24V AWD Swap Knowledge Base

[Nisse Järnet]

Do you or anyone else have a chance to measure the distance from the frame rail notch to the axle? (No hurry)

[nando]

No I meant the forward angle :)

oh, because you pushed the engine into the firewall?.

[Nisse Järnet]

oh, because you pushed the engine into the firewall?.

Both yes and no, the inner CV will touch the front crossmember if the engine is moved more forward :P (As will the pan and diff etc)

[stonea]

Ok so here is my game plan. M52TU (with mods) on a e53 x5 oil pan, and of course using the 3.64 x5 diff. Also I wanna use custom half shafts using e53 inner CVs and e30 ix outer CV's. Custom U jointed front driveshaft that attaches to the x5 diff an 325ix transfer case. Clock the getrag 260 10 degrees and have an adapter plate made for the 260 and TC. Also I guess I gotta do something with the guibo there too? Then for the motor arms I'm just gonna modify x5, e34, e46 what ever is the closet.

Now I think that will all work (or be pretty freaking close), but I want you guys to critique it and give your input.

[Nisse Järnet]

Put a spacer on the TC guibo? And I think your better off building custom motor arms.

It sounds doable! Looking forward to see some progress! :)

BTW you might have to slam the firewall as well :P

[stonea]

Put a spacer on the TC guibo? And I think your better off building custom motor arms.

It sounds doable! Looking forward to see some progress! :)

BTW you might have to slam the firewall as well :P

This is where I got the idea about the spacer:

Assuming you have a stick... you can't do that. In a RWD car you can rotate the trans, mod the crossmember, twist the shift linkage and go.

In an AWD car, you can't rotate the transfer case.
You can either rotate the transmission and make an adapter plate that rotates the T-case back down OR have a Euro market g260 from a 24V E34 520i shipped over and swap that case onto your trans.

Also, you need a u-jointed driveshaft to use the E53 front drive assembly with the e30 T-case. I don't think that's hard, just FYI.

From the first post:

Option 2:
Getrag 5 speed manual.
As mentioned above, the Getrag 260 used with the M20 will also bolt to 24V engines. If used with the original transfer case mounting, this will cause the transfer case to interfere with the floor pan.
However, an adapter could be made that would rotate the transfer case back to its original position. This would involve spacing the guibo as mentioned above with regard to use of the E34 ZF rear case half.

I hope I can start collecting parts here shortly, but I think it'll be a while before I start mocking stuff up.

[The Dark Side of Will]

Ok so here is my game plan. M52TU (with mods) on a e53 x5 oil pan, and of course using the 3.64 x5 diff. Also I wanna use custom half shafts using e53 inner CVs and e30 ix outer CV's. Custom U jointed front driveshaft that attaches to the x5 diff an 325ix transfer case. Clock the getrag 260 10 degrees and have an adapter plate made for the 260 and TC. Also I guess I gotta do something with the guibo there too? Then for the motor arms I'm just gonna modify x5, e34, e46 what ever is the closet.

Now I think that will all work (or be pretty freaking close), but I want you guys to critique it and give your input.

Don't need a guibo with the u-jointed driveshaft.

No other mount arms line up, although E34's are somewhat close.
The E53 sump is longer front to back than the E30 sump. The E30 sump fits right up against the back of the crossmember.
This means that either there needs to be a new crossmember that moves the rack and ball joints forward (my choice) or push the engine back and cut the firewall (and trans tunnel, etc.) away (Nisse's choice).

[nando]

you don't need to make an adapter plate or have the transfercase at a weird angle.

what you need is a Getrag 260 from an early E34 M50B25 car in Europe. They're pretty cheap. then simply build a transmission using that bellhousing with the rear case half of your ix transmission. 100% bolt on with no adapters or other weird shit.

[Nisse Järnet]

Euro market g260 from a 24V E34 520i sounds like a good choice! I bet you can find one for 100 bucks here.

Another option to the front end problems is E34 ix subframe with control arms, or maybe mod a E46 xi front subframe since they are very similar to the E34 ix.

[The Dark Side of Will]

M50B20, right?
The B25's had the 310Z trans...

[Nisse Järnet]

M50B20, right?
The B25's had the 310Z trans...

Yes!

[stonea]

Don't need a guibo with the u-jointed driveshaft.

No other mount arms line up, although E34's are somewhat close.
The E53 sump is longer front to back than the E30 sump. The E30 sump fits right up against the back of the crossmember.
This means that either there needs to be a new crossmember that moves the rack and ball joints forward (my choice) or push the engine back and cut the firewall (and trans tunnel, etc.) away (Nisse's choice).

I was thinking about talking with you about the new crossmember once I'm home for the summer. I also have a z3 steering rack to see if you can make the e36 rack work.

Euro market g260 from a 24V E34 520i sounds like a good choice! I bet you can find one for 100 bucks here.

Another option to the front end problems is E34 ix subframe with control arms, or maybe mod a E46 xi front subframe since they are very similar to the E34 ix.

Okay wow, thats a lot cheaper than I thought. Does anyone have any idea what shipping would be like? If its not bad I might have to start looking for one.

[Nisse Järnet]

Just did a quick search on a scrap yard page and found one for $75 :D

http://www.bildelsbasen.se/se-sv/BMW/BMW-5-E34/1988_1996/V%C3%A4xell%C3%A5da-&-Drivaxel-&-Mellanaxel/V%C3%A4xell%C3%A5da-5-Speed/Alla/ID-8478040/?page=1&order=price&asc=1

I could probably find a cheaper one from a private seller.
The shipping wont be cheap though...

[Nisse Järnet]

E46 xi subframe:



I measured on the E34 one and that would be pretty easy to fit, so the E46 xi probably will too! And if not its steel so easy to cut and weld :)

Im a bit mad i didnt think of this before doing all the firewall and trans tunnel work...

[nando]

I was thinking about talking with you about the new crossmember once I'm home for the summer. I also have a z3 steering rack to see if you can make the e36 rack work.



Okay wow, thats a lot cheaper than I thought. Does anyone have any idea what shipping would be like? If its not bad I might have to start looking for one.

I paid like $100 for the transmission and around $150 for shipping. it took months to get here, but it was worth it. think about it this way - anything else you do is going to cost just as much and probably won't be as good or as simple.

E36 steering rack won't work, wrong shape. E46 xi steering rack can possibly work with some subframe mods and an unknown combo of tie rods.