1990 325i Touring S50 Swap Thread

[328ijunkie]

^I wouldnt use the stock booster. I know from experience :D.

[nl328i]

That sounds bad...

So what should I be tracking down. ix booster? What about reservoir? I thought I read that the stock stuff would be good :(

[328ijunkie]

^IX booster isnt necessarly the best route either
The stock booster makes you swisscheese the firewall and you have to modify the clevis so you can lock it in place or the shaft will be at a crazy angle and blow the booster repeatedly.

[nl328i]

So what setup do you suggest I track down? :)

[butters]

iX or E32 (7-series) booster, they are the same. I went with the E32 booster & master cylinder, with a new 2002 remote reservoir setup. no complaints, works well.

[GunMetalGrey]

I use the e30 IX setup and am very happy with it, use the spacer on the booster and run a DSM remote res. with the lines.
Simple and cheap!
Also looks nice and clean if done properly.

[nl328i]

IT HAS BEGUN!

The s50 is out and being cleaned up.
The e30 is having the engine removed.
The s50 engine harness is en route to Dave Markert.
Fingers crossed for a smooth swap!


Updates to come.

[nl328i]

Ok, so i was at the garage that is doing the swap yesterday and we were making sure all our ducks were in a row so to speak before putting the s50 in.

From my research if you want to stick with a mechanical fan (I do as I have heard this is better if you wish to retain AC) it is best to stick with the fan from the m20, as it supposedly gives better clearance.

We were sizing up the fans, and it became obvious very quickly that it isn't a swap of just the fan blades (four bolt vs 3 bolt on the clutch). SO, I am assuming that the fan and clutch both have to be swapped over to the s50. All I am wondering is if this is a direct swap. While I was there we tried to remove the clutch but it was like the bolt just kept spinning. I have done further research and learned that you need a special tool to hold the pulley in place so that you can get the resistance you need to remove the fan clutch. If we don't have that special tool, what is the best way to remove it?

Anyone who has experience with this, it would be great if you could confirm all this. Thanks!

[Roysneon]

The tool made for GM cars is similar enough to work, should be able to get one at Canadian Tire.

[nl328i]

So, I am hoping that you s50 swap gurus can weigh in on the issue of driveshafts again, although I think I already know the answer.

One option is to swap over the e36 m3 LSD internals to the e30 diff case and then I can use the m3 driveshaft. The only problem is that I don't know if anyone is willing to do that diff work for me here. SO that may not even be an option.

I had purchased the 24v swap felx disc from revshift with the understanding that this would allow me to use the e30 driveshaft. Last night we realized that the e30 driveshaft is about 5 inches shorter than the e36 shaft. I am guessing that it is because it is an automatic? Does this mean that this driveshaft is useless to me? Do I have to track down another driveshaft?

I am guessing that if I cant find someone to do the diff work for me, then sourcing another shaft is my only option. At that point I guess I could find an e30 manual driveshaft (and use the revshift flex disc) or I could source an e36 328i driveshaft?

Thanks for the input guys, I really appreciate how helpful you all have been.

[328ijunkie]

Has nothing to do with your diff. You need a Manual M20 driveshaft to use that revshift adapter.

[nl328i]

Ok, thats what I thought, but that is only if I wanted to use the adapter correct? I thought if I put the m3 internals in the e30 diff case (same size, just different mounts) including the output flange (or whatever it is called) then the m3 driveshaft would be able to be used without the revshift adapter.

[328ijunkie]

Do you have the M3 driveshaft? Is it a 4 bolt rear? If it is than it will bolt right in (with an E30 CSB on it) and you wont need the adapter.

[nl328i]

If I recall correctly the m3 DS is a 6 bolt rear.

[nl328i]

Update

Ok, so the second shop that was going to do the swap didn't have time, but they put me onto a guy they know who was looking for a neat project to work on. He is a really knowledgable guy and he is doing the swap for me as we speak.

He has extracted the e30 engine and is prepping the s50. You should see the 1970's dodge he built. So clean.

The ecu and harness are on the way back from Dave markert. Starting to come together!


As it sits: