engine swap e30 318i to 325i

[olibmw318i]

hi ive just bought a bmw 318i and i would like to put a 2.5 engine init does any one have any advice thanks

[leeparkes]

its quite an easy conversion but idealy you need a donor 325i because its not just the engine you need!
you will need engine/box,loom,rad,front suspension,not sure about the prop,and most likely more bits,
virtually plug & play though!

welcome to the zone

[whipsey]

rear trailing arms etc etc

[secondtimelucky]

rear trailing arms etc etc

unless its a touring

[dobbin123]

im doing the same thing mate how are you getting on iv mannagedto get the non powered small shitty 4 pot lump out . now im scratching my head as to how to get the nice 2.5 out of my doner car... now should i take the whole lump and gb out as one or should i split it from the box?# if i do take it out as one whats the easiest way to put it into mine as i had trouble getting the 1.8 box out because of the gear leaver..... il post some pics and maybe start a new thread on progress but can ne one please give me some advise many thanks

[GrindCulture]

Any reason why you didn't just buy a 325i in the first place?

[325rick]

you got a pm oli

[dobbin123]

you got a pm oli

yeah well i did buy a 325i but its a 4 door i got the two door cheap and it is really solid too so hencew the reason im doin a engine swap i have no problems at all with ne of the bodywork isues as thats what i do for a living but when it comes to mechanics thats not a very good point of mine so ne help would be greatly appretiated

[dobbin123]

sorry wrong quote

[GrindCulture]

Any reason why you didn't just buy a 325i in the first place?

yeah well i did buy a 325i but its a 4 door i got the two door cheap and it is really solid too so hencew the reason im doin a engine swap i have no problems at all with ne of the bodywork isues as thats what i do for a living but when it comes to mechanics thats not a very good point of mine so ne help would be greatly appretiated

Ah right fair enough, so you're effectively "reshelling" the 325i? Should be pretty straight forward as all the bits you need can be swapped straight over without problems.

[dobbin123]

what im really confused with is acutally removing and re fitting the lump and box should i try to do it as one or should i split the lump from the box as when i removbed the 1.8 box i had trouble getting the gear leaver out of its little hole in the floor!! now will this be a bitch to do the other way round fitting the new box or are there some tricks i can use to do it?

[GrindCulture]

Engine and box come out fairly easily together. Just detach as much as possible from the engine and take it slowly, guiding it out past all the obstacles that it might get snagged on. You can leave the gear stick in when removing the car, as long as you disconnect the linkage from the stick itself, the leaver housing should drop away from the body of the car as you pull the engine & box forward.

[dobbin123]

oh sweet that sounds great now i am fitting a short shift bar too will this cause me ne trouble when fitting the lot back together?
thanks allot for your help tho verry greatly appretiated il post some pics asap im gonna go to my unit tomorrow and get down and dirty with the old girl so il hopefully be able to take some then thanks again

[GrindCulture]

Short shift will fit all back together in the same way the standard parts came apart.