engines,diffs,g/boxs etc.new for old

[dav325i]

hi everyone.very new to bmw's and was just wondering about a few things.
hve not long got myself a 325i sport and really like the car and can possibly see me keeping this car for a while maybe
obvously as the cars getting older now and inevitably ill need to start replacing parts on the car soon.thing is getting parts for the older cars and getting good condition parts espicially is getting very diffucult for older cars so wondered if parts of the newer bmws are interchangable.ie can i get a engine block from an e46 bmw and would it work or is there far to much work involved
also would the diffs and boxes be suitable for this.
i know everything can probably be fitted at a cost but really looking to find out whats a more or less straight swap.
if anyone can point me in the way of some info would be great or anyone whos gone down this route can help me out would be much appriaciated.
thanks again.
sorry for the speeling and bad grammar just had a few

[Mops]

some parts are interchangable straight away (eg. E36 shifter linkage components), some require some mods (i.e. E36 steering rack), some are possible to fit with extensive modification (i.e. AFAIK e30 5 stud conversion requires whole rear drivetrain from E36 or 3 series compact, including custom driveshaft).

Generally speaking, do a good service - flush fluids including including engine/gearbox/difft oils and crakes/cluth/coolant fluids and whatever esle, do a tuneup (spark plugs, wires, disrtibutor rotor, etc), give it a good cleanup.

If e.g. gearbox still after oil change feels bad, you might wanna secure yourself a spare one, just in case. you should be able to find on e in decent condition.

as far as engine goes, individual engine components are rather not easily interchangable between older and newer models, BUT the engine themselves are. m50 and other conversion are pretty common and not that difficuly. Never the less well maintained m20b25 will last you 250-300k miles, if you dont trash it too often. If you want more grunt you can pick up m30 3.5 engine pretty cheap and do the conversion as your m20 dies.

many possibilities, depends on what you want to do/how you want to do it/how much are you prepared to spend.

[Brianmoooore]

You have a BMW now. You have arrived. These cars are in a completely different world, engineering wise than thinks like Ford, Vauxhall, Peugot, etc., etc.
Almost every part and parts of parts are still available new from BMW dealers, and at a price that you might find surprisingly low. This is backed up by specialist suppliers like GSF and Eurocarparts.
There are no parts on E30s that commonly wear out, except the wiper motor. i.e. If you get one from a scrapyard or breaker, then it's likely to be just as bad as yours.
There is considerable interchangability between E30s and newer models. There are parts for E46s which fit straight on to E30s.

[dav325i]

thanks for the replys guys
was quite a vague post as could cover so any things i suppose.
i know bmw's are built far better than most or all cars but the still get neglected like other car i suppose through time.mines is on an f plate so seen a few owners and some not as good as others lol.
getting my old man have a good look at he car wednesday as first day hes been quiet since i got the car.also gets a pretty good trade discount from eurocp. so hopefully should help when i do need to use them,..hopefully not to much already got a fuel pump and cam kit for wednesday think once thats done the diff wont last to long next lol.
wasnt to sure on the availibility of parts from bmw as alot of companys discontinue parts after about 15years or so
got a few problems i know of just now that will get seen to tomorow and then take from there.
is there anyone that suplies reconditioned diffs and what type of price would i be looking at ?and anyone know what one would cost new from bmw to scared to call and ask myself lol

[hoshy]

thanks for the replys guys
was quite a vague post as could cover so any things i suppose.
i know bmw's are built far better than most or all cars but the still get neglected like other car i suppose through time.mines is on an f plate so seen a few owners and some not as good as others lol.
getting my old man have a good look at he car wednesday as first day hes been quiet since i got the car.also gets a pretty good trade discount from eurocp. so hopefully should help when i do need to use them,..hopefully not to much already got a fuel pump and cam kit for wednesday think once thats done the diff wont last to long next lol.
wasnt to sure on the availibility of parts from bmw as alot of companys discontinue parts after about 15years or so
got a few problems i know of just now that will get seen to tomorow and then take from there.
is there anyone that suplies reconditioned diffs and what type of price would i be looking at ?and anyone know what one would cost new from bmw to scared to call and ask myself lol

A 4.1 lsd from the dealer is circa 900gbp. You can get a quaif atb diff for 600.... Otherwise there are people around who recondition them but I couldn't tell you who sorry.