Your Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) features a plethora of information about your car, including engine type. The VIN will be included in the owner’s manual or under the hood of your car.
What Engine Does My Car Have?
Referencing your VIN is undoubtedly the fastest way to determine what type of engine your car has. You can find the VIN under your car’s hood or listed in the owner’s manual. The front of the driver’s side dashboard will also feature the VIN.
There will be 17 characters in the VIN, with the 8th character holding the information you are looking for regarding the engine. You can then decode this character to determine your engine type. You must first know your car’s model, year of production, and trim level of the car. You can use this information to identify your engine type in an online search.
Types Of Car Engines
Engines are divided up based on how the cylinders are ultimately arranged within the engine. Use this simple car engine guide:
- Straight Engine Cylinders:Â These will be aligned in one straight row, which is parallel to the car.
- Flat Engine:Â Cylinders are placed horizontally in two lines, facing forward. These engines are typically found in sports cars.
- Inline Engine:Â The most common engine type features cylinders arranged in a row in the engine bay.
- V Engine:Â Cylinders are arranged at an angle, which forms a V-shape when looked at from in front. This arrangement works best in premium cars and sports cars.
How Much Does An Engine Replacement Cost?
- Short Block Engine Replacement: $4000 to $8000
- Long Block Engine Replacement: $3000 to $7000
Complete engines will often include everything that it needs to run and sometimes include every sensor, electronic part and accessory. It is these types of replacements that are rare unless it is under warranty. Long block engines are the whole engine without the electrical equipment, manifolds, and accessories. Normally, engine replacements will include just the long block. A short block is just the long block without the heads or cylinder head.
Then after 2014, an average American or Japanese V-6 or 4-cylinder long block will cost about $4000 to $8000 from a quality manufacturer. A short block will normally go for $3000 to $7000 and the complete bolt in style engines will be double the price for a long block.
You should expect to double everything for a European engine, especially if they are performance oriented or rare. You can cut the costs often by over half just by purchasing a junkyard engine, but then there isn’t a guarantee that it will be in better shape than the one that you removed.
Conclusion
The VIN’s 17 characters feature the information regarding the manufacturer, country of manufacture, engine type, car type, brand, style, model, year, and assembly plant.
Thankfully, VIN details are widely available online. Simply enter your car’s full VIN to receive a report on all the information outlined above.
Professional Engine Replacement Services in Scottsdale/Phoenix, Arizona
If you need engine replacement in Scottsdale/Phoenix, Bridwell Automotive Center can help! Bridwell can help with engine repair, engine replacement, rebuilt engines and more. Our ASE Certified Technicians are trained, qualified, and well equipped to perform engine replacements on virtually any type of vehicle. Bring it to Bridwell to get affordable, reliable, and timely engine replacement in Scottsdale, Arizona.
