New guy with some basic questions

[brandon11130]

sweet, i have H&R race springs so hopfully it wont be super low.

[BDSax]

check out my build page, :Is an m50 worth it?"
i was on a budget and it turned out pretty good. also have a parts list on most of the things to you should replace because dropping it in. i think total on my m50 / 5 speed swap / e36 rack, i spend around $2200 for everything

[brandon11130]

Ok, im getting back into my m50 swap, im shooting for early to mid summer. Im going to try to get the swap finished up with 3 days down time. (its my daily driver) Oh and i have realized that my budget way way too high, i plan on getting everything done for between $1000-$2000. Im blessed by having 3 huge u-pull-it yards in my area.

im going to be using a vanos obd1 m50. Im going to do everything i can do while im driving the car, like the brake booster, I already have the manual pedals in (the car was auto)

heres my parts list thus far.

red label ECU with wiring
e34 oilpan/pickup/ dipstick and tube
e36 motor arms
e28 m5 or 535i motormounts
e21 320i booster, or 944, 735i, whatever i find first
Splice wire plug using diagram.
e36 exhaust (cut down)
fab up intake/heatsheild
e30 m3 wire covers( more of a want than a need)
m20 fan and clutch or conver to electric fan
88+ radiator (already in car)
e36 rad hoses.
e34 throtle cable
all new gaskets for the motor and accessories

what other random sensors will i need? coolant sensors?

Im not sure what tranny to use, im leaning towards the getrag 260 because I can use the stock driveshaft, and a dont need to find a super high(low numericaly) diff, just need to fab up the crosmember. Plus 260's are dime a dozen, (and i really want to put my euro short ratio 260 to use) :hitler: why the hell do we have hitler yelling???

what clutch should i use with the 260? i have both a m50 clutch sitting in my garage, and a m20 singlemass fwheel and new sachs clutch. what throwout bearing and starter should i use with the 260? this question has probably allready been answered but i figured id ask.

[QuorumCAll]

what other random sensors will i need? coolant sensors?

Hey man, I just finished my m50 swap.

The biggest piece of advice I could give you is to try to buy your engine as complete as possible, otherwise you'll be spending lots of time just figuring what's missing, and spending more money than is really necessary. The one I got is pretty solid but it was missing a lot of little parts that were a PITA to find and just figuring out what I was missing was half the problem.

Use the junkyards as much as possible and try to stay away from ebay, that way you'll get your parts cheaper, faster, and you will get some experience working on the M50. For example, E34 oil pan at the junkyard is $30-50, on ebay it can go for $100-250.

The engine itself has 2 knock sensors, 1 coolant sensor for the ECU (blue), 1 coolant sensor from your m20 for the temp gauge (brown), 1 crankshaft position sensor, 1 camshaft sensor... that's all I can think of right now.

I was also swapping a 5spd into an auto and so far I'm very happy. Even if you do plan on swapping an S50 in later, this is a good practice run, and you'll be even more capable when working with a significantly more expensive engine.

[brandon11130]

Yea, two of my friends are doing/did the swap and ive realized how easy it is. I was so afraid of it before, now that my buddies have them all apart in their garages its nothing to be afraid of, its a m20 with one more cam and a few more sensors. other than that its the same freakin deal.

[brandon11130]

back again, with more parts collected, what imput bearing do i need when using the 260 with the m50?

getrag 260 with driveshaft and ALL the 5speed swap parts
single mass m20 flywheel
6puck ceramic sprung clutch
stock m20 pressure plate
throw out bearing
fleabay longtube headers
e30 ansa catback
vanos valve cover im having powdercoated.
agk wire plug
tranny brace is being made
will the long tubes line up reasonable close to the m20 pipes? same pipe diameter?

still waiting on a m50, im dedicated on not spending more than 250 for the motor, ecu, harness, and everything that is attached to it.