M50 Developments - considering an M50? Read this.

[bigpimpin]

I also used the evo cable but have botched together 2 mouting brackets. I will get one made up properly like buster has done.

I got a brand new rad from this guy (felgenhaus) off ebay, £115 all in.

[Jhonno]

yeah ive seen his rads..

read that a rad area should be the cubic capacity of the engine +50 which means the standard e30 325i would be adequate for the job.. think i'd rather a bigger one for summer thol...

[ian332isport]

yeah ive seen his rads..

read that a rad area should be the cubic capacity of the engine +50 which means the standard e30 325i would be adequate for the job.. think i'd rather a bigger one for summer thol...

Jhonno,

I can assure you that an S50 generates a LOT of heat. Running a standard 325i rad could be a very expensive mistake.

It's not worth the risk on something like the cooling system.

Ian.

[Jhonno]

Fair do's, i was wondering whether the theory was correct..

[Jhonno]

Can someone measure their dipstick and dipstick tube (from top to where it sits in the sump) for me at all?

only i got mine from a scrappy from believe it or not the only m50'd e34 they had in there.. a 525iX and the dipstick tube is too long.. wondering if i can do summat with it depending on the rest of the dimensions..

[bigpimpin]

I ordered one from BMW from the same model, mine fits ok but needs bending to clear the vanos pressure thingy.

[Jhonno]

the iX is the 4x4 version tho..

the dipstick tube is definately too long where it goes into the sump ie hits the bottom of the sump!

[Jhonno]

no one?

[jaistanley]

Is that drill and tap still kicking about?

[old_skool]

Oh no. I can't read 27 pages

What do we need a drill and tap for. What have I missed

[DanThe]

Oh no. I can't read 27 pages

Your going to have to mate

It is worth it mind

[buster]

I think dan still has it

[ian332isport]

What do we need a drill and tap for. What have I missed

Dameon,

This is only required if you want to drill and tap the sump to fit a hose fitting for the plenum & oil separator drains. I just welded a small pipe on the side of the dipstick tube for this.

Ian.

[jaistanley]

Either way is fine, I have no doubt. The reason I'm after the drill and tap is that I dont have the stuff to braise the new pipe on and rather than get someone to do it for me, it'll be easier to drill and tap myself at home...

Dan, do you still have them?

Many thanks.

Jai

[andye30nut]

that is helpfull

[Brianmoooore]

Several queries on fitting M50s lately, so this is just to bump the thread to the top of the pile!

[chris_m50]

hey guys. im in the middle of my m50 conversion....
just wondering if anyone else has attempted putting a hydraulic servo in in this conversion apart from ian..

I broke an e32 not so long ago, and just trial fitted the servo and master, but it couldn't be more in the way of the throttle body

is there anything else i can do? apart from fit a normal servo or fit an m3 lump :-p

[ian332isport]

You need to look for the hydraulic servo from an older E23 7 series. The overall length of the servo is the same, but the mounting flange is further down the body of the unit.

This picture will explain better.



Ian.

[randomdave325]

sorry to go off topic but it's good to see this post is still up and about! i've just lost an hour or so reading it all again. mine is still running exactly as this conversion other than it now has a 944 servo, iS rad mounts. 3.46lsd and a fritzs bits exhaust manifold and system.
i swapped the engine for a vanos lump after a year (1 extra earth) purely for induction noise and it's on it's 2nd re-shell due to a polish van driver. other than that it's all good!
i should point out that for my prop development you need to use a 320/323/520/523 gearbox(accidently in my case lol) for it to work as the flange is smaller than the 2.5/2.8. although it's still on the original centre bearing and still doesn't vibrate and has had some serious abuse.
which is nice.
april 2005?? has it really been that long??

[DanThe]

Yet more developments!

Whilst pulling a rather cheap LPG system from a J plate 325i coupe today

I noticed this little blighter in the plug that usually connects to the breather valve



It is a resistor used on early non-cat vehicles, its listed in realoem, No 8 here

As any M50 convertor with an engine warning light will know, not plugging the valve in throws up fault codes.
So if you want to avoid the fault codes/warning light and dont fancy soldering, this would be ideal

[Brianmoooore]

Nice one, Dan! And only £3-50 or so.
Even gives the value of the resistor at 1000 ohms. Think I used 680!

[DanThe]

I used a 68

It works though

Am I right in thinking your M50'd touring is gassed up Brian? May be going 'touring' myself to use this conversion to its full potential

[Brianmoooore]

Am I right in thinking your M50'd touring is gassed up Brian? May be going 'touring' myself to use this conversion to its full potential

Existing one isn't, but the next one (based on the lighter green one in my sig), will be, complete with larger spare wheel well to take a bigger tank!
This was to be the replacement for the red one, but due to that ones untimely demise at the hands of a low flying Porsche, I'm now wasting time sorting a malachite green shell ready to take the mechanicals from the red one when it clears insurance.

[brian325i]

my m50 is running grand but when i turn on my fan and lights and any other electrical appliance it idles so bad it sometimes cuts out,m50 people any idea on this development

i used auto loom and it works,just blanked the auto ecu wires and the gearbox plug,

[bruce62]

hi, i've seen mentioned a couple of times about straightening the gearlinkage to do this conversion, do you meen the alloy part or the steel part. if the alloy part how is this done without fracturing it. many thanks in advance for your advise

[brian325i]

i bent nothing,z3 short shift, 525 linkage,sits slightly off but doesnt hit the surround

[Brianmoooore]

my m50 is running grand but when i turn on my fan and lights and any other electrical appliance it idles so bad it sometimes cuts out,m50 people any idea on this development

i used auto loom and it works,just blanked the auto ecu wires and the gearbox plug,

You either have a dud battery, a dud alternator, or poor connections somewhere in the main power circuits.
Other electrical load shouldn't affect the engine at all.
An unlikely possibility is that there is something wrong with the ECU/ICV feedback loop, and the engine just isn't increasing the throttle to compensate for the alternator load.
Check battery voltages with and without engine and load, and try running the engine for a short while with the alternator disconnected.

[Brianmoooore]

hi, i've seen mentioned a couple of times about straightening the gearlinkage to do this conversion, do you meen the alloy part or the steel part. if the alloy part how is this done without fracturing it. many thanks in advance for your advise

Nothing needs bending if the matching M50 gearbox is used.
Vibration damper can be removed from around the guibo and binned.

[brian325i]

You either have a dud battery, a dud alternator, or poor connections somewhere in the main power circuits.
Other electrical load shouldn't affect the engine at all.
An unlikely possibility is that there is something wrong with the ECU/ICV feedback loop, and the engine just isn't increasing the throttle to compensate for the alternator load.
Check battery voltages with and without engine and load, and try running the engine for a short while with the alternator disconnected.

battery is charged after every spin so i presume altenator is good.battery turns engine very good so i presume good.connections are high possibility as i found one or 2 suspect connectios(will fix 2moro

will try your suggestions and report back in the tech help as to not clog this masterpiece of a thread

[Andyboy]

Don't forget that the best gearbox to use is from an H plate 520i or 525i 24v. These early 24v cars used a Getrag 260 overdrive gearbox which is identical to an E30 325i and E34 525i unit..........but the bellhousing bolt pattern is altered to make the engine sit over at more of an angle. This means you can use the existing 325i prop and not have to fit a different final drive.

Downside is, these boxes are very, very rare after about 2-3 months of production the E34 went over to the E36 close ratio box. The ones I've had I've sold for £150+, but they do save an awful lot of pissing about.

You can tell an early overdrive box because it looks identical at first glance to an E30 unit.

[DanThe]

Do these have the square webbing on the sides?

I think I know of one

[Andyboy]

That's the one. BMW usually made the 2 litre with a small gearbox but as a stopgap until the E36 came on stream BMW had Getrag knock up a stopgap gearbox to fit both 24v cars.
I've had two or three this year, all from the same breakers. Just look out for an H plate car, J is way too late.

[iwantspeed]

just wanted to know if an m 50 engine will fit into an
1987 e30 325e stick shift




i have read parts of the 28 pages
but im having a hard time figuring out all the things i would need to do the swap


something like a
1997 BMW M3 S52 3.2L OBD II Engine (complete with alternator, starter, power steering pump, exhaust manifold, intake manifold, and ac compressor) -
Transmission 5 speed manual. (came out of the same car)
ECU (bmw m3 e36 OBD II engine body computer/module)
Engine Wiring Harness


would that fit?

i could purchase this for around 3500 us dollars

is this a good price for all the things listed above?

here is a picture

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f252/ ... INE002.jpg

so i would need that engine a servo not sure what that is but i believe its the brake booster here and a new radiator or an intercooler and an oil sump and engine mounts and transmission mounts



once im done buying all the things and have the car running with the new engine how much do you think the cost would.

if any one can point me in the right direction with links or just information i would really appreciate it

[old_skool]

^ The S52 engine is a US designation motor. Although it is based on the M50 it should fit in the same way an M50 or S50 does. Yes it would fit in your 1987 Manual.

Assuming you are in the US, your obviously talking LHD here so there will be challenges to face that may be different to ours here with RHD vehicles. I would like to think that the manifolds would be easier in a LHD for sure.

Have you tried http://www.e30tech.com/ that looks to be a little more US biased.

[Brianmoooore]

The engine and box will fit in relatively easily. The problems arise when you try to fit the manifolds, etc., as the spaces for these are partly occupied by bits of E30.
There are many and varied solutions for these problems which are debated at length in this thread, but since your steering wheel appears to be on the wrong side of the car, many of the problems, and their possible solutions, are different or not applicable.