M50 Developments - considering an M50? Read this.

[dicko]

Sounds like the way to go ,taking 25mm of the radius of the servo must leave the pedal much harder

[dicko]

I have just been looking on real oem at prop shafts
I have a zf box out of a 525i with the large flange and I can get a prop out of a e36 325 td which is 34mm shorter than the e30 prop do you think i will get away with it
Also I dont have the maf for the new engine and the mafs changed in 92 but i dont know which one is should have
will it make a difference if its the wrong one

[brian325i]

@dicko if it doesnt fit just get it cut and welded,worked fine for me
as for maf,dunno but i have 2 here at home,your welcome to try em when its going see if makes a difference.

Took my m50b25 out yesterday,box fitted onto my s50(large flange) afaik its a 325tds box.
Cut out where servo will be,new wholes located 30mm over,hopefully wont need to cut too much out of my pleneum now,if anything.

So its,golf mkII servo,audi 23mm cylinder(have to buy) and e36 m3 calipers and e46 330 discs,thats the brake set up for the s50,hopefully itll be ok

[dicko]

Thanks Brian might get one of those mafs of you along with the manifolds you have if thats alright
I cant find a mk2 golf servo would a mk3 do i wonder

[wullie325i]

I have just been looking on real oem at prop shafts
I have a zf box out of a 525i with the large flange and I can get a prop out of a e36 325 td which is 34mm shorter than the e30 prop do you think i will get away with it
Also I dont have the maf for the new engine and the mafs changed in 92 but i dont know which one is should have
will it make a difference if its the wrong one

i have went through a couple of mafs since i got my m50 and i have noticed this. the early pre vanos engines seem to have a 6 pin connector and the wire inside them in a loop but the newer ones only have a 4 pin connection and what appears to be just a finn in the middle.

[brian325i]

@wullie,about the pm,your in scotland dude, wouldnt be worth sendin it over id say,sorry

@dicko,call down whenever,ill send on my phone number

[dicko]

Nice one Brian I wouldnt mind a look at that s50 anyway

[rolo_e30]

does the E30 gearbox fit the E36 engine?

[dicko]

I think so

[Brianmoooore]

E30 gearbox (6 pot) fits the E36 engine, but will be rotated 10 degrees around its axis.

[dicko]

The m50 engine i am fitting has Cat,s and one O2 sensor
I am thinking of chopping of the cat,s is this a good idea or will it cause problems with lack of back pressure

[Brianmoooore]

Mine runs happily on an E30 325 system with no problems. O2 sensor is fitted to one of the downpipes, just before it bends from vertical-ish to horizontal. Weld on a cut down and shaped M18 X 1.5 nut.

[dicko]

Thanks Brian will do that

[rolo_e30]

E30 gearbox (6 pot) fits the E36 engine, but will be rotated 10 degrees around its axis.

is that a problem? or is it something that can be sorted easy?

[DanThe]

Ive posted pictures in a few threads of this, just do a search

[patrick85]

I've just read this thread from start to finish and I think my eyes are melting. I've just started on this conversion after waiting for money to straighten itself out, and after looking for an engine for ages. I got a 94 525i last week and the engine mounts. I don't have the engine in the car yet but I have it sitting level on a trolley with a 316 e30 gearbox on it and it's not 10 degrees off. it all seems to be lined up ok. I've used an m42 starter, clutch, and what I think is an m20 solid flywheel, but it came off the m-42. Anyway can't wait to get it in. Thought it would be in by now but was snowed under with work since I got my 4 tonne lift installed. I'm using a Hitachi ex60 as an engine crane, so should have no problem lifting it in.

[dicko]

Brain just wondering would a 3.07 diff ratio be the right one for my conversion I am using a ZF box out of a 92 525i sport . I dont want a car that is howling away on the motorway at 80 mph.

[DanThe]

In my opinion, and based on my many motorway journeys with a 3.25 diff, a 3.07 ratio would be money well spent

I think Brian has a 2.9 ish diff

[dicko]

Thanks will try and find one

[DanThe]

I dont think any E30 compatible diffs came in 3.07 ratio, there are other diffs of this ratio that can be rebuilt into the E30 casing though

[dicko]

Oh while i was putting the engine and box in I found a sticker on the gearbox saying only to use atf oil ?
Is that right for the manual ZF box.

[DanThe]

Thats right, I use synthetic MTF in mine though, stops the chatter at idle from the M20 fly/clutch

[dicko]

Would a diff out of a E36 325tds be to tall a ratio i think its about 2.5 /1

[DanThe]

Yes, 3:1 is round about where you need to be

[dicko]

thanks

[dicko]

Do 2.8 Z3,s have an lsd I was looking on real oem and the ratio is 3.15 which suits me an a scrap yard has one but i dont know if its lsd or not

[Brianmoooore]

Do 2.8 Z3,s have an lsd I was looking on real oem and the ratio is 3.15 which suits me an a scrap yard has one but i dont know if its lsd or not

Should be a Torsen LSD, which behaves exactly like an open diff in all the normal tests.
Take the rear cover off, and if you can see lots of little spiral gears inside the diff block, then it's a Torsen.

[jmc330i]

Do 2.8 Z3,s have an lsd I was looking on real oem and the ratio is 3.15 which suits me an a scrap yard has one but i dont know if its lsd or not

Should be a Torsen LSD, which behaves exactly like an open diff in all the normal tests.
Take the rear cover off, and if you can see lots of little spiral gears inside the diff block, then it's a Torsen.

I think its only the Z3 coupe and ZM coupe that have the Torsen diff, the roadsters all have the clutch type.

[Eddy]

Need to get this of my mind..

I`ve used a golf 2 1,3 brake servo,used an extention rod for the original BMC and I had to shorten the rod that goes inside the cabin to the pedal and make new threads on it to mount it on the pedal.
All that and it didnt work at all. My M50B25 sucked so much air out of the servo that the membrane just colapsed . OK,i thought it must be a faulty servo...so I got another one,and did all the above once again.. And it failed once again.

So I dont know what its wrong,bud LHD E30 dont work with golf servos...

So the next solution was to grind down the ribs on the intake plenum,and it touches the original E30 servo,it brakes OK,but beacuse of the vibrations of the engine on start-up that goddamn plastic hose from the idle acutator falls out of the intake plenum(on the opposite side of the throtle body..) and I have to go and put it back in,otherwise the car doesnt run..

Beacuse of that Im looking for the next ground braking solution...
Dont have faith in the golf servos any more,so please help find the next best thing

[Brianmoooore]

You're doing something wrong! M50B25 engine doesn't produce any stronger vacuum than the Golf that the servo belongs on.
Ideal servo would be a 325iX one.

[Eddy]

I`m doing every thing right Its just that I think the UK E30 and UK golfs are diferent in those areas- you guys dont have to shorten the rod to the pedal for instance...

The ix servo is my next thing to try,its just so hard to find them here

[patrick85]

Quick question. I have my M50 in and mated to a 316i box, with a standard prop shortened 64mm. All fits perfect. But I need to know hat gear linkage should I get. I was thinking a linkage from a 320 or 325 would fit because the box is further back in those cars like it is in this because they're all 6 pots. Any quick answers for me.

[jmc330i]

I have my M50 in and mated to a 316i box, Any quick answers for me.

No answers Im afraid, but a quick question - what flywheel, clutch and starter motor have you used?

Cheers

[patrick85]

Flywheel came off a 318is, but it's not a dual mass, not sure if they came with a dual mass flywheel or not but this is the one that was on it and it's solid.

Clutch came off said flywheel and I can't remember if it was the one listed for the is or not as I changed the clutch about 5k miles before i removed the engine. A mate in a parts shop gave me three clutches because I wasn't sure if the solid flywheel was standard or not. Perhaps someone can tell me if it should be solid or dual mass. So I just used the one that was the same as the clutch i took out.

Starter is also M42. A page or so back someone said that the standard e30 boxes will sit 10 degrees out when mated to the M50 but my gbox sits perfectly on the original gbox mounts. Everything seems fine as I started the engine yesterday and all seemed ok, but far from finished. I need a linkage next. I''m gonna do a thread when I'm finished i think.

PS I'm stuck for some exhaust manifolds. Wanted ad placed already. Can someone tell me what models the tubular steel ones came off??

[Omi]

328i/528i should have tubular manifolds, I'm watching a set on eBay at the minute, but let me know if you start bidding and I'll leave you to them. I only wanted them as spares in case I cocked mine up.

M42 box fits straight as per your findings, E30 6-pot boxes sit 10 or 15 degrees out and require a modified linkage.

I've not known a UK M42 with the dual-mass flywheel. Every one I've seen or heard of has been single mass.