318i to 318is conversion

[bigmattpowell]

I'm getting sick of my noisy slow 318i and thinking of upgrading the engine as the car's pretty tidy/low miles. Anyone done an engine swap with an m42 from an e36? I'm thinking of saving insurance costs, any bits i can keep i.e. prop shaft, diff etc. or should i just bite the bullet and go for the m20 2.5i route.

[maxfield]

Might aswell go 2.5 or just buy an iS

[bigmattpowell]

mine's a touring though (baby, missus and dog), don't do an iS do they? Also, mine's a 92 with a cat so i believe I'd need a late engine running a cat, hence the e36 idea.

[Chris-W]

You can pick up E30 M42's running cats - I believe it's an easier conversion from an E30.

[bigmattpowell]

well that would be ideal but they dont seem to be easy to come across. People with a good e30 m42 tend to hang on to them, or run em into the ground

[Dan318-is]

If your motor is before aug 92 then you dont need a cat.

m42 or m44 will work, both use the same loom, and the '44 only uses a slightly modded motronic ecu.

early e36 engines are the m42 anyhow mate. deffo a worthwhile conversion into a touring, 325i lump is old slow heavy and dated now imo.

if you really wont a six pot go m50 but for the love of god please dont waste time transplanting a bmw relic into your car (unless its to save a sport or a mint touring) totally worthless imo!

[bigmattpowell]

cheers for that advice simon, so an m42 or m44 conversion, we're talking engine,gearbox, loom, ecu. How about prop,diff, engine mountings? naything i can salvage from the m40?

[Dan318-is]

not sure about props or mounts, the ones on the donar lump should be fine!

if you have an m42 lump with the m42 box, 4.10 is the ideal ratio. i have a ultra rare 4.10 slipper for sale so its your lucky day lol ! failing that the lowest you can go is 3.91, or 4.27 is you dont mind loosing top end but the latter is very rare in slipper form.

obviously if you use an m44 lump you will need the m44 ecu as it is programmed for lambda use. not sure about loom, thats one for brian

reagrds, dan

[bigmattpowell]

thanks for the offer of the diff but i'm only at the planning stage. moving house to a huge drive and double garage. enough room for all manor of scrap german metal!

[Dan318-is]

just how we like it

[tim_s]

If your motor is before aug 92 then you dont need a cat.

m42 or m44 will work, both use the same loom, and the '44 only uses a slightly modded motronic ecu.

bad dan! no, m44 has a completely different loom, and a completely different ecu.

not sure about props or mounts, the ones on the donar lump should be fine!

obviously if you use an m44 lump you will need the m44 ecu as it is programmed for lambda use. not sure about loom, thats one for brian

reagrds, dan

no dan, e36 prop and mounts are no good for the m42. you can use e21 mounts (much cheaper than e30 m42 ones), and you *might* be able to re-use prop and box off your m40.

m44s are obd2, use a completely different injection system to the e30, so forget it.

you also would need to recycle your sump etc, and you'd need an e30 m42 exhaust manifold. oh and an e30 m42 loom and ECU would be easiest.
dan has made out that this conversion is much easier than it is really. the e36 lump will not just drop in.

[tim_s]

other stuff i just remembered. you'll need to fabricate a coilpack bracket, and use an e30 inlet manifold ideally.
basiaclly if you can find an e30 m42 its a dead easy conversion as you can just swap everything over, otherwise its a real pita.

[bigmattpowell]

cheers for that guys, guess i'm holding out for a late e30 m42 then. it's got to be fairly quick and easy or i'll probably get bored and mess it up. nice one.

[E30Mark]

I have available a few parts you may need if you use a M44 lump,

I have spare the following:-

M42 sump (Just thought, the sump on your M40 is the same!)
Inlet manifolds
Exhaust manifold
engine bay wiring loom
ECU

[Dan318-is]

id like to state that the above three posts were not written by me!

i never put regards, dan in my threads

im not called simon!

i didnt write a single one of those!

[Gwynleym10]

I always though that the m42 prop was shorter than the m40 one on an e30 as the m42 engine sites further back in the bay than the m40 does.

Or am I making this up?

[Chris-W]

That's what I understood, too.

[tim_s]

I always though that the m42 prop was shorter than the m40 one on an e30 as the m42 engine sites further back in the bay than the m40 does.

Or am I making this up?

yeah thats my understanding too, but obviously you can bring the m40 prop in some on the collar and all the fittings etc are correct, and an m40 box goes onto a m42, so you might get away with the m40 stuff. that's why i put the *might* bit in!

[tim_s]

id like to state that the above three posts were not written by me!

i never put regards, dan in my threads

im not called simon!

i didnt write a single one of those!

[Dan318-is]

its happened before here too:

http://www.e30zone.co.uk/modules.php?na ... highlight=

i dont even own a dog!

[Chris-W]

Are you on some kind of medication for mood swings or personality irregularities?

[Dan318-is]

No! problem is i use the zone on a lot of computers and it never signs back out if you get me?

but i dont own a dog and dont no anythign about m44s! i think its time for a passwrod change