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4 speed Automatic 318i 8v to 5 speed StepTronic 318IS DOHC 16v Swap questions!!

11K views 21 replies 5 participants last post by  Kaantjee 
#1 ·
Good evening ladies and gentleman.

I'm new on this forum, and have a couple of questions.

I have a E36 BMW 318i 8v. With an 4 speed Automatic gearbox.
On the way home i blow up my gasket, and short after it (i drove further because i wanted a 16v swap), i screwed up my gearbox.

Now i have a '94 318i engine i think a M42? And an GM 4 speed gearbox.
And i have a M44 318IS 16v DOHC Engine (for the swap)

I know that the 6 cilinders have 5 speed gearboxes (Automatic), so i want to swap direct with the engine this kind of gearbox.

So my questions are:
What do i need to get the engine working and will the 5 speed auto gearbox of an 6 cilinder engine mount directly on the IS engine without problems?
And will i need both ECU's?
Or can i use my original ECU's (Engine and Gearbox)?
And witch auto transmisions can bolt on my m44 engine? Because i want to make it a steptronic.
Can a 5HP18 bolt on my M44 engine and can it run with the old gearbox ecu?
And is a 8v to 16v swap easy? And what will i all need to change to run it?

thanks,
Kaantjee.

Ps. Please dont tell me to mount manual gearbox, because i want it to keep automatic.

Ps2, i'm sorry if my english is not good, im dutch
 
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#2 ·
I believe the gearbox from a 6 cylinder will bolt up to a 4 cylinder - they use the same bell housing; will probably need the proper computer to run it.

As for the 5hp18; it should work, but just be careful what 5hp18 it is; I know there was a version fitted to the 5 series V8s too, and I'm not really entirely sure that that one will bolt up. Find one from a 6 cylinder.
 
#3 ·
Ahaa, so the 5hp18 ZF Series gearbox from a 6 cilinder will fit on a m44:)

And can it run on my stock wiring and ECU?



And if i mount the engine with the transmision, can the engine start on the stock wiring and ecu? Or do i need a M44 ECU/wiring. I got a M43 now.:conf

Thanks!
 
#4 ·
I would say the ECU wiring will be ok although not 100% certain, you will deffo need the EGS from for the new box.....as for the V8 box I think its 5hp 24
 
#6 ·
#8 ·
In most (if not all) countries in Europe, cars are taxed based on displacement; that and the 1.8 is better on gas ... could be the reason he doesn't want a 2.5

Marti, I believe e34 530i v8 and maybe 540i (not sure on the latter) came with a 5hp18 box.
 
#11 · (Edited)
You will have to see if the stock wires/connectors marry up with the new EGS, the ones that go to the box Im not sure, if I were you I would get the other harness, to be on the safe side,but see if the EGS marries up 1st.

CAR TAX:
Our cars in the UK are based on emissions, age of the car and put in to groups, I pay £195 a year for my 735i V8 so pretty cheap compared to most of the civilised world, as I know a friend in Eire (sothern Ireland) pays €1,800 and if I had my car in Belgium I would be looking at around €2,600.There is one small new car we have some hyundai thing I think which costs approx £26.00 a year....mind you the new 7series from 2002 onwards you pay £400.
 
#12 ·
Aight thanks,

And what about the 1.8 8v to 1.9 16v swap? What do i need to change for that?

and about the car tax here, its about the weight of the car, and if the car is 25years or older than you dont have to pay it anymore.
PLUS if you drive a diesel you will have to pay like twice so much.
The Toyota Prius Hybride is tax free, but the Honda Civic Hybride is almost free.

I pay for my Bimmer +/- 100euro's per 3 months. (thats about 50 dollars a month).
 
#13 ·
The M42 engine is a 16 valve engine. I really doubt that you will notice any performance increase in the 0.1 litre displacement increase. I'd just rebuild the M42 that way you won't have wiring problems etc. It does seem that the M42 is more common than the M44 probably built for more years.
 
#16 ·
Ah, my apologies, I misread the first post. The m40 and m43 engines powered the European 318i, and the m42 and m44 powered the 318is, whereas in the US and Canada all variants of the 318 (be it 'is or i or ti) were powered by m42 and m44.

In other words, there was no 8 valve (m40 or m43) 318 in North America.
 
#18 ·
I've had a few over the years and I try to educate myself even about those that I haven't had; I'm pretty fluent when it comes to BMW (aside from the really new stuff ...). If there's anything you need help with or just general info or what have you, just ask; this might not be the biggest or most active forum on the internet, but there are quite a few of us that are willing to help.

Sorry again about the misunderstanding.
 
#19 ·
Torque, that name must have come before your love of BMW? Otherwise is should be "lack of torque"? Just kidding. I really notice the two extremes:E36 318 IS and Cadillac CTS-V. Yet both nice driving cars.
I learned something today as well.
Thanks, leaving for a drive to Las Vegas, taking my wife's car CTS 3.6 with A/S tires. Going to the SEMA show.
 
#20 ·
Well actually my first car was a m20 525i automatic; and when I registered my username was 'torque0' to ridicule how slow it was ... and I had it changed at some point because I didn't like the 0 being there. How ironic that I now have a car with even less torque ... :D

Yeah, the 318 is pretty leisurely to the 535 I used to drive before it, but whatever, the gas mileage is good and I'm enjoying that for now. If I ever come across a m52 for cheap, I'll swap that in with a couple mods and have myself a quick car.
 
#21 ·
people, lets go ontopic again please.

The plan has been changed, my old engine M43 (1.8 8v SOHC) is out and i've bought me an M42 (1.8 16v DOHC).

I got some problems with the wiring, so if someone wants to help, i need it.
I need the wiring diagram of the M43, M43 automatic, the M42 and the M42 Automatic and the 320i automatic, so i can make 1 wiring harnes of 2 (because the m42 engine that i have has only 1 plug @ the ECU (the automatic got 2) and i want the wiring diagram of the 320i because of the 5 speed auto gearbox.

Thanks,
if intrested, i can post some intresting pictures of my project in the garagebox.
 
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