What would you have differently, knowing what you know now??

[1mz]

driven and appreciated my 318 for more than 2 weeks before ripping out the m42. Not started an engine swap without a mentor.

[iceman]

^Not having a mentor just makes victory even sweeter.

What would I have done differently?

• Removed all that rubber/foam insulation on the firewall.
• Remembered to disconnect that !~^%$~!# clutch line from the transmission before trying to pull the motor.

I have done the clutch line thing too, haha. Yeah, the foam sucks, I forgot it too.

[euronotworthy]

I just picked up a clean 4dr. I plan to overbuild my swap just so I won't have to do it more than once.

[Mr.SWISS]

Back from the dead! I'm getting back into my project and would like to hear some more ideas....

You still got that sunroof? :)


Having done a few I would not recommend an E21 booster or a NV motor unless you have immediate plans to boost. My NV car was on par with the M20 power, just quieter and got slightly better mileage.

I didn't get a lightweight fly and HP clutch kit this time, just what's stock to the S52. I think the motor is pretty powerful for this little car and it seems like an M52 would be a better balance for it.

Edit 1K posts suckas!

[drumad]

Remembered to disconnect that !~^%$~!# clutch line from the transmission before trying to pull the motor.

Fuck yes. Luckily I just slightly bent where the hardline mounts to the softline.

[giantkeeper]

Since this was resurrected - Only thing I wish I had done that I did not do for this project is shave and repaint the engine bay.

[gianluca1505]

hello guys
i'm Gianluca , from Italy and I made the same work on my bmw z3. I have only one problem : i don't understand the electric cable of my s50b32 engine. do you understand the maps of circular connettor of that engine ? do you know the number of PIN what are? please can you help me ? ciao gianluca

[xwill112x]

Make sure the used parts you buy for it arent garbage...Especially the iX MC.

[e30serg]

Mr Swiss! Yup! Still got the moonroof! I was just looking at it the other day, seeing what needed to be done to get it fixed and installed. I ended up getting a Porsche booster.

Thanks everyone for your replies! Keep them coming! I'm already planning to remove the pan again and using some rtv on it. I would hate to have to remove that thing once it's on the car. I'm also replacing every gasket, seal and sensor. I rebuilt the s52 so it didn't seem right to slap on used parts back on it.

[Mr.SWISS]

Mr Swiss! Yup! Still got the moonroof! I was just looking at it the other day, seeing what needed to be done to get it fixed and installed. I ended up getting a Porsche booster.

Thanks everyone for your replies! Keep them coming! I'm already planning to remove the pan again and using some rtv on it. I would hate to have to remove that thing once it's on the car. I'm also replacing every gasket, seal and sensor. I rebuilt the s52 so it didn't seem right to slap on used parts back on it.

Sweet! Even though you paid a kings ransom I wish I would have kept it now!!!


Glad to see old SN's again.

[trackjunkie21]

Victor Reinz gaskets are shit, and that's a fact. Every which one I have bought never aligned properly with the bolt/screw holes and leaked.

[e30serg]

Sweet! Even though you paid a kings ransom I wish I would have kept it now!!!


Glad to see old SN's again.

Yeah, a king's ransom indeed! Worth it though, still pretty rare. I just have to get off my ass and install it You still have your e30?

[e30serg]

Use a lift, and drop the old engine on the subframe, then put the new engine in on the subframe from the bottom.

Hey Farbin! Exactly what I'm planning to do. So much easier than going in from the top! Already have the ramps and dollies I'll need.

[e30serg]

^^+11000213!!



they seal very well in my motor. Just make sure your surfaces are nice smooth and clean... and flat. If they are distorded is not the gasket's fault. I did goop up both sides of the oil pan gasket for safety.

Hmm. I'm starting to freak out a little too. The motor's still on the stand so I just may replace all the VR gaskets. I did rebuild the engine and cleaned the hell out of everything. The ones I'm most concerned about are the front and rear crankshaft seals. Lots of stuff to take off just to replace those.

[e30serg]

What would I have done differently?

• Performed a detailed inspection on every single used part that I purchased from various other people.
• Purchased brand new knock sensors (the piece of mind is worth the couple of hundred bucks)
• Double checked that the @!*^&%~!# CPS wire was routed properly and not rubbing against the water pump pulley where it would end up shorting against the block and causing 5 AAA tows and countless parts replaced trying to chase down an intermittent misfire/no start that would ONLY appear when you were at least 10 miles away from home. Argh.
• Invested the money on learning how to weld properly (custom exhausts are expensive!)
• Removed all that rubber/foam insulation on the firewall.
• Cleaned my engine bay.
• Remembered to disconnect that !~^%$~!# clutch line from the transmission before trying to pull the motor.
• Spent the extra time locating the parts that I REALLY wanted instead of going with a stop gap solution to hold me over (e.g. 3.46 diff instead of 3.73, Eisenmann exhaust instead of Magnaflow)
• Moved out of this idiotic state and lived somewhere that actually lets you modify cars.

Nice list! I went ahead and bought all new sensors. I didn't feel like chasing down sensor problems later on. The removing all the foam insulation bit is interesting. does it really get that much in the way? Can I get a ride sometime?