My m50 swap

[rosphill]

Re:

Nice swap so far! I'm picking up my Vanos M50/E36 tranny/driveshaft next weekend so I'm still in the research/ordering parts/prep stage.
I have a couple questions. Why is the entire front end stripped completely bare i.e. headlights bumpers etc? Also do you have any pics of where you have that jack stand placement in the front? I was thinking about putting the entire car front and back on tall ramps or jack stands but it looked like you were just rocking one front central jack stand?
Anyhoo much props on the swap I hope to be into mine soon.

[ahriley91]

hmmm...Do the e34 mounts work? I used the e28 ones. No problems. I just picked up a brake booster and master cylinder from an e32. Mounted it without any modification. Might have to shave a few fins on the intake manifold though. Not sure though. Which m50 do you want? Vanos or no vanos?

[xwill112x]

nice.thanks for the info, i didn't know that. its always the little shit! always!


but its nice to have someone to ask questions to thats doing the exact swap/setup im doing. i currently have the e36m50 arms, red label 413, the clutch combo as stated above, and the coding plug. should have the m50 soon. im using the e34 mounts and and some shims so i can clear the stock booster.

[ahriley91]

Well get on it man!! All I have to say is prepare for road blocks. They like to pop up. And get all of your parts before hand. There is a website that tells how to convert the m42 to the m20 stuff, so it will work the same for the m50 with the 240. I'll post it for you.

http://www.blackforestindustries.com/m20flywheel.htm

Just substitute the changing the gear for the whole starter. haha

[xwill112x]

i dont know yet, i havent got the m50 yet..! :razz:

[ahriley91]

Does it work for you? Cuz ordering one less part would be great! :)

[xwill112x]

Maybe if I was using a zf tranny? I'm using the 240 and going to the m20 stuff. Single mass flywheel will be better than my 28lb dual mass flywheel. haha

i have the same setup. im using the getrag 240, m20 singlemass, clutch, pp, and starter. thought the tob for the m42 worked aswell.. hmm

[ahriley91]

Maybe if I was using a zf tranny? I'm using the 240 and going to the m20 stuff. Single mass flywheel will be better than my 28lb dual mass flywheel. haha

[xwill112x]

and I am now looking for a m20 starter, single mass flywheel, clutch, pressure plate, and euro 323i throwout bearing.

doesn't the stock m50 tob work??

[ahriley91]

I saw that when I read your entire thread. haha. I was impressed. And still am. I hate when new people just ask and say that they searched when you can tell that they didn't because they are asking dumb questions. Every single bit of information that someone needs is on this forum. They just gotta search. That's my rant for the night. haha.

[Wh33lhop]

Make sure to get the flywheel shaved down.

I did my swap with the E30 as my only car, and I did it on the weekends while taking 17 units of electrical engineering classes, 40 miles from home. It can be done. :p (it did take awhile though)

[ahriley91]

I might feel bold tonight. It's almost the end of spring break and I want to feel like I got something accomplished before I have to go back to school. haha. I'm tryin to find m20 starter, single mass flywheel, clutch, and pressure plate. I can order the 323i throwout bearing from bavauto. Lucky for me though, school isn't to far from home, so coming home on the weekends to get stuff done isn't a big deal. I hope to get the thing running relatively soon. I need to find an e36 exhaust too.

[Wh33lhop]

New clutch and trans are in the car, I replaced some other stuff and the M50's running pretty well. The trans doesn't seem to like going into 4th, but it'll work for now.

I think if you rearrange the wires in the E34 harness it may work, but I haven't been brave enough to cut the zipties yet.

[ahriley91]

haha. I'm pretty sure I'm just gonna boost mine eventually. Possibly end of summer, beginning of the next school year. Basically whenever I have money. I think I'm just gonna solder the o2 up to it. I wish that I had gotten the e36 wiring harness, but I got everything when I bought my motor. I remember reading that you had some problems with your transmission. Any updates with that?

[Wh33lhop]

Glad to help. You're getting there. You can run the car without the O2 sensor if need be, but see if you can find the O2 sensor connector in a junkyard and solder a new one on (4 wires) or you can go for an E36 harness. I haven't been able to get the E34 harness to work with the ECU mounted in the stock position yet. If I were to do it again I'd go with an E36 harness (and an S50, haha).