M50 to m52 swap

[02stu]

I have a non-vanos m50 in my car right now, however I also have an m52 with a blown head gasket. The m52 has the wiring harness but no ecu. Should I track down an ecu rewire the car and put the m52 in or should I use the m52 bottom end and use the non vanos head, intake and electronics? I believe they both would have same power correct? Is there any advantage to useing the non vanos head? The only attractive thing to me about the m52 head is the ability to use s52 cams. Also what is involved in useing the m52 exhaust manifold? It looks freer flowing then the m50 manifold but it has the OBDII slots, is it worth modifying it to make it work?
Thanks again
Stu

[e30 gangsta]

obd 1 everything more power. Look for a vanos head drop some s50 cams in it. And rock it out!

[smonkbmw]

what DME do you have already? if its a 413 you might be able to use it. i know nothing of head swaps between the 2 motors. i think you can use the m50 parts and swap all the obd1 items to the m52. and yes the m52 exhaust manifold is sought after for being free flowing, you only need to plug the extra o2 ports and fill in the channels between the cylinder ports.

[surebimmer]

I think the OBD II S52/M52 manifold flow a little less the the cast M50/S50 But you save about 25-30lbs using them.

[amdspitfire]

do obd1 conversion on the m52, you can use a lot of parts from the m50. Dont forget s50/52 cams.

[RVA e30]

obd1 conversion on the M52 would be the way to go with some s52 cams

[02stu]

Are there any complication with hooking the OBD1 wiring harness up the m52 block? Or is it just the top half that is difficult to swap over. Any one know of a good OBD 1 conversion right ups?
Thanks again

[asubimmer]

you can put s52 cams in an m50 if you wanted. I have an exhaust s52 cam and am looking for a intake cam so I can put em in :)

[FredK]

S52 cams go into M52
S50 cams go into M52
S50 cams go into M50

S52 cams do not go into M50.

The cam trays are slightly different. So unless you switch to M/S52 cam trays you cannot run S52 cams in an M50.

[asubimmer]

S52 cams do not go into M50.

The cam trays are slightly different. So unless you switch to M/S52 cam trays you cannot run S52 cams in an M50.

lol funniest post ever. So they don't fit but they do?? hahaha

I'm aware of the tray differances, thanks. But like you said they DO fit.

[FredK]

You offered incomplete information. It's not just remove and replace. If someone were to take your words at face value, they'd be in for a surprise if they just tried to remove and replace M50 cams with S52 cams.

[02stu]

Anyone know of any resources for an obd1 swap?

[02stu]

Is it as simple as bolting all the m50 electronics onto an m52? What about the ecu? Do I need to track down a m52 ecu? I know the temperature sensor is trickey on s52s will I have to tap the head on the m52 as well?

[surebimmer]

http://homepage.mac.com/aceves/OBDI/OBD_ONE1.htm

[FredK]

Is it as simple as bolting all the m50 electronics onto an m52? What about the ecu? Do I need to track down a m52 ecu? I know the temperature sensor is trickey on s52s will I have to tap the head on the m52 as well?

On early production m52, no tapping is required. Later production (not sure of actual supecession date), you will have to drill and tap.

You need a OBD-I DME. You cannot use the temperature splitting cable mentioned in that OBD-I writeup.

Look for vinnymac's writeup on bimmerforums E36 M3 section for a more detailed OBD-I conversion writeup.