just bought an M50

[bimmer630]

I bought an m50 with trans wiring and dme all for 700.00 yesterday... , Im not fully sure whether or not I want to use it in my E30. He claims it was from a 325, but he bought the car wrecked in the rear and it had reciepts in the car for some internal engine work that was done for "drifting". besides the headers, I dont see anything that suggests its a high performance engine.
Is the swap worth the effort for a 2.5 motor or should I wait for a 2.8? if I take this thing apart and find it does have cams or something in it, I might use it.

He claims the kid who had the car could burn the tires up through 3rd gear.. but I know the guy just likes to talk.

Also regarding the swap...
1-what are the differences between 325ix and E21 brake boosters?
2-should I get a 735 master cylinder too? (I have a 5 lug swap with M3 e36 brakes)
3-I can use my e30 transmission from what Ive read, but arent there two bellhousing bolts that dont line up?
4-i have the e36 trans,unsure which model... i havent had the parts delivered yet.. but usually you need an e30m3 driveshaft??

5- swapping the engine harness pins to fit into the e30 round connector, or using the adapter plug makes all the guages work? does the dme plug into the same plug under the dash?

[e30shmobberr]

Also regarding the swap...
1-what are the differences between 325ix and E21 brake boosters?
2-should I get a 735 master cylinder too? (I have a 5 lug swap with M3 e36 brakes)
3-I can use my e30 transmission from what Ive read, but arent there two bellhousing bolts that dont line up?
4-i have the e36 trans,unsure which model... i havent had the parts delivered yet.. but usually you need an e30m3 driveshaft??

5- swapping the engine harness pins to fit into the e30 round connector, or using the adapter plug makes all the guages work? does the dme plug into the same plug under the dash?

search is your best friend. m50/s50/m52/s52 are getting more common and there is a LOT of info on the swaps. Just got to do a bit of reading first ;)

[cormier]

Read all the stickies in this forum.

Also regarding the swap...
1-read brake booster thread
2-Read brake booster thread
3/4-driveshaft depends on transmission. If you have an e36 tranny, use that. Read the stickies.

5- don't know what you mean. Make an adapter or buy one. Dme plugs into the motor harness. You need another dme.

[bimmer630]

Ive searched.. I've read quite a bit too... Seems like a lot of people have conflicting info. Some way the original trans won't line up with some holes on an e34 oil pan.. others say it works fine,for example. Basically I have to find out for myself if this motor is worth the trouble of the swap. I see a lot of 2.5 dohc cars but then other guys say its a waste of time

[e30trooper]

in stock forum , id say a cammed or fresh m20 is better. If you wanna be 24v cool then m50 but the gains arnt anything to brag about.

[bimmer630]

I wish I could find out what's done internally to the engine......

[bimmer630]

Searched for this one too.. and alot of people dont seem to mention it.
Where does the E36 DME get installed in an E30? the e36 harness has the dme plug outside...
Id rather mount it inside the car.. can I run these wires through the round connector or do I have to extend them all with another set of wires??

[justin_l_]

Hmmm... if you use a 318i ecu mount take a guess where you mount it? It's all out there, just have to read.

[cormier]

Dude, every single swap DIY says the 318 glovebox mount is recommended, it will sit exactly where it's supposed to sit in the glovebox. You've over complicating things for yourself lol

And no, don't run the wires through the round connector that's a terrible idea had you even thought of trying to splice like 60 tiny little wires all the way to the other side of the harness and through a plug only designed for half the number of wires then into the.... Pedalbox or somewhere??? Then re-pining the entire dme plug lol you Really need some more swap info from a search.. Or go through some build threads and make notes on what people did that worked.

[bimmer630]

I over complicated my post I think.. I was just saying that after reading about other peoples swaps I have seen no mention of dme location (or 318 mount)

You guys ever tried the search function? It sucks

[nrubenstein]

I over complicated my post I think.. I was just saying that after reading about other peoples swaps I have seen no mention of dme location (or 318 mount)

You guys ever tried the search function? It sucks

Lots of people say that. It means one of two things: Either you are too impatient, or too inflexible. You can expect to wade through a fair amount of posts while searching. You also should not expect that the first (or even the third) keyword combination will get the result you are looking for.