Out With The Eta, In With The I

[OldBMR1]

Hey all,

I used to have a ' 89 325i auto, but i sold it off last year to buy a better looking and slightly faster '87 325e manual. I have been driving around in the 325e for about a year now and a nice 325i engine has been more or less given to me. I have decided to take out the eta and put in the 'i' engine.

I want to make sure I have all my parts before I start. The things that I have or will be getting shortly are:




m20B25 engine w/ intake manifold, exhaust manifold, injectors, air flow meter, cold start valve, o2 sensor, 325i ecu, oil cooler

325i exhaust system
325i tach face
3:73 lsd
new belts, hoses, fuel lines, tensioner, water pump, plugs, oil pan seal, valve cover seal,

i am not sure about my clutch or flywheel . . . i think i read that i need a 325i flywheel and clutch to match the engine. (Would I be better of grabbing a 325i tranny?

Would it be smart to do the guibo now too?

New engine and tranny mounts?

What seals and gaskets will I be needing?

Any idea how well the wiring harnesses will match up?

As for equipment I have jacks, jackstand, an overhead crane for a hoist, all the tools I ought to need, and some I won't.


Any tips are welcome on this project.

thanks all

kk

[offabroadway]

When you're done, make sure you create a DIY with pictures and other various odds and sods. I want to see how this is done, in case I decide to do it to my ETA.

Cheers and good luck!

[OldBMR1]

Looks like I will not be putting the i engine in afterall . . .

I used to have a full, used, 325i exhaust with a nice little ansa free flow but it was accidentally taken to the scrap yard about 4 months ago as scrap metal (there was a huge pile behind my parent's garage and the exhaust was sitting near it and someone got scrap-happy) I don't feel like getting a whole new exhaust so I bought another rnning eta motor and the head from a 325i (the salavage yard didn't if it was good but I know it was good because I was the last person to have that engine running. The car used to belong to a buddy who dismantled the suspension but left the motor intact before junking the whole thing. (Horrible rust and holes throughout the body, looked awful)

Total cost for a complete and running eta plus a good 325i head: $200 cash, removed from the car and delivered to my door. Hehe, It pays to make friends with guy who owns the salvage yard.

Now I am going to do a rebuild on the new eta, install the 'i' springs and the 'i'camshaft, paint the intake and the valve cover real pretty-like, and install the lot. When I am done I will have an e30 with a 325 body and interior, a differential from an e28 535i, a motor, front valene, and decklid spoiler from a 325es, and vavle-springs and camshaft from a 325i.

What I want to know now is what hell I am supposed to put on the trunk . . . 5325esi, might look a bit silly . . .

cheers

kk

[95bmw540i]

this may be a dumb question, but why do they call it an "eta" could someone please break this down as to what this means?

[Aether]

Eta is a greek character, and in this case denotes efficiency.
It's the e in 325e.

[JoeMadoo]

The e and i trannys are the same thing. Since your going from an e to an i, you wont have to worry about the crank position sensor, because after sometime in 1987 it moved to the front crank pulley from the tranny, you may have 2 now...

And if I were you, i would go for the stroker...

[gotKRAUT]

how bout no badges on the back? the 3 denotes the chassis is a 3 series and the next number usually denotes displacement in liters except in a few cases such as the 325e which is a 2.7L

i say you would be better off swappin in the i motor for power the e is a lost cause unless you update the piston rings, connecting rods and install/port match the i intake manifold and injectors and fuel system, then you would be cookin with gas

the factory connecting rods, valve springs, and piston rings are the reason the car has a 4600rpm factory redline, they are too weak to handle much more than that....keep that in mind

[e30M50]

Just to let you know the shape of the top of the pistons is diferent as well the shape of the head the eta has a flat top and the "I" have a wedge to increase compresion so you would be droping your compresion and plus the eta had poor coolant cirulation in the head and the tilt of the engined made the back holes in 5 and 6 clog up if never flushed the piston ring would over heat and wear then you would have low compresion in 5 and 6 so mixed with the I head and the blow by the rear rings your engine going to be a huge kick in the balls never sell your self short save up and do it right plus make shore you do your homework on the gears in the trans and diff you pick depending on your over drive percentage you may not want a realy ballsy diff

[ldsbeaker]

Awesome response, but a few commas, periods, and spaces would be nice.

[JoeMadoo]

LOL, Teachers call that a "run-on" sentence.