m50 into my car - BMW Forum

Ivan · 05-07-2006, 11:12 PM

well, ive found several of them complete for a good price and with warranties and i was just wondering, did 318 and 325 manuals happen to use the same tranny and rear end? i know ill most certainly need mounts, but what else would be needed to do this seemingly simple conversion? fuel pump? ecu? id like to keep my budget under 2-3k if possible. i hope it's as easy as yank the old one out, drop the new one in, and have a much quicker car. well, is it?

MiguelACA · 05-07-2006, 11:23 PM

i was actually about to post this, well, somewhat, i want to put a M3 engine into my 325i...like ivan asked, would it be just as simple as taking out the engine and dropping in the M3 engine?

Ivan · 05-07-2006, 11:27 PM

man i hope so. all we would need is some jackstands, our tools, an engine hoist, and the bentley manual. im excited just thinking about it.

Ivan · 05-07-2006, 11:28 PM

and btw you guys were right. the bentley manual is 10000000 times better than any manuals (haynes, lol) ive used before.

94BMW325i · 05-07-2006, 11:29 PM

Well the rear end, and tranny should not be the same. A 4 cylinder motor tranny should not bolt up to an inline six motor tranny. So I think it would be motor, ecu, rear end, tranny, new engine mounts, and maybe tranny mounts, not sure if they are the same..

MiguelACA · 05-07-2006, 11:29 PM

yea, seriously hope so, cept all i would need would be about 100 bucks and a supply of beer from a friend that works at a gas station...lol...i have a friend thats a mechanic and does engine swaps all the time, well, mainly for old skool hot rods, but hes pretty good with cars...lol...

94BMW325i · 05-07-2006, 11:30 PM

well for a 325, it should be more of a drop in because the car is already inline 6, but I would still change your diff at least.

Ivan · 05-07-2006, 11:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 94BMW325i

Well the rear end, and tranny should not be the same. A 4 cylinder motor tranny should not bolt up to an inline six motor tranny. So I think it would be motor, ecu, rear end, tranny, new engine mounts, and maybe tranny mounts, not sure if they are the same..

crap. so an estimate on how much all that would run me?

MiguelACA · 05-07-2006, 11:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 94BMW325i

Well the rear end, and tranny should not be the same. A 4 cylinder motor tranny should not bolt up to an inline six motor tranny. So I think it would be motor, ecu, rear end, tranny, new engine mounts, and maybe tranny mounts, not sure if they are the same..

ok, sounds about right, but what about for my car?

edit: o ok, diff...how much would that be, and is it REALLy necessary?

94BMW325i · 05-07-2006, 11:44 PM

probably not, but I think it would help performance wise. Is your 325i open-diff, or Limited slip?

Ivan I have no idea man to be honest on pricing, I think for the price you should either get an m52, or if you want to stay OBD1 then get an s50 (95 m3 motor)

MiguelACA · 05-07-2006, 11:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 94BMW325i

probably not, but I think it would help performance wise. Is your 325i open-diff, or Limited slip?

hmm...thats a good question...i dont know that answer to...how can i find this out

Ivan · 05-07-2006, 11:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 94BMW325i

probably not, but I think it would help performance wise. Is your 325i open-diff, or Limited slip?

Ivan I have no idea man to be honest on pricing, I think for the price you should either get an m52, or if you want to stay OBD1 then get an s50 (95 m3 motor)

whatever i can find that is the strongest and the easiest for me to afford. a m50 would be good enough, but the m52 does have a good bit more torque. i dont have enough to spend as much as an s50 swap would likely cost.

MiguelACA · 05-08-2006, 12:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ivan

whatever i can find that is the strongest and the easiest for me to afford. a m50 would be good enough, but the m52 does have a good bit more torque. i dont have enough to spend as much as an s50 swap would likely cost.

ok..so im guessing this isnt going to be as easy as we thought...

Ivan · 05-08-2006, 12:05 AM

its well worth the effort though. im not ready to give up just yet. just need to do a bit more research first.

MiguelACA · 05-08-2006, 12:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ivan

its well worth the effort though. im not ready to give up just yet. just need to do a bit more research first.

yea, i was gonna go FI, but i figured its cheaper to swap in an s50 since my g/fs uncle buys wrecked cars and stuff, i figure he can get me one for cheap