My e30 318is s52 swap thread

[windsor318is]

well after 10 years of owning my e30, im finally taking the m42 paper weight out, and installing an s52 myself with the help of a good friend whos done the swap into his e36. im pretty camera happy, so ill have pics along the way, including all the swap parts as they come in. im also going to need some r3vlimited tech support from you guys that have done it before, so here we go!

heres the start of the swap, just have the hood off, and the slug is weighting to jump out


AC need to go bye bye, for know...


im assuming charcoal cannister is not need, so that got pulled..


car is up, to disconnect exhaust/tranny/shaft, bumper had to be removed, could fit underneith


dissconnecting brake booster, what a whore, havent got the pin you can see in the pic out yet..need more patience for it


how long do you think this 4:10 will last with the s52? im going to find out!


heres adriano my doctor assistant with white shop coat working on the rusted exhaust


a WOP's favorite tool........a hammer


stupid headers where in the way till we pulled them out form the bottom


setup number 1, just to get clearance to pull the headers out.


flat tire means we cant put it done yet, pumping it with my e36 in the driveway


this might work a little better, setup number 2


only armenians smoke cigarettes while pulling motors out


if only the s52 would go in this easy..


straight to the recyclers, anyone need a SSK from bavauto, or a centerforce dual friction clutch?


i dunno why i was fasinated with shifting gears with the engine out..


ahhh yes, the classic engine bay pic, ive been waiting for so long.


thats all for know, ill keep this thread updated, now that the motors out, the hard part begins, cleaning and shaving the engine bay, ready for the body shop. going to pickup the s52 in toronto on the weekend.

[static]

so basically you are putting a bigger paper-weight in, right?...



j/k ;)
good stuff, congrats. Make sure to freshen up the motor/accessories when it's still out. It'd be much harder to do it after it's in. Also put a quicker rack while youre in there if you still haven't.
4.10 is going to be interesting on a highway. I might have a spare 3.25LSD soon.

[etxxz]

right on!! you and i are very close in this s52 swap. i'm a dozen or so hours ahead of you, but glad to see some progress...btw you'll need the canister don't throw it away.

ahhh so exiting!! i too have a 4.10lsd that i don't feel like swapping out again just yet :thumsup:

[318isbmw]

right on!! you and i are very close in this s52 swap. i'm a dozen or so hours ahead of you, but glad to see some progress...btw you'll need the canister don't throw it away.

ahhh so exiting!! i too have a 4.10lsd that i don't feel like swapping out again just yet :thumsup:

haha, me 2. Except I'm keeping the getrag 250. But this is funny we're all runnin the 4.10's.

[PiercedE30]

Is that an E36 front bumper on your car?

[318isbmw]

its the e36 looking kit I believe...

[windsor318is]

so basically you are putting a bigger paper-weight in, right?...



j/k ;)
good stuff, congrats. Make sure to freshen up the motor/accessories when it's still out. It'd be much harder to do it after it's in. Also put a quicker rack while youre in there if you still haven't.
4.10 is going to be interesting on a highway. I might have a spare 3.25LSD soon.

thanks im shopping for the rack as we speak, i have a brand new e30 one, but im selling it to get the e36 rack. where should i order the install kit for it from? what do you rev at on the highway with the 3.25? i dont wanna be able to go more than 100mph on the highway.

[windsor318is]

right on!! you and i are very close in this s52 swap. i'm a dozen or so hours ahead of you, but glad to see some progress...btw you'll need the canister don't throw it away.

ahhh so exiting!! i too have a 4.10lsd that i don't feel like swapping out again just yet :thumsup:

fucken right lets do this!! you might be ahead of me by a bit, but ill be falling behind slowly, im going to shave the engine bay i decided. so thats going to take some time lol! and im getting the engine bay sprayed after that.
he he cant weight to brake the diff, i home i dont hit anything lol!!

why do i need that stupid cannister, i want a clean bay!

[windsor318is]

Is that an E36 front bumper on your car?

yes sir. AV3 kit with reiger e36 m3 lip moulded in.

[MR 325]

You don't "need" the canister, I am not running mine.

[zav3n]

heyhey im running a 4.10 in mine with a getrag 240 and it more of a pain to much shifting to be honest and it tops out at around 125-mph. you need to get a 3.73 or something a bit lower-plus gas mileage is horrible with the 4.10
ps if your gunna run the getrag 260 you have to run a e36 325i manual driveshaft
-zaven

[Teaguer]

ps if your gunna run the getrag 260 you have to run a e36 325i manual driveshaft
-zaven

Say what ?
You can just use the E30 d-shaft from the same M20 car the tans came from .

[windsor318is]

no no, im using the zf tranny from the s52, so 3.73 is still the way to go? im reading about people swaping the z3 rear diff in thats 3.25, is this a direct swap?

[Teaguer]

I replied in your other thread about which ratios are ideal .

The Mcoupe and Mroadster had the 3.23 as factory .
They will work as long as you use the E30 cover and output flanges .

[static]

4.10 is going to be nuts with ZF (not in a good way)

i run 3.25 with ZF and sometimes wish i had something like 3.15 instead. I am at 4krpm while doing 140km/h (not mph) good passing power in 5th though.

what are you doing for exhaust? my advice is to adapt the complete stock exhaust with perhaps an aftermarket (not magnaflow) e36 catback, if you're looking for a decently civilized ride.