M52B28 Conversion

[bss325i]

Ok i've attemped to read the epic 35 page thread on M50/52 swaps and it seems there is some conflicting info.

I think i know basicly whats needed. I will use (if i buy it) a late 95 E36 328i with EWS and i want to use the ZF 5 speed box it comes with.

So far what i can gather, i need to use the following,

E36 alloy engine mount arms
E28 M5 rubber engine mounts
E30 rubber gearbox mounts
E36 328i rad
E34 M50/52 Sump, oil pick up and dipstick

What i'm not sure about is the following,

What prop?

What gear linkage?

Is the E36 328i rack suitable for the rack conversion?

Does the Fritz Bitz M50/52 manifold clear the E36 rack conversion like a BTB one does?

If not are the E36 steel tubular manifolds suitable for modding to clear the E36 rack?

Thanks for any help.

[benjy]

Does the Fritz Bitz M50/52 manifold clear the E36 rack conversion like a BTB one does?

If not are the E36 steel tubular manifolds suitable for modding to clear the E36 rack?

Thanks for any help.

As far as I'm aware the fritz manifold was design to suit all of the various combinations.........but dont quote me! Been a while since ive spoke to Dave about it!

And yes you can mod the 328 manifolds to go round the 36 rack conversion.

HTH, ben

[ian332isport]

You may find Ste's build writeup useful as well.

http://www.e3024v.com/project.htm

Ian.

[bss325i]

You may find Ste's build writeup useful as well.

http://www.e3024v.com/project.htm

Ian.

Thanks Ian. I actually read that fairly soon after i joined the zone but will read it again.

I know the E30 M3 prop fits but is there any suitable cheaper alternatives to use?

[DanThe]

Rear half of a 328 prop can be used in place of the front of an E30 prop apparently, you will obviously have to have this balanced, I had a custom front half made as it was only £65

[ian332isport]

Rear half of a 328 prop can be used in place of the front of an E30 prop apparently, you will obviously have to have this balanced, I had a custom front half made as it was only £65

I think you can use the complete 328i prop, but you need to fit an E30 centre bearing to it (possibly fitted backwards). I'm sure it's been discussed on here before.

Ian.

[Ant]

E36 328 Manual prop does indeed fit straight on, and as usual Ian is 100% on that centre bearing.

I have a spare S50 manifold Barry should you wish to take on the challenge

[Bob_S]

What the flying fuck are you on Barry?

[daimlerman]

I understand that the E36 'boxes are direct drive 5th gear,as opposed to the E30 'box direct drive 4th gear and overdrive 5th.This was my reason for selecting the M40 type gearbox and standard E30 prop/diff. combo.Think you may run into problems with gear linkage too,once again,raiding the E30 parts bin for a 320 gearstick support and selector rod and a 1.9 Z3 stick sorted mine out.Fritz manifold is the expensive way round the exhaust issue,check out my build thread(daimlerman's folly) for piccies of this manifold.Looks to me to be plenty of room around the standard rack,so I see no reason why an E36 one will not fit,but I have not tried myself.

[DanThe]

What the flying **** are you on Barry?

My thoughts also, with a full time job I dont know where he gets the time from for fettling his fleet of E30's!

[bss325i]

What the flying **** are you on Barry?

My thoughts also, with a full time job I dont know where he gets the time from for fettling his fleet of E30's!

Full time mrs and 18 month old boy as well!

[DanThe]

Do you lock them in a cellar or something? I have to get up at stupid 'o' clock to work on my cars

[Jon_Bmw]

Do you lock them in a cellar or something? I have to get up at stupid 'o' clock to work on my cars

Tell me about it, I was up at half 10 the other day removing 309 wishbone bushes. No rest for the wicked.

[DanThe]

Is that our time or frog time Jon? Wouldnt surprise me if your alarm clock was french also

[Jon_Bmw]

Ye ol faithful GMT.

[bss325i]

Lets just say i'm good at "time management"!

[jaistanley]

Better than I sodding am!

Yea, the 328i prop is the one you want, with an E30 centre bearing (either early or late, depending on whether the car is a pre-facelift or facelift). The centre bearing is backwards as the whole E36 prop is 'backwards' compared to our E30 ones, ie the splined bit is on the rear half compared to on the front half of our cars. It'll make perfect sense when you have it in front of you.

The 328i rack is ideal, though if it's from a moredoor it'll be slightly slower than a coupé.

You want a 3.25ish diff.

You could get E36 M3 manifolds on there once you bend over and let BTB modify them for you, otherwise it'll be worth ringing fritz's bits. I understand that with some clever engineering in the steering shaft you can get away with fitting E36 328i/323i steel manifolds with no modifications. I've not tried this myself so am not going to say 100% so as to avoid dissapointment. You can certainly mod the tubular steel 328i ones to fit ad a decet engineering shop wont charge very much (you only have to take some out of each primary ad re-weld so the whole thing is more 'stubby').

Using the 328i gearbox is best.. They're very good. You can use the E36 M3 3.0 or 328i linkage and it all works fine.

Don't worry about the EWS as long as you have everything.. From looking at the diagrams Ian sent me, and the bits I have here on my desk, it's all quite simple to wire up.

Hope that clarifies/re-iterates everything for you dude.

PS if you dont want to spend out on a new diff because you already have the right slipper, it's possible to use the M42 gearbox with (I think) an E30 325i manual prop.

Jai

[Bob_S]

m42 box and 325 prop here

Barry, I now see.. time management? haha

[benjy]

I'm using a 3.15lsd with e36 'box. 4K @90ish.....going by memory as ive got no speedo

[jaistanley]

A sat nav will confirm..

I've gotten used to having no speedo or a rubbish one.. The one in my daily golf is insane! Though I've only memorised the speeds in 4th and 5th.. Sometimes I have to change up to check my speed! lol

Jai