Distributor compatibility B3-B6

[Bert]

I was wandering through the U-Pull this afternoon (just before the first of any rain in well over a month) and was rubber-necking a 16V B6 inside a 91 MX3 (pre-OBDII). The distributor body and cap on that particular car is brand spanking new and looks to be identical to a B3 setup.
Just before I decide to go back and "rustle" this thing can somebody reassure me B3 = B6 when it comes to interchange of distributors.
If no one is positive I may just go back with one of my dead ones in hand to compare.
I was not impressed when my car died a few months ago due to a faulty blown pickup inside the dizzie, and then I heard the only option was complete rebuild, by other than a DIYer.

[TominMO]

The mounting locations for the two 12MM bolts is different between the B3 and B6 disty. You can see the difference in the angles. If you just use one bolt to mount it, there should be no problem.

[drddan]

Sorry. I just bolted my B3 disty on my B6 last week. I'm glad I read this and found out it doesnt fit! :p

Is the 16V B6 different than an 8V B6 disty wise?

The 8V B6 is a B3 clone.

[htchbck]

Don't know about the 16V ones since I've never owned one, but the last two swaps I did were an '89 B6 and a '90 B6 (so one early and one late model) and I used festiva distributors on both of them without issue.

[Bert]

I may just take a chance and score that gizmo anyway. The U-pull does have a return policy. New dizzie for $10-25? is too good to pass up, and one day I'll probably have me a 16 valve under the hood anyway.
The boneyard is full of Mazda 1.6 twin cams but most are OBDII.
I need more spare time to devote to this stuff.

[htchbck]

The boneyard is full of Mazda 1.6 twin cams but most are OBDII.

In what vehicles? Don't know of anything OBDII that runs the B6D.

[TominMO]

Sorry. I just bolted my B3 disty on my B6 last week. I'm glad I read this and found out it doesnt fit! :p

Is the 16V B6 different than an 8V B6 disty wise?

The 8V B6 is a B3 clone.

When Greg did the B6 swap on my car, it presumably came with a B6 disty. I tried to put a Festy one on, and the bolt slots on the distys were at different angles. I could not install both bolts into the B6 head, using the B3 disty, as I could with the B6 one. Looking at the two distys sdie by side, it's obvious that they don't mount the same. So I'm not really sure what's going on here.

One was an R4 (the Festy one I think) and one was an R5. The R4 has the mounting slots at 90 degrees, the R5 at 120 degrees. I took another disty of a JY B6 and it too was the same as the one that originally came with my swap.

[Bert]

Good news for some of us. Pictured are a dizzie from a 1993 MX3 16 valve B6 (on left) and from a 93 EFI Festy on right. Everything appears to interchange!

At the U-Pull yard near me the 'nearly new' dizzie was $9.99, including cap and rotor. I doubt I will regret this purchase.

[Bert]

In what vehicles? Don't know of anything OBDII that runs the B6D.

All late 90s Mazdas. Sticker on the hoods ID'ed them as 1.6s. I didn't look too close after reading the door pillar manuf. dates.

[drddan]

Yeah Tom, you have something odd going on there.

I may just take a chance and score that gizmo anyway. The U-pull does have a return policy. New dizzie for $10-25? is too good to pass up, and one day I'll probably have me a 16 valve under the hood anyway.
The boneyard is full of Mazda 1.6 twin cams but most are OBDII.
I need more spare time to devote to this stuff.

Grab that disty!

(I feel like I got ripped! I paid $35 for a used one!)

[htchbck]

All late 90s Mazdas.

You sure about that? So MPVs, 626s, Millineas, B-series trucks, etc. in Canada were all equipped with 1.6 twin cams? :lol:

But seriously though, ya'll must have some cars up there that we didn't get in the states (or at least differently equipped cars). The last Mazda here with a B6D was the Miata in '93. Of course there was also the Capri which ended in '94, and possibly some Kias into the late 90s which might be B6Ds I guess.

[Bert]

You sure about that? So MPVs, 626s, Millineas, B-series trucks, etc. in Canada were all equipped with 1.6 twin cams? :lol:

But seriously though, ya'll must have some cars up there that we didn't get in the states (or at least differently equipped cars). The last Mazda here with a B6D was the Miata in '93. Of course there was also the Capri which ended in '94, and possibly some Kias into the late 90s which might be B6Ds I guess.

Dunno what to say. I'm lusting over one of these engines and every second Mazda wreck I look (cars, no trucks or vans, and from the late 90s) seems to have one. The dizzie I grabbed was from a 93 16 valve MX3 and 2 cars over in a door pillar-marked 95 MX3 was a 1.6 twin cam.

[TominMO]

Sorry. I just bolted my B3 disty on my B6 last week. I'm glad I read this and found out it doesnt fit! :p

And mathematicians have proven that bumblebees can't fly.

But back to the distys. MAybe the gen1 B6 head used the R4 Festy disty, but the gen2 head was different and used a different one, the R5.

[Movin]

We sure have a bunch out here!! Probably because of California.

[drddan]

And mathematicians have proven that bumblebees can't fly.

But back to the distys. MAybe the gen1 B6 head used the R4 Festy disty, but the gen2 head was different and used a different one, the R5.

That would prolly be the diff. Gen 1 B6 is A B3 for for all practical purposes.
Different internally, bore, pistons, etc.