engine identification

[SharkB8]

I am starting to (try to) work on my car myself and am stuck on an embarrassingly simple problem... I don't know what model my engine is, so I can buy the right plug wires.

There is no sticker with this info to be found under the hood or by the door.

No problem, I thought. I'll find an online VIN decoder and that will tell me.

Well, that didn't work. It couldn't tell me what my engine size was (it did provide a little info from the VIN, but not the engine size).

Here is the VIN, in case some guru can decode it manually: JM1BG2236R0787816

My car is a 1994. It says "16 Valve", so based on a shop manual I found, I know its not a SOHC 1.6. So as far as I can tell, it is either a SOHC 1.8, or a DOHC 1.8 . . . ??

Any suggestions as to how I can tell?

[ftjandra]

With the 8th digit being a 3, it should be a Canadian 1.8 sohc. You can always post a pic here to make sure. It's easy to tell from the valve cover.

--Ferdi

[Turpro]

If the plug wires go in the middle of the the valve cover than you have a dohc. If they go in the front of the motor than its sohc. Using the seach feature is key here.

[SharkB8]

Great, thanks for the info guys. The plug wires go in the front, so I guess I have a "Canadian" (!) 1.8 sohc.

Using the seach feature is key here.

I always try searching first, using this site's search features, as well as a google "site:wihandyman.com" search but couldn't find the answer; maybe I didn't know what key words to search for.

Regardless, thanks a lot!