sump diff and steering question

[phi1]

Hi there,
There is a e36 325/8 engine in there and i have a couple of questions. Ultimatly this engine will be coming out and a v8 will be going in there! Basicly, when mot'ing it today i noticed that the sump is the lowest part of the whole car! this looks like it's going to get smashed to pieces I saw somewhere on here that a diffrent sump should be fitted which sump is this?

Also when driving the car, in 5th gear at 60 were at around 3.5k-4k it's really low geared and will spin it's wheels up in 4th gear what ratio diff should i be running with this setup? It's running an e36 box do I need an e30 diff or a e36 diff?

Last question there is a steering linkage that is hitting the manifold under hard left hand and harsh driving, it's had it's rubber bush replaced with a metal one but it's still hitting is there a work around? It looks like I could turn it round possibly or what would you suggest for this?

Regards

[DanThe]

This is your car? You bought converted?
E34 sump is very low in the E30, its a good idea to fit a sump guard if your car is lowered much, sounds like you have the original diff, what model E30 is it?
First job, fit new engine mounts

[phi1]

The car is lowered on coilovers i belive, is there a diffrent sump you can fit then? or is it just have it sit low and theres nothing you can do about it. It's 318.

[e30-EVN]

No other sump is available unfortunatly.... The only way around this issue is space the engine mounts up by 20mm using washers or something similar.

20mm doesn't sound a lot but it could be the difference between life or death of sump which incidently are pricey now as folks know why they are used and therefore people have become greedy!

By the way, if like me you have no 4 poster ramp, and use jacks and stands its engine+box out - box off - clutch and fly off to change sump!!

So not ideal mate obv

[Jimbob]

RPM do a sump guard for £125 (fitted to Jozi's M52):

[TouringTash]

This is your car? You bought converted?
E34 sump is very low in the E30, its a good idea to fit a sump guard if your car is lowered much, sounds like you have the original diff, what model E30 is it?
First job, fit new engine mounts

[phi1]

I will space the engine up a little with some washers on the mounts! This leaves me with a few issues still, I still have the issue with the steering, below is a pic of where it's hitting!




Also what diff should I look at getting? it's running a 5speed box from the e36 (the throw of the gearstick is huge!! any way to reduce this)


And lastly, what brake servo do I need to think about getting as the brakes are crap at the moment, I plan on fitting rx7 brakes but for a tempary measure what can I do? As far as I am aware it's got the standard on there at the moment.


Cheers Phil[/img]

[DanThe]

You need new mounts, second hand mounts, especially the wrong ones which you have, are never going to work. Those are E36 mounts which are probably 15-20mm shorter than the recommended E24 S38 mounts.
Your never going to do any good with that steering linkage and standard manifolds either, realistically you need to bring that rear manifold closer to the block, you can kill 2 birds by fitting an E36 rack at the same time the manifolds are sorted. What exhaust system is it?
There is a very nice man on this forum that sells pre-modified manifolds and custom frontpipes to join onto a 325i system, clears the E36 rack too

What diff do you have? You need a medium case if you want it to last.
Clio phase 2 servo is the best

[E30BeemerLad]

Looks like he has a manual rack looking at the length of the lower part of the steering coupling.

An E36 rack sharpens up the turning no end and Dan (above) sells all the bits you need to convert an E30 to E36 steering rack (steering coupling spline) and the PAS pipes. I can also recommend his off the shelf modified manifolds

Bottom pair in this pic

[phi1]

Thanks for all the suggestions, the engine is coming out tomorrow to make way for a m60b40 in january!