swapping '95 vanos motor into '92 E36 325i, DME/harness questions

[LooN]

Let me start off by saying that I have always dreamed of owning my very own bimmer and now, at 19 years of age, I've finally achieved that goal. Now the only problem is to get the damn thing running.

I'm not exactly mechanically inclined but I have plenty of car-savvy buddies willing to help me, and working at a jaguar/landrover dealer doesn't hurt either..i am hoping to learn through this car.

TO THE POINT..
I just purchased a 1992 E36 325i with an engine swap in progress. New motor is from an automatic '95 325i (I believe M50 or M50TU, how do i tell/what's the difference?)

I'm looking to buy a '95 5-speed wiring harness to match the engine so theres no hassle (the one currently in is for a '95 auto).

My main question now is..will this DME unit work with this motor?
It has a red label as well as a grey label on the back...the red label reads BOSCH 0 261 200 413 (I believe this means its a 413 DME). The grey label has the BMW logo on it as well as what looks like a VIN from the original car it was in.



Also, does this engine require the DME unit, key, and motor to be coded together for the engine to fire (EWS is what its called i believe)? The engine cranks with ease but doesn't fire..i have been told to check the crank position sensor and mass airflow sensor too, but if it requires a chip key that the '92 stock ignition doesnt have it wont make a difference, i think

The guy I bought the car from has posted on bimmerforums before and hasn't had time for the project, hence him selling it to me..here's the link:

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=472193

Please help a newbie! I'm EAGER to gain the knowledge and experience to call myself a BMW enthusiast. Thanks in advance!!

LooN

[FredK]

You lucked out, because you have a burgandy/red label 413 DME, which means it does not have EWS. So you don't need to go to a dealer to get the key coded to the DME or anything like that.

Did you ground the engine properly? There's a fat ground cable that comes off the engine mount arm (IIRC) that needs to be attached to the chassis of the vehicle. I also believe the auto transmission wiring needs to be removed from the harness.

You have a great attitude--you've given us a lot of information, and it looks like you're eager to learn. That's the best way to learn, which is by doing, and asking questions.

[KangamangusDriver]

I replied to your post on BFC

[aeryk7]

I am using a auto harness on my car .....so i am pretty sure u wont need to swap harnesses, it would however look more cleanly in the engine bay with a new harness.

[e30_kid89]

^^^you are?? cause i got a auto harness with my motor and im a lil worried if hooking it up is gonna be harder....wanna shed light on it?

[mentaleeill]

you just dont use the tranny plug. i have an auto harness as well and cut all that shit out.

[e30_kid89]

ooo okay good.....

[LooN]

THere are a couple reasons I want to get a 5-speed harness:
1 - i'm not mechanically inclined and i want to go through the process of installing a new harness to learn as well as be able to check all the connections when i install them
2 - a tech at the dealership i work at who owns a '94 325i informed me that mating an automatic harness with a manual tranny could result in some other complications. (i believe) he said the DME monitors several other sensors like the O2 in order to manage the transmission, and that if those were left hanging it would resort to 'default mode' which, in turn, reduces horsepower. i'm not exactly sure of that though, i'll talk to him tomorrow at work..anyone have any thoughts/info on this?

[LooN]

I think it may be the crankshaft position sensor, because i know the engine will not fire without a signal from it. i noticed that the plastic cover for the sensor is loose and unmounted. i just read through it in the bentley manual, how to inspect/test/fix it and its super simple. i'll take a look at it in the morning when theres light and no mosquitoes

ALSO -- just curious, whats the difference between the M50 and M50TU engine? how do i tell which one mine is? i dont get the impression that it makes much of a difference but i'd like to know nonetheless

Thanks again guys for all your help so far!!

LooN

[FredK]

whats the difference between the M50 and M50TU engine? how do i tell which one mine is? i dont get the impression that it makes much of a difference but i'd like to know nonetheless
LooN

The easiest way to tell between the two engines is the M50TU has a VANOS unit on the front of the head, and the M50 does not. If you are looking at the front of the engine, there is a large cylindrical bulge on the on the intake side of the head, which is connected to a smaller cylindrical shape device that goes underneath the engine lifting bracket. Just search for Vanos unit on Google images to get an idea of what it looks like. The M50 just has a plate in the front of the head.

The bottom end on the M50 is allegedly a different casting than the TU--it's beefier. Thus it can be bored out more than the TU.

The head on the M50 uses thicker valve stems, double valve springs, and the cams are hotter than the TU.

[LooN]

Vanos is fatty on mine. guess its a TU then. thanks!

[LooN]

i believe it may be the crank position sensor, i just tested the resistance per the bentley manual's instructions and it reads 538 ohms..what puzzles me is that on the forums i've read the value should be around 560ohms but the bentley manual says it should be 1280 plus or minus 10%.. help?


also, people keep telling me to check if the ECM is getting 12v.. where do i hook up the multimeter for that?

[techno550]

wait, are you using the 92 (non vanos) wiring harness on the 95 (vanos) motor?

[LooN]

nopers, using 95 auto harness that has vanos on it

[LooN]

No progress in getting the motor to fire, but I've found out a lot more about EWS and I think that may be my problem; that or the crank position sensor, I've ordered a new one so until that gets here I'm testing EWS issues..

I found out my DME was built in 10/94, which leads me to believe that it has EWS1. I clipped the solid green wire at pin #66 but, from what I've read on the forums, if my DME has EWS1 then it must be chipped in order to disable EWS and get the motor to start. It'll crank all day but won't fire.

Can anyone PLEASE give me a straight answer on this? The motor is a '95 M50TU and I'm using a 95 auto harness and letting the auto transmission relay hang (manual tranny in the car).

I JUST WANT MY ULTIMATE DRIVING MACHINE® TO START :( :(