My m52 budget swap

[128keaton]

Got the oil pan and pickup swapped today. Making good but slow headway Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[128keaton]

Well I'm very close to wrapping up the PS rack swap. My progress was delayed by Garagastic shipping out slowly due to COVID. But then I realized I lost a few crush washers (I swear I put them in a good place!!) so now I'm waiting on those. A friend told me an M50 E34 was at the local junkyard, hopefully it has a good rad and expansion tank, along with the OBD-I mani brackets and the dipstick. Those are the last parts I believe I need

[128keaton]

So, just for my own personal reference, here is what I am waiting on to ship:

* M50 throttle body gaskets
* M50 intake manifold gaskets
* E30 steering rack boots
* E30 steering rack crush washers
* Z3 Intake boot with dual ports (one for the IAT sensor, the other for the ICV)
* E36 accelerator cable
* SAP block off plates
* E28 motor mounts
* E30 delrin shift bushing kit
* Die for rethreading the coolant sensor

What I still need to find/order:
* M50 dipstick and dipstick tube
* E36 radiator
* E36 expansion tank
* SPAL fan (is there any better option?)
* Some more coolant hoses

[128keaton]

I helped a friend do an M50 manifold swap on his S52-powered E36, and I have a few questions now that I’ve worked on an S/M52 engine.

CCV: I was thinking I’d just not run it at all, any downsides? The m50s do not have a CCV system, so I figure it’s fine.

FPR vacuum line: where in the world should I hook this up? Maybe off the charcoal purge line as I am not running a charcoal canister? I have the vacuum canister with one of my m52s, but I thought that was for the exhaust flap. On my friend’s S52, the FPR line went straight back to the tank I believe.


circled red

E36 radiator mounting: if I got an e36 radiator (probably the easiest option currently) would it mount like it would in the e36? Just use the clips?

[128keaton]

Nevermind.. That is to the exhaust flap. Vac source from the manifold is the red circled. I think I have my OBD-I fuel rail (I hope!)

[128keaton]

I received my harness today!
Very excited now!

[128keaton]

Well, I made a mistake and threw away the rubber grommets on the tierod ends that the boot straps to. My boots were super gone, but I figured a boot/bellow kit would come with the new grommet. Nope.
Only comes on the entire tie rod end assembly.
Thanks BMW.


(this is the part I am referring to)

Anyway, Rockauto carries a $6.03 inner tierod, so I figure I'll just spend $15 (tax+shipping) and do that, unless anyone has a part number for this specific piece? RealOEM did not note anything except the entire inner tierod.

[Northern]

May as well run the CCV, same sort of thing as the M50 PCV except you send less oil through the engine.

Not sure what your intake routing plan is, but here's what I did:
I did not buy any sort of M50 manifold conversion kit.
I threaded the intake temp sensor to fit the M50 manifold,
Bought a non-ASC-T M50 Intake boot with 2 ports. One port went to the ICV, and one was vacuum for the CCV. Bolted the CCV to the block with a bracket, but you could really zip tie it anywhere.
Hardest part is that you need to add an oil return to the dipstick tube to do this, because IIRC the E34 dipstick tube doesn't have one.

[Northern]

May as well run the CCV, same sort of thing as the M50 PCV except you send less oil through the engine.

Not sure what your intake routing plan is, but here's what I did:
I did not buy any sort of M50 manifold conversion kit.
I threaded the intake temp sensor to fit the M50 manifold,
Bought a non-ASC-T M50 Intake boot with 2 ports. One port went to the ICV, and one was vacuum for the CCV. Bolted the CCV to the block with a bracket, but you could really zip tie it anywhere.
Hardest part is that you need to add an oil return to the dipstick tube to do this, because IIRC the E34 dipstick tube doesn't have one.

[128keaton]

May as well run the CCV, same sort of thing as the M50 PCV except you send less oil through the engine.

Not sure what your intake routing plan is, but here's what I did:
I did not buy any sort of M50 manifold conversion kit.
I threaded the intake temp sensor to fit the M50 manifold,
Bought a non-ASC-T M50 Intake boot with 2 ports. One port went to the ICV, and one was vacuum for the CCV. Bolted the CCV to the block with a bracket, but you could really zip tie it anywhere.
Hardest part is that you need to add an oil return to the dipstick tube to do this, because IIRC the E34 dipstick tube doesn't have one.

I decided to go the M50 PCV route. I do not care for the CCV honestly. Instead of burning the condensation that goes through the CCV, it just dumps it back into the oil pan. The M50 PCV applies PCV through the vac port under the M50 manifold. Then, with the two-hole Z3 boot, you can run your ICV and your crankcase refuse into the boot. Post filter. Yeah, you get a bit of oil on your flapper, but if your IAT is tucked further into the manifold, its a non-issue.

I did do that. Threaded my OBD-II IAT for M12x1.5 and just put it into the OBD-I IAT port. Had to remove the o-ring and shave the narrow shaft, as well as shave the outer bit with the clip to the diameter of the threads on the OBD-I port. Pretty easy. Well worth the time.

I rebuilt the shift bushings today and applied a bend to my shift selector. The Delrin bushing kit from Gargastic took 15 minutes to install. Easy peasy. I also ran the E34 accelerator cable and put a new grommet on the pedal-side.




Got the beauty cover for the coil packs trimmed and installed, also got the main belt drive done-ish. Still need to swap the idler pulley and alternator out.



Had to modify the damn SAP blockoff plates. Trim the sides and ream out the holes for the studs. Ah well, they're installed and doing their job. $14/piece sucked tho


Did a very quick engine bay paint job:



Also had a friend make a bracket for the O2 sensors on the fuel rail since the M50 rail does not have the provisions for holding the tabs. It was cleaned up and painted shortly after this pic.

[128keaton]

Finally got the transmission mated. Did not need to shave my flywheel (?) Was able to turn the motor over with the starter on the block. Yes! Also got the E34 dipstick mounted (friend made a neat bracket) Did the M50 PCV kit: Had to use some generic hose that was longer to the intake boot. So close! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[jbontke]

The flywheel, clutch, pressure plate, and throw out bearing are all G260 parts, right?

[128keaton]

The flywheel, clutch, pressure plate, and throw out bearing are all G260 parts, right?

Correct. The flywheel is an unknown admittedly. It was just on my B23 block when I got it. I’m starting to wonder if it’s something else entirely, maybe an eta flywheel? I believe it is single mass. Was not nearly as thick as the dual mass eta flywheels I’ve seen online. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[128keaton]

Got a radiator today for $111 with lifetime warranty. My SPAL fan also finally arrived Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[128keaton]

Engine finally went in today:
IMG_6029 by keaton.burleson, on Flickr

Was so nice getting it off the stand.

Exhaust headers need to be modified, as well as the down tubes.

IMG_6030 by keaton.burleson, on Flickr

Just need to: build A/C lines, install and wire up fan. Move coolant sensor wires. Finish shifter shit. Install driveshaft. Finish power/ground wiring. Install fluids. Mount the power steering reservoir somewhere. Find a filter that clears the expansion tank. Bleed brakes. Bleed clutch. Mount the diagnostic plug. Run check engine light and speed sensor plug to dash. Get a grommet or something for the wire loom into the cab.