E30 M3 Conversion... Help needed!

[orr]

Question for Buster or anyone else who may be able to help! I am doing an S50 E30 conversion. Can anyone tell me is the sump that you have to put on the M3 engine an E34 M50 24 valve 525 or the older 12 valve engine, because the M50 engines that i have been looking at in the scrapyards seem to have the sump pickup oil pan at the rear of the engine instead of the front, which i need.
My car is a 1990 E30 M3.
Cheers!

[GermanGorilla]

Hi,

orr- you require a M50 525 sump.

Regards,

The Gorilla.

[Tom944]

And the E34 M50 Oilpickup

[jmc330i]

Yup, E34 M50 24v 525i sump and oil pick up pipe.

Which S50 engine are you using - 3.0ltr or 3.2ltr? If you are using the 3.2ltr S50 you will also need to change the oil pump to the 3.0ltr S50 pump, because the 3.2ltr has a different pump with twin pick-ups that wont fit in the M50 sump.

[Demlotcrew]

Have any of you guys thought about a custom sump?

I really think that the M50 sump sits way too low, its about two inshes past the front crossmember.

Where as it should be higher than it.

Andrew

[jmc330i]

Yeah, the M50 sump does sit low, but I reckon for the price of a custom sump you could buy a sump guard - thats my plan anyway.

I think some of the guys in the USA raise the engine slightly with shims, partly for the manifold/crossmember clearance but also for sump to ground clearance.

[buster]

i think it does sit a little low but like James said,you could shim the mounts.Theres plenty of clearance for the rack so appart from it being a little low,its perfect, no messing about replacement.
Is it a 3.2 or 3.0 ltr your fitting ?

[orr]

Thanks for all the help! It is 3Ltr lump.
Has anybody removed what i think is the EGR valve under the exhaust manifold because it has a pump where the air-con usually is and i would like to remove all of that to make space!
So the guy showing me the M50 engines in the scrapyard must have been out of a E36 and not a 525 because the pan was at the back! Which engine mounts are you guys using for the conversion?
Cheers again....

[buster]

Thanks for all the help! It is 3Ltr lump.
Has anybody removed what i think is the EGR valve under the exhaust manifold because it has a pump where the air-con usually is and i would like to remove all of that to make space!
So the guy showing me the M50 engines in the scrapyard must have been out of a E36 and not a 525 because the pan was at the back! Which engine mounts are you guys using for the conversion?
Cheers again....

That pumps air into the exhaust to fool the emisions,and it can be removed.There is a blanking plate and gasket available from bmw to do this,and its cheap.
Correct on the engines also.The e36 m50's still have the sump bulge at the back but the 5 series (e34) have it at the front like the m20 engine.
the engine mounts are e28 M5 mounts.

[jmc330i]

the engine mounts are e28 M5 mounts.

E28 M5 rubber mounts with the E36 alloy arms.

[buster]

the engine mounts are e28 M5 mounts.

E28 M5 rubber mounts with the E36 alloy arms.

yeah, what he said

[Demlotcrew]

Thing is tho, the sump guard for the E30 is really heavy and how will this affect access to the drain plug?

Andrew

[buster]

i think Ian has the sump guard on his.I dont think it would foul the drain plug,but may make it a bit difficult to remove.Then again,its probably only 4 bolts to take the guard off or you could use one of those vacuum oil extracters so no sump plug removal needed.More than one way to skin a cat i suppose.

[orr]

Thanks again everyone for your help!
I have checked out and the part numbers for the M50 525 and M50 520 and they are both the same sump! I went into BMW and asked them...
Also there is no breather pipe on the E34 sump so what is everyone doing with the breather pipe?
Can anyone tell me the best place to put the vanos pressure thing???? on the side of the engine block on the inlet side because it hits the dip-stick tube when the new sump is fitted!
Cheers!
Orr

[jmc330i]

Yup, the E34 M50 sump is the same between 520i/525i. Did you ask BMW how much???

The breather pipe, vanos pressure thing and dipstick can all be sorted in one go.
The vanos pressure thingy stays where it is - the (M50) dipstick needs bending to clear the plenum, so it just gets bent a bit more to clear the vanos pressure thingy.
There are 2 ways around the breather pipe. You can either add the breather to the dipstick tube or drill and tap the sump to accept the breather (as Buster did IIRC).
I added it to the dipstick......




Not the best pics, but you get the idea. The breather pipe is the one from the S50 sump, I just cut it short, drilled a hole in the dipstick tube and braized the two together.

[orr]

Thanks for all the info mate!
No I didn't ask how much because I went to the scrapyard and got everything for it for £30 off a 520.
Regarding the wiring do you know which pin in the wiring harness does what because I have both ends, one off the E36 S50 and E30 S14 loom so I can wire them together.
Thanks again....
Orr

[bigpimpin]

You need to speak to Ian332iSport, He'll sort out your wiring full stop !

James, that pics will help me explain to someone what I want done! I've just stuck the hose in the end of the dipstick tube at the moment. Looks a bit rough but does the trick, you just pull out the hose and stick in the dipstick to check the oil

We'll have to start a S50E30.com website soon !

[buster]

i just drilled and tapped the sump and fitted it there.

Like so :



View from level sender hole:

[bigpimpin]

Buster, has it got a regular thread size or is some weird and wonderful one?

[buster]

no it was a metric fine thread.Either m12x1.5 or m14x1.5 cant remember now.Probably m12.I gave a drill and tap to johnno i think.PM him and see if he will send it to you.

[orr]

I have just done mine and it is m12x1.5

[orr]

FAO ian332i sport .I have been told your the man to speak to about wiring . I am doing e30 m3 s14 engine swap, putting in a 95 e36 m3 s50 3L I have got the engine harness plugs off both looms to make a connecting harness from the new engine to the car. Can you give me a list or tell me which pin does what, and how to connect them together.
Will everything still work as normal on the instrument cluster after the wiring has been done?
Thanks a lot!
Orr

[bigdek]

ian is in new zealand at the mo i believe

[DanThe]

I did one of these looms the other week, the thread is in the tech forum somewhere, all the info is there

The M50 sump is crazy low, ive got a South African spec sump guard, it sits 1/4" below the pan and its taken some stick



If I didnt have it I reckon id be on my third sump pan by now

[bigpimpin]

Ian is back but might be jet lagged!

Dan where did you get that sump guard? Think I could be needing one of those !

[DanThe]

Bought it from a fellow Zoner at a cracking price

Dont think theyre on realoem, cant find it anyway