1.8 into a 325??????????????

[Tommo32]

how much of a ball ache is it going to be to put a 1.8 into a 325??? im assuming all the wiring harness is going to be useless as it will be different for the extra 2 cylinders? even if it would do with a bit of messing about the tacho would probably under read (?)

Im assuming putting the 1.8 into a 1.6 car would be straight forward, just changing the ECU etc???

what it is i want to re shell my 318 in the future using a good car with a knackered engine, and i know where there is a solid 325 that hasnt run since 96.

it might sound daft but ive messed with many many cars but nothing as new as my E30! fuel injection is all forign to me!!! all these sensors and wiring harnesses scare the crap out of me.

cheers for any advice.

[maxfield]

A loss of about 50hp...

[Tommo32]

yeah but bear in mind its my daily driver, got other stuff to go fast in, the ive got the 318 because the land rover is crap on the motorway and everything else i have drinks way too much fuel.

[Alex]

should go straight in with the right parts and plug into loom but why remove an m20 2.5i and fit a 1.8i m40 which are one of the worst engines bmw have produced and most have loads of head troubles ?

[maxfield]

The M40 is a good engine, albeit it not very powerful and a bit poncy. But sure does take a lot of abuse, quite torquey too.

[Alex]

The M40 is a good engine, albeit it not very powerful and a bit poncy. But sure does take a lot of abuse, quite torquey too.

if the head is good like mine ( last owner had new cam etc fitted 2 year ago)

i suppose there not to bad mine seems nippy enough lol

[Tommo32]

Im not here to debate how good engines are and theres no way im feeding a 2.5 in my daily driver, please try to think of it as a re shelling rather than just downgrading a 325.

[pnd]

dont bother, it will take time money and effort better spent on petrol an early 325 unit which will give 30+mpg not a lot worse than a m40 and so much nicer to drive.

[maxfield]

My head is quiet. So I'm not complaining.

As for being nippy, compared to a milk float, yes...

[Alex]

My head is quiet. So I'm not complaining.

As for being nippy, compared to a milk float, yes...

lol

[Jhonno]

a 325i can give over 30mpg on the motorway.. a 325i with a 318i engine will i believe cost 325i amounts to insure in the weird world that is insurance also

[Tommo32]

grrrrrrrr, lol.

looks like ill sod the knackered 325 then and keep my ebay eye out for another 318 or 316. i just liked the look of the 325's full black leather interior and leccy mirrors and all that jazz.

The thing is my car is great mechanically its just the floorpan isnt great and nothing works on the dash exept the speedo and the clock! might be easy fixes but untill ive had it down to its bones i wont be happy anyway.

[Alex]

grrrrrrrr, lol.

looks like ill sod the knackered 325 then and keep my ebay eye out for another 318 or 316. i just liked the look of the 325's full black leather interior and leccy mirrors and all that jazz.

The thing is my car is great mechanically its just the floorpan isnt great and nothing works on the dash exept the speedo and the clock! might be easy fixes but untill ive had it down to its bones i wont be happy anyway.

you can still get 316i/318i's with leather all e30s have elecy mirrors as standard too. you could always swop the interior over the seats just bolt out with 4 bolts and door cards come off easy enough.

[Tommo32]

yeah i know it was just convinience really, this 325 ive found i could literally push to my place and i wont be expensive by a long shot. but ive a feeling that it was layed up in 96 cos the engine was goosed then i dread to think what it would run like now.

[Alex]

yeah i know it was just convinience really, this 325 ive found i could literally push to my place and i wont be expensive by a long shot. but ive a feeling that it was layed up in 96 cos it was goosed then i dread to think what it would run like now.

i would drop an m30 engine into it and do an lpg conversion for economy

[Tommo32]

and to be fair i quite like the 1.8, it pulls pretty well and is fast enough to keep up with traffic day to day.

Put it this way if i could put a transit diesel engine in with little fuss then i would.

And LPG is great but i bought an LPG kit for the V8 land rover i had but never got round to fitting it. soon got tired of paying £70 a week in petrol and that was last year when petty was 83p a litre.

and there is no way im gonna get a £300 car and fir a £1500 LPG system!

[jaistanley]

Surely it's a hell of a lot easier to buy a low mileage 1.8 car? You see them a lot on ebay, you certainly see more low mileage/good condition 4 pots than 6 pots. (dunno why, perhaps it was only sad twats that bought them and washed them every day, then kept them till the E90 astmah edition came out).

The M42 is an excellent engine. Not to slow and a good one will get up to 38mpg if you're careful! I have one here that needs quite a bit of tlc if you want to make me an offer

[daimlerman]

The 316i touring in the piccie returns 32mpg. The 4 door 2.7 behind it returns 32mpg. The 2.7 is so much more fun to drive....

[Brianmoooore]

To actually answer your original question, the 318i engine is a straight swap for the 325i engine, BUT, keep the engine wiring looms on their respective engines, and swap engines complete with their looms.
The loom plugs into a large (C101) connector beside the fusebox, and is essentially plug and play, but check my stickied warning at the top of this forum.
The engine will need to be complete with gearbox and prop (and diff, if you want any kind of acceleration).
There is a difference in the mounting bracket for the air meter/filter, and you will need front springs for the lighter four cylinder engine.
You may have problems with the DVLA if you try to register it with a smaller engine.

[Tommo32]

Thank you brian, thats all i needed to know.