# E15 vs E16



## pamperu7 (Nov 28, 2003)

I had an '82 Sentra with an E15 engine but got a remanufactured E16 engine from John's foreign engine's in Washington State. From day one, the engine seemed to have "crossover" around the headgasket with the headgasket going out after only 8,000 miles. I have the original E15 (31M) head which only had 90,000 miles on it. (the lower end failed on the original) 

A couple of questions have arisen from carefully looking at the remanufactured engine.

ONE: The remanufactured engine has a 33M type head. Can I just bolt a 31M head onto where a 33M head used to be? I had it checked and it was a good head, but was used mostly on the E15 and not the E16. 


If the head change fixes the problems, this would explain a LOT of problems since the "33M" head seems to be cast slightly different than the original 31M casting head. Currently, the head in question may be the cause of water in the oil and i can also see exhaust puffing slightly into the cooling system..it did this from the FIRST day i got the new engine...so...i would say..the shop ripped me off. They have a list of excuses to weasel out of making good on the bad engine like we dont pay for the gaskets or shipping and you can't just ship them the head...etc. which makes the warranty repairs as costly as just fixing it yourself.

TWO: What makes the E16 bigger than the E15? Is it the HEAD cylinder volume is bigger? or that the bore and stoke of the E16 is different? or a combination. I read here on the forum that the only difference is from the bore and stroke 72MM X 82MM for the E15 and 72MM X 88MM for the E16 respectively but would like to confirm that.

I can't see any reason that the old 31M won't bolt right on, but..i'm not super technical about it either.

Anyone with experience in this matter please respond.


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## Myetball (Dec 15, 2002)

E-Series Cylinder heads 

The 31M will bolt right up but has a more restrictive intake side. As long as you're pulling the head, I'd recommend taking the 33M to a shop and have it pressure tested and checked for cracks. If it checks out, have the surface recut and slap it back on. 

If you go with the 31M head and it hasn't been redone yet you should have that head checked before you install it.

The E16 is 76x88mm and the E15 is 74x82mm. Also, compression on the E15 is 9:1 while the E16 is 9.4:1. Really no difference in the combustion chambers. You'd have to get your hands on a 15M head to get a smaller combustion chamber.


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