A lot of the 88-00 civic (D15/D16) Vin plates are on the back side of the engine just above the oil pan.
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The VIN plates location depends on which generation civic (d series/d15/d16) motor you have.
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I do know that the engine code is stamped on the front side of the engine just left of the exhaust manifold. It will start with a letter, 2 numbers, another letter and another number.
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I have a 92-95 Gen d16Z6 that has no VIN plate and a 98 D16Y5 with a VIN plate on the rear of the engine, just below the alternator.