate. I see tons of classics and older cars driving around here. The only difference between them and the ones back home is that they're actually in good shape.
 
#24 ·
Thank you for setting the white boy straight.
 
#28 ·
Speeds are indeed MUCH lower in Japan. Also, I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that 75% or more of cars have aftermarket wheels on them here. Hell, it's cheaper to buy a set of used wheels and tires with decent tread on left on them than it is to buy new tires most of the time! Japanese people love new stuff.
 
#34 ·
so everyone in japan is going slower because they all drift everywhere right? i just finished watching some documentaries about it, one had a white AE86 and the other had lil bow wow in it.


the certification process is a big reason theres a high turnover in japanese cars, so getting a low mileage part should be easier. then again there must be less and less B6's being turned in these days. whether importing is worth it or not.... id say no since these are long lasting motors by and large. id have no qualms putting a resealed/belted 100k+ motor.
 
#38 ·
I think that only those who have lived and driven in Japan have the right to say anything regarding "Japan"...That said,like jboze said, Japanese like their new stuff, its not really because of inspections and such, but because they want a new vehicle lol. There are tons of old highmilage cars driving around, they are just taken care of more than they would be in the states. Also, they are a lot older. For instance in the US an "old used car" would be like a 2000 with 150k on it. But used lots in Japan have like 1990 and older with like 56,000km on them lol
 
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