cheapest, quickest and easiest M30 conversion route

[Andy335Touring]

My exhaust isn't for sale as such it's just i want to change it for some thing a bit quieter.

The M30 down pipes are way to long and include the the first silencer box, also the end of it won't fit the M3 flange.

On mine the silencer was chopped off and an M3 flange was welded on so it bolts up to the M3 exhaust like normal.

M30 down pipe/silencer



New M3 flange in SS

[gareth]

cheers andy

just had a look on www.e30.de and there's some quite good pics of what needs doing... though it seems to be base on the E23/8 manifold and downpipes rather than the E32/4 ones. more bashing needed there i reckon!) (hope!)

http://216.239.39.104/translate_c?hl=en ... 35i/15.htm

i reckon i'll try and leave the M3 section as standard as possible and mate the M30 downpipes, as you did, with a weld on flange.

where did you find that flange? was it expensive? i'm just weighing up buying a ready made one over getting one profiled out of sheet.

what's the issue with the hangers?

[Andy335Touring]

If you know some one decent you could get a flange made for you fairly cheap, i had a firm make me one but they took the piss out of me so i ended buying one.

If you order from here you want the smaller size(Non-Evo)

http://www.vacmotorsports.com/cgi-bin/v ... tem_id=334

For the hangers you need the M30 gear box exhaust mount, the mount by the subframe just about fits, theres supposed to be two on the M3. On the M3 theres a mount right by the rear valance that the standard E30 doesn't have. I have sort of bodged the 325 rear silencer wrap around mounts on to the M3 rear box.

But my exhaust doesn't knock so not a bad bodge !

[gareth]

that's an expensive flange!!!! i'll probably be able to get one profiled though a local company for about Ԛ£20 if i CAD it and send them a (AutoCAD) *.dxf file of it. they can then just open it in their CAD/CAM package and cut it out.

[Andy335Touring]

Like i said i was dicked around by an engineering firm and i was waiting on the part to finish the conversion so i paid the premium rather than getting messed around again.

I wish i had the ability to do cad drawing.

[gareth]

i'll happily send you a copy!

actually, it would make a useful item to provide though the 'zone shop maybe? i might see about getting a handful done if they're cheap enough.

are the M30 downpipes mild steel? (i'll have to match material to do the job right)

[bigdek]

mild steel they are

[gareth]

well, my M3 prop and exhaust turned up today!!!!

not brilliant condition though, the centre bearing on the prop has been pulled off (ripped rubber) and the centre box on the exhaust has been flattened by about 20mm by a forklift in the breakers yard...

andy, does the standard back box clamp on hanger thingy fit the (fairly heftey) scorpion M3 back box ok or do you reckon it's worth replicating the M3 hanger setup?

[Andy335Touring]

Yeah, play around with the straps and it should be ok but if you can use the rear M3 hanger as well it's got to be better ?

I hope that silencer will be ok, but i guess you won't be able to tell untill you fire it up ?

[gareth]

cheers mate. i've got the exhaust part of the hanger so i'll just have to make up the other bit somehow...

i'll have a play when i'm fiitting it...

i had a look at the silencer and poked a length of heavy gauge earth cable up it and it passes right though. being a straight-though silencer will reduce the chances of it causing any ill effects imo. only one way to find out though!

the tailpipes were packed with large slugs of mud, the size and shape of baked bean cans! would have been well funny to shoot them out on startup!

[gareth]

i've uncovered some history on the parts after talking to the breaker...
hold on though...
http://www.e30zone.co.uk/modules.php?na ... 887#269887

[gareth]

all is looking good... though the budget has gone out of the window!

i got a recon (by ferodo) sachs clutch for Ԛ£107!!! not bad as it's a E28 one and they're costly.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v382/ ... 30f850.jpg

here's my exhaust... with a little denting!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v382/ ... c4b672.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v382/ ... bddad7.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v382/ ... d985c8.jpg

and i have the flange drawn up:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v382/ ... d23494.jpg
not too costly either. 1 off Ԛ£25.50 + vat, 5 off Ԛ£19.50 + vat each... inc material.
if anyone else needs one, let me know asap...

if all goes to plan, i'll be disembowling the E34 this weekend

more pics here (2 pages) if anyones interested...
http://photobucket.com/albums/v382/gare ... onversion/

[Andy335Touring]

So the M3 prop is 20mm longer than mine, have you tried to shorten it by the spline ?

It should shorten by 20mm OK ?

[gareth]

it looks like there's plenty of room to straighten it, 35/40mm maybe?maybe it got stretched at the spline in the crash!

[gareth]

right, i'm now stripping the donor E32 735i and all is looking good. the whole car cost Ԛ£100, has nice 16" alloys, OBC, aircon, cruise control, leather electric memory eats etc etc etc so a lot to sell on. there's a thead going about this here for anyone interested: http://www.e30zone.co.uk/modules.php?na ... ic&t=26789

regarding the wiring, i've kept the engine loom by cutting it off on the 'car' loom (so i have both halves of the plug/socket with the engine loom) and disconnected in the box full of ECUs.
in that box there was the following connections:
1) what looks to be a common positive supply. several heavy gauge red wires on a screw terminal.
2) a white multi-pin connector that connected to the car loom, around the engine bay.
3) a black multi pin connector that connected to a small bundle that dissapeared thoiugh the bulkhead.
4) the ECU connector.
5) a bunch of relays that are still connected to the loom.


this is where toby comes in i suppose, is this the extent of what i need to pull out or do i need to strip anything out of the car loom? does this engine loom simply plug into the mating sockets on the 325i or is there more to it?

any advice greatefully recieved as tomorrow the car gets finished and scrapped!

[Toby_Unna]

leave everything connected to the engine (everything!) and disconnect everything from car. only confusion i had was where the A/C loom connected to the engine loom. label everything as required. I didn't have time as i had to drive for an hour, remove engine then drive home with it as quickly as possible.

then remove engine with wiring attached to it, install in e30 with mounts, then work out where the wiring's all going to go, removing unnecessary bits as needed.

good call cutting on the car-side mate, that's the right way!

sorting the engine plug is the last thing, sort out how the loom's going to plug into battery, coil and everything else first.

you can use the small square E34 coil or the E30 coil. E34 one looks nicer!

[Toby_Unna]

the white multiplug, i don't know. but 99% chance just leave disconnected.

i've actually got my auto loom complelely removed at the mo, as of today mate, which is lucky for you! i'm going to cut it down as i just need the sparking function, but i'll get you some pics of all the places it plugs in if it helps. having already used it for a year in the e30 i have a fair idea what goes where and which plugs you just leave disconnected, i have 3-4 plugs around the 2 relays that aren't connected to anything

[gareth]

cheers toby, you're a star. i've effectively left it completely intalled on the engine with the coil etc still attached to the loom. the aircon pump wire came from the car loom (near the lights) so i just snipped it...

looks like the E34 square coil wasn't fitted to the E32... this has a round coil like the E30.

just to checm E32/4 similarities, does the E34 have what breaks down to be 2 looms in the 'bay? (a & b)

a) one that goes the whole way round, originating from the fusebox on the passenger bulkhead area and with one arm running to the ECU box on the frivers side, the other arm running down the passenger inner wing and around the fronf for the lights etc (inc aircon on mine).
b) engine loom. originates on the bulkhead at the large circular engine plug, runs over the bulkhead to the ECU box to the ECU and the connectors in the above post. several spurs from this onto the engine electrics.

sound about right? i'm keeping (b) whole, connected to the car and with 20cm of whatever it connected to still attached. (car loom bits)

[gareth]

just been reading this:
http://www.jaredsquires.com/ndp/content ... 7/31/1/12/

and this:
http://www.jaredsquires.com/ndp/content/view/17/31/1/2/

now i'm confused! variable TPS?

[gareth]

well, i have the rest of this week off (as the weather is good) to make some headway into the swap. the car and all parts are at my dads (private carpark!) and i start 'proper' tomorrow.

we took the lazy route to removing the lump and cut the slam panel and cross member out!!!



obligatory cheesy pose pics!

me:


my mate chris (fellow E30 owner and car professional car abuser!):


a perfect fit!


i have more pics on here:
http://photobucket.com/albums/v382/gare ... i%20donor/

[Andy335Touring]

Nice work mate, not be long now til its done LOL !

[gareth]

hehe!

should be done by christmas.... ARSE!!!

[Andy335Touring]

[gareth]

just wondering, what's the best state to drop the engine in? manifolds one? engine mounts on? bottom pully off? (for a little more room)

also, what alternator should i use? i have both...

[Toby_Unna]

put it in from below with the box on, trust me!

the engine will just go in from the top, fully dressed including clutch plate, but it's tight.

however putting the gearbox on from below is a nightmare. it's possible, i've done it twice and would do it again to change the clutch, but if the engine's out do it in one go. the subframe drops easily (1 hour work max with 1 person) then just get car up high on stands.

[gareth]

will the engine and box not go in from above as a unit? i hate jacking the car that high (uneven floor to do it on) and it makes hoisting a pain.

[Toby_Unna]

think someone said it would from memory, but u will need a good high hoist!

[gareth]

hmm... i'll have a good look/think once the M20 is stripped back and ready for removal.

i have a proper engine crane to use, one of these: http://www.machinemart.co.uk/product.as ... 2050&g=107

does anyone know what the engine / box weighs roughly?


oh yeah, what alternator are you using toby?

[bigdek]

engine and box goes in as one unit from the top without issue

plenty room but needs to be at a decent angle and obviously your hoist needs to be able to lif it high enough.

best to do it with the manifolds off for ease of getting engine onto rubbers as the manifolds will just be in the way of the servo and steering column

[gareth]

cool, thanks for that.

gives me the excuse to paint up the manifolds and rocker cover while i'm at it!

[gareth]

i've been prepping the engine today for fitting tomorrow (snowed on me today slowing things down a bit!)

i've got the exhaust manifolds off but the inlet seems like it'll be a nightmare to remove! i reckon i'll leave it on if possible.

i've been thinking about the fitting / removal from underneath method as i don't have a balance bar for the hoist so getting an angle is very hard. once the 2.5 is dumped on the floor, i can use the hoist to lift the car high enough to get the engine out, then the same to get the 3.5 in.

will the engine go in with manifolds fitted, from underneath? what about the alternator... fitted?




on another subject, i collected the downpipe flange too. cost me Ԛ£30 in the end.

here it is:


any the e30.de engine mounts for anyone interested:

[gareth]

well, its been a long weekend but this is the result:



after throwing ideas around i decided to go with toby's advice and fit/remove the engines from below. this was mainly due to the safety of the lifting kit i have reaching a near 45Ԛ° angle on the engine and box. i stripped the suspension links from the subframe but the front/inner wishbone balljoints weren't going to budge without damaging them so i left them on the subframe. we then dropped the engine/box/subframe/wishbones/rack as a unit, lifting from the engine mounts. overall not a 100% good idea! this made it a real pain in the arse to get out as the subframe dropped onto the legs of the engine crane!!! it will be a lot easier to support the engine then remove the subframe and just drop out the engine/box as a unit.

after learning from my mistake, i fitted the M30 (fully dressed with manifolds, altenator etc!) with no subframe on. it just lifted straight up and in! i connected the new mounts onto the subframe and jiggled until i could get the subframe bolts back in. the gearbox uses the standard 325i mount.

sorted! all in a day!

it's in P2 at the moment but i may move it back to P3 to see what fouls! then hit the offending lump until it doesn't!

now (once the position is finalised) i have to connect the prop, exhaust, wiring, cooling etc but at least it's in!

this is how we got the required lift, the best tool i've ever bouught, a set of jackable ramps!!! i managed to lift the front valance to 850mm high (to clear the 700/750 needed for the dressed engine) by lifting with these!





clearances in position 2 (with e30.de mounts and new M20 rubber mounts):
servo to inlet manifold (just visible at the top) seems fine.


exhaust manifold to column... may need work if i go for p3:


front, looks tight! haven't tried a rad in yet but i may have to go for P3!


rear, looks fine, there's room to move it back a fair bit for more clearance at the front:



the only issue i've had is the throttle position switch being too high to let the bonnet close!!! it's an auto one and i have new mounting rubbers. this may be ok once the rubbers settle...?

anyway, as i'm sure you can all guess by the huge rambling post, i'm well chuffed!!!!

[Andy335Touring]

Cool !!!

[gareth]

oh yeah, just remembered, i looked on the tag plate on my diff... it's a 3.91!

oh well, it'll be quick off the mark! also i almost never go on a motorway... i'll just have to try it and see what happens i suppose!

[Jon_Bmw]

Happy days

Good to see you have got it in there, now for all the buggering about moving/hitting/breaking things to get it just where you want

Brilliant project

Enjoy it.

Jon