order of drivetrain in iX

[nando]

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

done.

;)

also, the ix engine is already slanted.

[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.

[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.

[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]

i have an ix but i cant say ive stared at the front diff mounting situation long enough to have an answer for you. i was thinking the front differential was mounted directly to the oil pan (i could be wrong on this) - in which case, no matter how you rotate the engine/oil pan/diff/transmission/trans case assembly, youd have the same misalignment issue. so my question then is - how did moonlite do it?

if it came down to it, you could use a hydraulic booster. i dont know much about it but from what ive read you may be able to adapt a system use on the E23/E28.

[BimmerScreamer]

Im trying to fix this problem because if I leave the driveline as is and mount the engine tilted (like moonlite's car) than the intake will have some serious clearance issues with the booster, I don't want to have to run manual brakes

I guess I just get to pick my battle

[BimmerScreamer]

just an idea to bounce off people, Im trying to think of a fix for the whole 260 mounting to S52, 10 degree rotation thing.

What if I mount the S52 in like normal e30, now the transmission and transfer case will be rotated. This is a problem because the front drive shaft will not line up. What if I made an adapter plates that would slide between the tranny and t case giving the transfer case new mounting holes so it can be mounted at the correct angle. The drive shaft that connects the two is splined so it might have enough space to make up for the thickness of the adapter.

I dont know if I explained it right

[BimmerScreamer]

http://www.moonlitemotorwerks.com/325IX/

here is moonlites car, interesting part of the photos is the brake setup, looks like they are running manual brakes

[moatilliatta]

http://www.moonlitemotorwerks.com

I called then a couple months ago, forgot who i talked to, but they was quite friendly, im surprised there isnt more swaped ix's

[Bimmerbrothers]

BimmerScreamer, do you have contact info for moolite. Need to see about getting a pan also. keep us posted when you get things goin and we will do the same.

[BimmerScreamer]

bimmerbro, welcome to the site good to see another iX'er looking at doing a swap. As far as info on the iX swap goes we are kinda on our own. Moonlite has done a S50 into an iX and I have talked to them about having the oil plan made and there front driveshaft kit. Getting a good parts list is kind of hard because everyone did there RWD swap a little different.

[Bimmerbrothers]

Well guys me and my brother are new to the site and forums. We are excited to see a forum containing a conversation about an s52 swap into and iX. After ready countless forums of the swap into I cars we felt that the swap would be a difficult but fun project. We hope to perform the swap on my brothers 1991 iX. Any advice, parts list, jokes, etc are very appreciated. BeamerScreamer you will have to keep us updated. Right now we are primarily doing research and some parts collecting till it warms a bit. Alright glad to be part of the site!

[BimmerScreamer]

thinking about the 10 degree thing, if the tranny rotates than the transfer case will rotate and the front shaft will not line up, right

guess I have to wait and see what happens

[nando]

I assume the trans is drilled 10 deg off set vs the rwd trans. I know my headers set odd coming out of the tunnel, like 10 deg one way . they scrap on crap all the time. The trans being a perfect bolt up to an twin cam motor sounds to good to be true...

interesting.. wouldn't be too surprised. BMW did lots of odd parts on the ix that you wouldn't expect to be unique.

[moatilliatta]

it doesnt rub. just sets crooked coming out of the tunnel.