How to tell if engine was replaced?

Post by **FireFox31** » 16 Oct 2021, 11:59

Is there a way to tell if the engine was replaced? Is the VIN stamped on the engine, or the engine serial number recorded on the body? Heck, is the engine serial number recorded anywhere other than the timing belt cover? Thanks.

Post by **abscate** » 16 Oct 2021, 12:01

Stamped into the block just behind the water pump. Hard to see without cleaning.

Robert video

Post by **erikv11** » 16 Oct 2021, 12:45

No, there is no easy way to tell. The VIN and the engine serial number are not linked anywhere.

An overwhelming majority of P80 cars will still have the original engine.

Post by **Nevada1906** » 16 Oct 2021, 15:12

One way to tell is to compare the gunk and patina on the engine to the gunk and patina in the rest of the engine bay. In a car with its original engine, both should look about the same.

It's not a dead-nuts reliable way to tell, but it can point you in the right direction.

Post by **FireFox31** » 16 Oct 2021, 17:37

Thanks everyone. I'm wondering about this because the owner of Geronimo said the engine might have been swapped. It seems like engines in 1999 and 2000 are interchangeable yet their subtle differences may affect ordering parts.

I just remembered that the coils are all dated a month before the body sticker's manufacture date. Since they nearly match, it's probably the same engine. The coil date code is on the right side of the coil top, something like 99W203 meaning "1999, week 20, day 3".

Out of curiosity, is there any information about engine serial number manufacture dates? That could be matched to body manufacture date for comparison.

Post by **abscate** » 17 Oct 2021, 04:25

If someone did an engine swap , they would likely bring the coils over, but 350k on coils is impressive !!

There are actually some subtle gotchas in 1999 2000 swaps, VvT being one.

We probably have enough data points to map VIN numbers to engine numbers here pretty well