Cost of 320 to 325 swap?

Post Mon Sep 17, 2007 2:03 pm

Hi All,

I've just bought myself a D reg 320i to replace my D reg 325i that unfortunately has been rotting away for some time.

I've read a few of the posts on here and as far as I can see it's a relatively straight forward swap from a 320 to 325.

My first question is, would it be wise to swap the engines given that the 325 engine has done 164,000 miles. It's done 30,000 more than the 320, however, I've had the 325 for 3 years and it has been very reliable and never given me any problems.

If I go for a swap and as I've got them, should I replace the whole transmission: geabox, rear axle, rear brakes, etc?

I'm not in a position (lack of experience/tools/space) to be able to do this myself so I'm wondering how much it is likely to cost?

And finally, If I go for this swap, I'm going to have a 320 engine left over and a rotten 325 shell. How much are they likely to be worth (if anything for the shell)?

Thanks very much,

Adrian

Post Mon Sep 17, 2007 7:50 pm

a 320 of that vinatge is going to have the older LE jetronic ECU setup, the 325 is motronic so there is a bit of wiring required but you have the basic parts you'll need dude.

swop in the entire 325 engine/box/prop and back end if you can, if the rear subframe swop is not cost effective the minimum is the diff needs swopping over to give you the correct final drive for the 325 gearbox, iirc the early 320 has a 3.45 diff, the 325 should have a 3.73 or 3.64 dependant on spec and door quantity( lol )

costs wise its going to be fairly involved so a fair few Ã‚£Ã‚£Ã‚£, if you can swop the eng.box over yourself theres a days labour saved there already.

Post up your location too dude, there are some skilled guys on this board that may b able to assist on the spanners side of things.

Post Mon Sep 17, 2007 7:51 pm

Assuming the 325 is mechanically good in the suspension/brake department, swap over the front and rear subframes complete with everything on them. You will probably need new rear subframe bushes, and it would be a god idea to replace all the rear brake lines on the 320 shell before the subframe is fitted.

Post Mon Sep 17, 2007 8:18 pm

being a chromey one, check out the new shell properly before spending the time on it! it would be a shame to put the effort into a car that's on it's last legs!

Post Mon Sep 17, 2007 9:29 pm

Thanks for the replies fellas.

I'm in Croydon.

Stuartgallafant has done some work on my 325 before, I might see if he can give the 320 a once over before I start swapping anything.

Cheers,

Adrian

Post Mon Sep 17, 2007 11:15 pm

careful, he'll chrome your rust!!!!

!