order of drivetrain in iX

[flyboyx]

ok, here is the scoop: i have an ix or two so i have done a ton of research on this. doing a search on the "other forum" will bring much better results. look for posts my a member who goes by chris325ix. the trans and xfer case need to stay in the original position as they come from the factory. otherwise, with the xfer case would hit the body on the driver side and the passenger axle will be at a bad angle running through the oil pan. it would never work. the 24v engine is actually rotated 10 degrees to the driver side of the car. it will sit at a bit of an odd angle, but will work with no issues. you can use the factory m20 ix motor mount arms without modification. obviously, the oil pan will need to be modified. the best solution i have seen, a member cut a third(i think the back end) of the oil pan off an e36 and had it welded to the e30 ix pan. it had a problem, though. that eliminated the dip stick tube opening. to do it right, you would have to come up with a viable way to add a means to check the oil level. forget about the ix booster. unless you cut a big chunk out of the intake manifold, you will never get it to clear. a better solution would be to take the hydroboost off an e23(which is what i am in the process of doing with my 24v swap) or you need to find some sort of remote system such as the booster from a 540i.

anyway, those are the finer points. i have not done the swap yet, but have spent a lot of time looking at it. send me a pm if you have more questions.

[chris4891]

so you rotate the engine 10 degrees so the transmission and transfer case line up correctly in the firewall. gotcha, but..

the front diff is bolted to the oil pan which is attached to the engine - now it's rotated 10 degrees towards the drivers side relative to transfer case. it would seem to me that the front driveshaft would never line up.

im curious how you would "easily" get around that problem. i imagine the answer is a fully custom oil pan - but that seems like a heck of a complex part to make.

[BimmerScreamer]

i imagine the answer is a fully custom oil pan - but that seems like a heck of a complex part to make.

Bingo your entirely correct, this is also part of the reason I dropped this plan. I did contact MoonLite and they said they might be able to make a pan as they already did a S50 swap, but it wasn't the cleanest if you ask me. Also I don't like the idea of have the engine sitting slanted like that.

[nando]

weld front 1/3rd of E36 pan to rear 2/3rds of ix pan

done.

;)

also, the ix engine is already slanted.

[chris4891]

i have seen pictures of that oil pan mod done before, but it seems to me that doesnt address the 10 degree issue. maybe it would be more obvious if i had all the parts in front of me.

so you end up rotating the engine 10 degrees in order to get the transmission/transfer case to line up correctly in the tunnel. but by rotating the engine you end up also rotating the oil pan/front diff downwards by a small amount - in my mind there would still be an angular offset between the trans case and front diff. it wouldnt be much - probably about 0.5" and you could probably still install the front driveshaft, but id be seriously concerned about the longevity of the front flex disc. especially considering the assumed power increase. id also suspect a pretty good vibration.

[nando]

like I said, the ix engine is already rotated.. you aren't doing anything to the transmission. They have to be aligned exactly as they are with the M20, or the shaft won't go into the transfercase. there is no room for adjustment at all, 1/2" wouldn't even be close.

[chris4891]

yeah, for the m20. i was talking about for the 24v swaps..

[nando]

that's what I'm trying to tell you.. when you put a 24v engine in the ix, it will be in the exact same position as the ix M20 (you use the ix mount arms and everything). If BMW didn't think it was a problem, I don't think it's anything to worry about. :)

[moatilliatta]

Its like the ix and 24 valve motor was ment to be.

[chris4891]

i suppose maybe i was operating under a false assumption somewhere..

things i assumed:
- the bolt pattern on the ix transmission is clocked the same as the regular rwd getrag trans.
- the trans mount bolt pattern on the ix block is clocked the same as the regular m20 i/e blocks
- the trans mount bolt pattern on the 24v engine is clocked 10 degrees relative to the m20 e/i/ix blocks (see above assumption)

never seen the ix & i/e transmissions side by side but i would have been a bit surprised if the front case was different. that would have been a pretty significant cost for bmw to make another mold to cast the front case if the alternative was using an existing part. i know the rear half of the case is different but i think all the internals are identical.

dont get me wrong.. i think itd be sweet if it all just happened to bolt up that easily. i just figured it would be more difficult than that.

[nando]

i suppose maybe i was operating under a false assumption somewhere..

things i assumed:
- the bolt pattern on the ix transmission is clocked the same as the regular rwd getrag trans.

I haven't verified this myself but I don't think they are the same.

- the trans mount bolt pattern on the ix block is clocked the same as the regular m20 i/e blocks

the bolt pattern is the same, although the casting itself is different and it has other unique traits.

- the trans mount bolt pattern on the 24v engine is clocked 10 degrees relative to the m20 e/i/ix blocks (see above assumption)

it is or there wouldn't be special tranny mounts for 24v swap guys. :)

never seen the ix & i/e transmissions side by side but i would have been a bit surprised if the front case was different. that would have been a pretty significant cost for bmw to make another mold to cast the front case if the alternative was using an existing part. i know the rear half of the case is different but i think all the internals are identical.

Why would it be any more than the hundreds of other parts they redesigned? They designed a different center console just to clear the shifter. There are so many parts I thought were the same, only to get burned when I ordered them and they didn't fit. Power steering resivior bracket? Not the same. Subframe bushings? Wiring harness? Drivers side seat lever? all different.

dont get me wrong.. i think itd be sweet if it all just happened to bolt up that easily. i just figured it would be more difficult than that.

well you can't exactly do it in a weekend, it's just not a big deal to bolt it up to the car. the biggest problem is with the brake booster & master cylinder, it doesn't fit under the M50 manifold.

[BimmerScreamer]

some photos i dug up of moonlites S50iX, this is not my car so dont ask me questions about it. All I know is it has a custom oil pan and it looks like manual brakes

[chris4891]

things i assumed:
- the bolt pattern on the ix transmission is clocked the same as the regular rwd getrag trans.

I haven't verified this myself but I don't think they are the same.

i suppose thats where i was hung up. thats something id like to look into further. i have an extra manual ix transmission, ill compare it to a friends when i get a chance.

Why would it be any more than the hundreds of other parts they redesigned? They designed a different center console just to clear the shifter. There are so many parts I thought were the same, only to get burned when I ordered them and they didn't fit. Power steering resivior bracket? Not the same. Subframe bushings? Wiring harness? Drivers side seat lever? all different.

i just assumed that would be something theyd try to avoid if at all possible... the front case is a pretty large alum casting - new molds for that would cost a pretty penny.

[nando]

well they designed an all new suspension and made a special mold for the aluminum front subframe, so what's a different bolt pattern?

also, something that hasn't been suggested yet -the bolt pattern is the same on both transmissions, but the ix transmission is rotated 10 degrees. The ix tranny uses an entirely different mount, shifter carrier, lever, etc. so that's entirely possible. Either way, the ix M20 doesn't sit in the same position as other E30s.

[chris4891]

also, something that hasn't been suggested yet -the bolt pattern is the same on both transmissions, but the ix transmission is rotated 10 degrees. The ix tranny uses an entirely different mount, shifter carrier, lever, etc. so that's entirely possible.

things i assumed:
- the trans mount bolt pattern on the ix block is clocked the same as the regular m20 i/e blocks

i think we mean the same thing. in hindsight, that probably would be the easiest way to make everything fit.