S50 swap issues!!!! please help

[merrrr]

So ill start by saying i bit off a little more than i can chew. i have never attempted such a task but i have some basic knowledge and am pretty car savvy.
i have an 89 325i convertible. i already have the 95 m3 engine transmission clutch sitting in my garage. as of now some problems have come about.
i cant safely raise the car high enough to drop the engine from the bottom nor do i have enough clearance in my garage to lift it out. i was playing with the idea of drilling through the spot welds and taking off the front clip so i can just pull the engine straight out. and i would get it re welded when i hav the swap done. idk if that would pose any threats but it would definitely make things a whole lot easier.
i wish it were set up like the e36 .. since the front clip is removable you can take the engine sub frame suspension and steering rack out at the same time. if anyone has any ideas/suggestions or give me some guidance that would be solid.
-Chris

[e30s50dan]

What are you useing to roll your engine under the car. I made mine out of two by fours and small casters. Where the oil pan sat inbetween the wood close to the floor and raised the car with 6 ton jacks at their highest point and 2x12 of wood under the jacks. I've done this on two swaps and has worked great for me. Oh I didn't have the intake manifold on either. Give it a try

[White325is]

Do you have a hoist?
Maybe buy one from harbor freight.
unhook everything from the car.
Roll car outside.
pull old motor.
roll car inside.
clean everything in the bay that you want to.
get new motor ready for install.
Roll car outside.
install motor.
roll car inside.
finish install.

Thats what I suggest.

[dreamchasin]

Do you have a hoist?
Maybe buy one from harbor freight.
unhook everything from the car.
Roll car outside.
pull old motor.
roll car inside.
clean everything in the bay that you want to.
get new motor ready for install.
Roll car outside.
install motor.
roll car inside.
finish install.

Thats what I suggest.

Very easy, don't understand why this would be an issue, unless you're parked in grass. Even parked in gravel you can lay down some plywood or something.

[blackhawkimpact]

Do you have a hoist?
Maybe buy one from harbor freight.
unhook everything from the car.
Roll car outside.
pull old motor.
roll car inside.
clean everything in the bay that you want to.
get new motor ready for install.
Roll car outside.
install motor.
roll car inside.
finish install.

Thats what I suggest.

^+1
Exactly what I did. And I too, had to room to work in.

[StereoInstaller1]

What are you useing to roll your engine under the car. I made mine out of two by fours and small casters. Where the oil pan sat inbetween the wood close to the floor and raised the car with 6 ton jacks at their highest point and 2x12 of wood under the jacks. I've done this on two swaps and has worked great for me. Oh I didn't have the intake manifold on either. Give it a try

I have a wild idea of using a chain hoist on a rafter while having the rear wheels on ramps. Your rolling cradle sounds like a winner too. Do you have headers on first? Do you have any pictures? I wanna see your contraption!

[7pilot]

So ill start by saying i bit off a little more than i can chew. i have never attempted such a task but i have some basic knowledge and am pretty car savvy.
i have an 89 325i convertible. i already have the 95 m3 engine transmission clutch sitting in my garage. as of now some problems have come about.
i cant safely raise the car high enough to drop the engine from the bottom nor do i have enough clearance in my garage to lift it out. i was playing with the idea of drilling through the spot welds and taking off the front clip so i can just pull the engine straight out. and i would get it re welded when i hav the swap done. idk if that would pose any threats but it would definitely make things a whole lot easier.
i wish it were set up like the e36 .. since the front clip is removable you can take the engine sub frame suspension and steering rack out at the same time. if anyone has any ideas/suggestions or give me some guidance that would be solid.
-Chris

How sturdy is the garage? Are the roof supports tough enough for you to install a block and tackle rig on one of the crossbeams?
is there enough height to clear the engine/trans/subframe/front suspension mass?
This would enable you to lift the rolling chassis off the engine/trans/front subframe after the latter mass has been unbolted.
You may have to decrease the height of the engine by removing the intake and cam cover.

Otherwise, you could drill out the spot welds and pull the core/headlight support and front impact beam .
This would be you sole option if the answers to the above are emphatically NO


m

[ck_taft325is]

How sturdy is the garage? Are the roof supports tough enough for you to install a block and tackle rig on one of the crossbeams?
is there enough height to clear the engine/trans/subframe/front suspension mass?
This would enable you to lift the rolling chassis off the engine/trans/front subframe after the latter mass has been unbolted.
You may have to decrease the height of the engine by removing the intake and cam cover.

Otherwise, you could drill out the spot welds and pull the core/headlight support and front impact beam .
This would be you sole option if the answers to the above are emphatically NO


m

If there's ANY span in the garage (over 12'x12') I would not recommend this. Or, brace the span with a 4"x4" 1/3-1/2 the distance. I highly doubt anything would happen, but the fact is, it very likely could. And that's a bad day. To give a reference, I once remodelled a garage because they had a 100lb body bag hanging from the 2"x6" rafters spanning over 14'. A repeated solid kick brought half the roof down on them, crushing one of their cars and injuring one of the room mates.

So, I'd hang an engine off the rafters/beams/ceiling with care.

I'd go for what Dinan said. If you're limited on space, roll it out, remove, roll it in, clean, roll it out, install, roll it in, finish. Best of luck and toss up some pictures :)

[merrrr]

So i managed to successfully pull the engine. the car is sitting on 4 ton jack stands in the front and shitty 2 ton jack stands on the back, I have a professional 3000 pound engine hoist.
To pull the engine i first secured the engine on the hoist, then i unscrewed the engine mounts, removed the subframe with shocks rack control arms hubs all attached, lowered the engine enough to remove the transmission under the car, lifted the engine out and that was that.
all went very smooth i was shocked to tell you the truth.
one of my friends has been taking high res pictures on a really nice camera i will post some pictures tommo or sometime soon.
i am honestly so psyched right now words can not explain. i started at midnight and now 3 in the morning and just finished. idk how im gonna make it to class tommo!!!!!!
thanks everybody for the advise and suggestions hopefully this new engine goes in just as easy as the old one came out

[merrrr]

i just took a pic on my iphone for now better pics to come

[e30s50dan]

I have an electric hoist in my garage that has been a godsend!..I braced the truces up when i built the garage. i have about 200 bucks in it ,got from harbor freight.it has removed and installed many bmw/porsche engines..i will try and snap a photo later.

[etxxz]

the other way of doing it is by using the hoist to lift the nose of the car. You can slide the engine from underneath that way.

but you can repeat what you just did again i guess.

[jrdeamicis]

If you are putting the engine in fully loaded (harness, new oil pain, tranny, no intake) its a lot easier to just put it in from the top with a load balancer. It takes no time.

[e30s50dan]

^^^ Ive done it both ways...i dont sweat if i go under the car....i sweat like a bitch from the top,no much trying to move the engine around to find that sweet spot....IF you can go under and lift engine up, bolt subframe,DONE