92 nv m50 into 318is

[Wh33lhop]

this swap completely sucks. i jsut did it and i hate it. pissed off on how shitty this is. waste of time and money. m20 is litterly about just as fast. better power atleast. the only good thing is reliability. turn key.

Well what were you expecting? It's a modest increase in power, not an S38 swap. Start doing some mods here and there and it'll wake it up a bit, but where the NV motor really shines is boost (well either that or paving the way for an S52).

[richardb]

I need help with coolant hoses...

Plastic piece from my spider hose is missing that goes to the hose for the expansion tank... do I need to spend $90 on a new spider hose because that piece is missing? It's like a connector.

Also, what hoses to use for upper and lower from t-stat housing using a m42 radiator. And, the lower heater hose that goes to the back of the head, the e30 318is one doesn't work, use the 325i one?

Thanks

[richardb]

I put in the clutch, flywheel, new derlin shift tower bushings, and the transmission yesterday. It was a pain in the ass doing it laying on your back and without help from anyone... but I did it. I lifted up the motor so it was tilted down as much as possible, and used nearly 2 ft of extensions to tighten the top two torx bolts on the bell-housing. So, it IS possible to put the tranny in after the motor is already in, just need a-lot of patience.

The shifter sits perfectly in the shift console as well with the amount I shortened the selector rod and carrier.

[Lost]

Hey Richard!

One question:
Do you feel some big difference between this m50 and m42 that you had before?
I currently have m42 and was considering m50/52 swap... for some power gain.

Thx!:)

[richardb]

Hey Richard!

One question:
Do you feel some big difference between this m50 and m42 that you had before?
I currently have m42 and was considering m50/52 swap... for some power gain.

Thx!:)

It's not running yet, but it should be this week! I'll let you know, but I'm sure the 50 horsepower difference is worth while.

[richardb]

Here's an update:

I made a nice little power steering res. bracket with a 4'' piece of I think M8 threaded rod and some nuts and lock washers off of the driver side mount arm. I had to shorten the line from the res. to the rack, for some reason that line came right out at the mount arm.





Here's one of the flywheel after installation... notice the SS reps hit on the trans tunnel... and still do after the transmission is in. Did I get a shitty set? Oh well.. I will have to heat them and bend out of the way.



Here is the temp sensor on the head that must be changed for correct temp reading on the gauge cluster. I looked on real oem and the m42 and m20 part numbers are the same, so feel free to use either. It's the one in the middle.



Old/New



And the dreaded NYLON barbed fitting I used... I boiled one of those guys for about 20 minutes and then tried breaking it with a pliers, needless to say it held up and didn't melt or break. I think it is ok to use.



yeah... spider hose to the top, hose from back of head to the bottom tube.

I also bought some barbed fuel fittings and new fuel line to connect to the fuel rail, I'm assuming the hard metal lines from the m50 and m42 are the same (black to black, silver to silver) as far as feed and return is concerned. If you object to this speak now or forever hold your peace lol

Picking up a 944 booster tomorrow. Hope it goes well and clears the intake well. For some reason other people's intake mani's seem to have way more fins than mine, maybe its a NV thing. Notice the fins don't even start until 4-5 inches down, so I shaved one of them in case it gets in the way.



On a side note I am not going to rush things for bavauto's show and shine, not worth it. Will be riding in style in my girlfriend's civic. I also picked up a pair of black leather sports I probably over paid for... ones in the car, here's the other one

[richardb]

Picked up a nice 320i booster today from a local bmw guy, I have to modify the rod and paint it tomorrow. I test fitted it with the manifold on and it clears with 1/4'' space between the manifold and the booster. Turns out I didn't even need to shave that fin.

[richardb]

Put all the shit together tonight, cranked it with the coil pack plugs disconnected for a bit to get oil pressure/fuel, connected the plugs and it fired right up ran for a few seconds and died. Got it running after a few cranks and it idled like it had a severe cam in it (very lumpy) but I'm guessing this is due to 1) open headers, 2) no 02 sensor , and 3) no vacuum line from manifold to brake booster. Any how, I'm pleased that it runs.

On a side note, does anyone know what the plug that comes off the same wire as the MAF plug is for?

[416stroker]

The plug is for the purge valve

[richardb]

Ahh.... I had a valve on the charcoal cannister (m42 setup) is that the purge valve? I should also note that the gas in the car is exactly 1 year old, although I did add the fuel additive for storing fuel when I got the car but I'm sure it is shit gas. The car also vibrates like hell probably from that SS rep tube being right against the trans tunnel.

[416stroker]

Yes it goes in line between the charcoal canister and the throttle body.

[richardb]

Ok good. Fixed the lumpy idle problem, it was just the vac line that goes from the intake manifold to the brake booster. Plugged it with my finger and it idled like a dream.

[richardb]

Guess I can update this now, I bought a new center support bearing and pressed it on the driveshaft. Turner motorsport provided some nice slotted stoptech front rotors and PBR ultimate ceramic pads. Throttle cable and bracket for e34 525i coming tomorrow from BMW as well as new driveshaft nuts and bolts. Just ordered a 14'' Spal pusher high performance fan with curved blades (quieter) from bimmerworld.com ($149) its rated for 1720 CFM and their "basic" relay kit, and mounting kit- that shit came to @219 shipped. It sucks but, what can you do really.... I put in the oem a/c fan and it turned out it's no good.

I'm also working on the exhaust right now, going with a full stainless 3'' after the merge after the headers with v-band setup. I will be putting together a turbo for the car and another motor (m52?) for the spring and don't feel like paying for an exhaust twice. So feel free to say how the 3'' exhaust is a bad idea, but it will be reused when I connect it to a turbo downpipe. Jon at 666 fab is going to do the work hopefully in the next week.

[SamE30e]

bahahahahaha

I used the exact same plastic fitting for my coolant hose



You're pretty much my swap twin.

[richardb]

yay swap twin!