thanks to the help of turbonium959 i just found out that there is a way to know if your car (mine is 97 protege) has a 1.5 or 1.8L engine..just by looking at the last 5 numbers of your vin?? if anyone knows this little secret pls let me know..i sure would like to know what engine i have!..i have an SE with NO luxuries and ive been informed that it has to be a 1.5...but another source has told me that SE's carry 1.8L engines.....just trying to solve this little mystery..

thanks in advance for anyone who helps out and a special thanks to turbonium959 for helping me out with this as well....its nice to see that there are people on this forum that wont kill the newbie..ha

 

hey i have a 97 protegé SE with a 1.8l engine. where abouts do you live??

 

The 17 digit VIN began in 1981 and continues to present.

Understanding your vehicles serial (VIN) number

1st character- Identifies the country in which the vehicle was manufactured.
For example: U.S.A.(1or4), Canada(2), Mexico(3), Japan(J), Korea(K), England(S), Germany(W), Italy(Z)

2nd character- Identifies the manufacturer.
For example; Audi(A), BMW(B), Chrysler(C), Dodge(B), Ford(F), GM Canada(7), General Motors(G), Honda(H), Jaquar(A), Lincoln(L), Mercedes Benz(D), Mercury(M), Nissan(N), Plymouth(P), Toyota(T), VW(V), Volvo(V).

3rd character- Identifies vehicle type or manufacturing division.

4th character- Identifies the restrain system.
Non-passive(A), Automatic belts(B), Inflatable restraint(C)

5th character- Identifies the series.

6th and 7th character- Identifies the body style.

8th characters- Identifies the engine.

9th character- is a check digit to verify VIN accuracy.

10th character- Identifies the model year.
For example: 1981(B), 1982(C), 1983(D), 1984(E), 1985(F), 1986(G), 1987(H), 1988(J), 1989(K), 1990(L), 1991(M), 1992(N), 1993(P), 1994(R), 1995(S), 1996(T), 1997(V), 1998(W), 1999(X), 2000(Y), 2001(1), 2002(2), 2003(3)

11th character- Identifies the assembly plant for the vehicle.

12th to 17th characters- Identifies the sequence of the vehicle for production as it rolled of the manufacturers assembly line. Starting with 100001.