opinions? m50-m52 or stay m42

[weaksauce]

i bought a 90 318I with a motor that jumped timing. I found a local motor for $250 complete top to bottom from a 93 318i (e36) that i can drop right into the car, or..........I can pick up a 97 528i motor with m50 manifold and electronics for about the same money ($300 roughly)

I already have a e36 M3 and I bought the E30 to daily instead of my mega cab dually, but now I'm wondering if swapping in the m52 is worth the hassle.

Any of you guys who have installed a M52 wish you hadn't done it? I will still need to find a transmission as well since I don't think the 318 manual will hold up to the M52 very well.

so tell me guys. is it worth doing? I can have the m42 back in teh car in an afternoon, but the swap would take me a little longer.

[Matt-B]

24v > m42, i mean why not?

[pogiboy9]

24v > m42, i mean why not?

x3 the valves.

[MIKe30]

x3 the valves.

no it's not.



OP do the m52. IMO, best e30 swap to do of the m50 family motor hands down. m52 now, if you want to pep it up, s52 cams later. You'll have s50 power for $600 and a perfect candidate for boost later on. Obviously the entire swap will cost more than $600 after all said and done but definitely worth it, considering the m42 are so damn self destructive and ticking time bombs.

[weaksauce]

well, a guy just pm'd me that he has a m44 head he'll give me for free.

what else am i looking at for the swap to work though? m52 exhaust mani fit?

i have a 944 brake booster and i can just slide mine over, so thats not an issue
i also have a spare e36 radiator

[Teaguer]

Jeff for what you're after I'd say just stick with the M42.
Keep it simple an hassle free.
Hell i mostly daily my 318-sedan and its great at doing that, I just don't kid myself by thinking its quick in any way shape or form.
Don't get me wrong as it is fun to drive and wind out the gears.

To finish the M52 you'd need to source :
e36 trans
6cyl clutch, FW & PP
driveshaft
shift linkage
change the diff
e34 oilpan & pickup
e36 downpipes & some sort of exhaust
get the a/c working since its a dd
you can still use the m42 rad though
wire it up

When you look at like that it just makes more sense to slap a head on it or RR the whole engine and get it going again in no time.
Sure you are able to do the swap but is it really worth it for what you are after?

Plus I need another m42 homie! :p

[Leo_328i]

I've got a E30 318iS and am in a similar dilema. Between 4000-6500rpm the M42 is awesome but low end for DD is lacking for grunt. Good fuel economy though.

[phreshkid]

keep the m42. I have or had both and each are good in their own regards.

[weaksauce]

good info.

[howelll]

I just finished my m52 swap.The 528i harness is not the same as the 328i so there is no x20. Most people find it easier to do a obd1 swap($$) so they don't need to deal with ews 2. I could help you with wiring the 528 harness to the c101 but the ews2 im not sure if it will work. You need the key, ring, dme, and ews module then it might work. I used the 528i harness but im using megasquirt 3 so ews is no problem.

[weaksauce]

yeah, i grabbed a OBD1 harness from an e34 I'm going to use. I hope I get time to build the motor up and get it stuffed in in the next few months. I have 3 months till I have to race again, so I will have time to work on project cars again instead of every waking minute on the damn race car.

[howelll]

i have a obd1 crank sensor new if needed

[LivingLegend06]

Someone correct me if I'm wrong but wont the getreg 240 bolt right up to a 24valve and even let you use the stock trans cross member?

[FKNFASTM5]

Correct ^

[rThor432]

I think that I can relate to the OP....

I sold my E36 M3/4 in favor of a 318is. I mixed daily duty between that car and my S52 E30 for a year or two. The M42 car was great-- I really regret getting rid of it. It is a blast to drive and I consistently got 35+ mpg. The S52 is great for blasting around, but when you are daily driving it the power is almost wasted. Then again, with the S52 I averaged 32 mpg when I was running an overdrive gearbox, so it wasn't really an issue of efficiency. The M42 was just more fun for the type of driving I was doing. I wouldn't take the M42 out of a 318is-- but that's me.

In a perfect world, you have one of each [E30]. I bought my old E36 M3 back and I'm daily driving that now while I put my black car back together with an S54. Once the black car is done I will probably sell the E36 in favor of a 318is, assuming I can find one as clean as my old one.